We previously published legal alerts about serial plaintiffs Luigi Abreu, Domingo Pascual, Owen Harty, Christian Sanchez, Sam Wilson, Edwin Diaz, Michelle Tenzer-Fuchs, Deborah Laufer, Jose Figueroa, Saim Sarwar, Denette Ligon, Shael Cruz, Leshawn Dawson, Aretha Crosson, and Josue Romero who, in recent years, have collectively filed thousands of lawsuits in federal courts across the country.
There are now several new plaintiffs on the scene, including Veronica Maddy (69 lawsuits), Lamar Brown (35 lawsuits), Andrew Toro (77 lawsuits), Victoria Dicks (59 lawsuits), Jenny Hwang (16 lawsuits), Damon Jones (16 lawsuits), and Miriam Cruz (14 lawsuits) who, according to court records, have collectively filed more than 250 lawsuits since April 28, 2022, primarily in federal district courts located in New York State. It should be noted that these relatively new plaintiffs are all represented by the same law firm, Mars Khaimov Law, PLLC, which, according to court records, has filed more than 600 website accessibility lawsuits within the last few years.
As we have reported on numerous prior occasions, both federal and state lawmakers have taken steps in recent years to curb website accessibility lawsuits; however, to date, no legislation has been passed. We also recently reported on a civil complaint filed by district attorneys in California against a law firm accused of exploiting the ADA and targeting small businesses, but that action appears to be an outlier rather than a trend.
We recommend that businesses operating a website or mobile application take steps to ensure that these online systems are accessible to visually impaired and hearing-impaired users and otherwise comply with federal, state, and local disability laws in accordance with DOJ guidance issued in March 2022.
In the unfortunate event you are served with one of these website accessibility lawsuits, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Barclay Damon, who have represented a number of businesses in similar lawsuits and otherwise continue to monitor the development of these cases.
If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Rob Thorpe, partner, at rthorpe@barclaydamon.com, or another member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Area or Hotels, Hospitality & Food Service Team.