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.
There has been a recent surge in lawsuits filed by several of these plaintiffs, including Lisa Cantwell, Clay Lee Jones, Edery Herrera, Leshawn Young, Carlton Knowles, and Cedric Bishop, who, according to court records, have collectively filed approximately 330 website accessibility lawsuits, many of which were filed in recent months.
- Cantwell has filed eight lawsuits since July 31, 2024. Jones has filed two lawsuits since August 1, 2024. They are represented by Stein Saks, PLLC, which has filed roughly 2,100 similar lawsuits since January 2019.
- Herrera has filed 16 lawsuits since March 6, 2024. Young has filed 19 lawsuits in 2024 (and 60 total lawsuits since April 2022). Knowles has filed 21 lawsuits in 2024 (and 48 total lawsuits since March 2018). Bishop has filed seven lawsuits since August 6, 2024 (and 197 total lawsuits since February 2018). They are represented by Gottlieb & Associates, which has filed more than 2,000 similar lawsuits since September 2017.
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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