We continue to report on the plethora of serial plaintiffs who have collectively filed thousands of website accessibility lawsuits, primarily against small businesses, in state and federal courts throughout the country. These lawsuits generally allege that these businesses’ websites are inaccessible to visually impaired individuals who use screen-reading software, thus denying them full and equal access to the goods or services offered on the websites.
Several relatively new plaintiffs are now on the scene, including Howard Wilson, Kalari Jackson Girtley, Vincent Clement, and Eslimerari Ramos, who, according to court records, have collectively filed approximately 85 website accessibility lawsuits, many of which were filed in 2024. These plaintiffs are all represented by Stein Saks PLLC, which has filed more than 2,000 similar lawsuits.
- Wilson filed four lawsuits on September 2, 2024, and another seven lawsuits on December 2, 2024.
- Girtley has filed five lawsuits since September 2, 2024.
- Clement filed three lawsuits on December 2, 2024 (and 45 total lawsuits since March 2023).
- Ramos has filed 26 lawsuits since February 29, 2024.
As we have reported on numerous occasions, both state and federal lawmakers have taken steps in recent years to curb website accessibility lawsuits; however, to date, no legislation has been passed. In the absence of legislation or regulations promulgated by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), we recommend that businesses operating a website, mobile application, or both take steps to ensure these online systems are accessible to users with disabilities and otherwise comply with federal, state, and local disability laws in accordance with DOJ guidance issued in March 2022.
In the unfortunate event your business is served with one of these website accessibility lawsuits, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Barclay Damon. We will 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 or Commercial Litigation & Complex Trials Practice Areas or Hotels, Hospitality & Food Service Team.
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