Congress Urge DOJ to Declare That Private Website Accessibility Lawsuits Violate Due Process

[GURPS]

The congressional support for this letter arises on the heels of a recent surge in website accessibility lawsuits against public accommodations in every sector alleging that websites that are not accessible by people with disabilities violate the ADA. In 2017, a number of courts rejected defendants’ attempts to obtain early dismissals of these cases and supermarket chain, Winn Dixie, lost the first trial in a website accessibility case. These decisions opened the proverbial floodgates and resulted in at least 814 federal lawsuits in 2017 about allegedly inaccessible websites, including a number of putative class actions. The federal lawsuit numbers for 2018 will likely be substantially higher as our tracking shows that there were 349 suits just in January and February of 2018. Despite the monumental increase in litigation and urgent need for clear guidance, the DOJ abandoned its rulemaking on website accessibility standards for public accommodations websites at the end of 2017, seven years after it said it would issue regulations on this issue.

With the number of website accessibility lawsuits on the rise and courts allowing most of these cases to move forward, members of Congress are feeling pressure from the business community to take action against this cottage industry of lawsuits. Indeed, as expressed in the letter:

usinesses of every shape and size throughout the country are being threatened with legal action by private plaintiffs for unsubstantiated violations of the ADA. This problem is expanding at a rapid rate since the Internet allows such actions to be filed from anywhere, and there are no restrictions or limitations on making such complaints. The absence of statutory, regulatory, or other controlling language on this issue only fuels the proliferation of these suits since there are no requirements these complaints have to meet. In fact, in most cases these suits are filed for the purpose of reaching a financial settlement and little or nothing to improve website accessibility.​

Members of Congress Urge DOJ to Declare That Private Website Accessibility Lawsuits Violate Due Process

 

[vraiblonde]

I don't understand this. Someone with a disability that prevented them from accessing Winn-Dixie's website wouldn't be able to access ANY website, so why target WD with their lawsuit?

I would think if they were, say, blind and couldn't read the page; or deaf and couldn't hear YouTube music; it would be up to them to have a device to enable them to have the page read to them, etc. If you cannot walk, it's up to you to get a wheelchair, not up to all businesses to pick you up and carry you around.

What part of this don't I understand? Besides that we live in a sue-happy nation with a bunch of crybabies being allowed to run amok?

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Well ####, my aging eyes are having hard time focusing. I'm gonna sue somd.com!

 

[Hijinx]

I don't understand this. Someone with a disability that prevented them from accessing Winn-Dixie's website wouldn't be able to access ANY website, so why target WD with their lawsuit?

I would think if they were, say, blind and couldn't read the page; or deaf and couldn't hear YouTube music; it would be up to them to have a device to enable them to have the page read to them, etc. If you cannot walk, it's up to you to get a wheelchair, not up to all businesses to pick you up and carry you around.

What part of this don't I understand? Besides that we live in a sue-happy nation with a bunch of crybabies being allowed to run amok?

Going after the big bucks.

 

[Lurk]

I don't understand this. Someone with a disability that prevented them from accessing Winn-Dixie's website wouldn't be able to access ANY website, so why target WD with their lawsuit?

I would think if they were, say, blind and couldn't read the page; or deaf and couldn't hear YouTube music; it would be up to them to have a device to enable them to have the page read to them, etc. If you cannot walk, it's up to you to get a wheelchair, not up to all businesses to pick you up and carry you around.

What part of this don't I understand? Besides that we live in a sue-happy nation with a bunch of crybabies being allowed to run amok?

When the Americans With Disabilities act was passed, it was sold as "these poor disabled kids need accessibility ramps, and better lighting in the schools so they can prosper." Unfortunately, accessibility ramps and better lights didn't help these poor kids to prosper, but many schools began to cost a fortune to educate kids with learning disorders, lead poisoning, and (from some neighborhoods) poor parenting.

Flash forward. The liberals have used ADA as a cudgel to make up needs and disabilities (queer anyone?). ADA (like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)) is a ready-made tool to force practices which are unlawful, wasteful, and just plain stupid on Americans.

 

[SamSpade]

Going after the big bucks.

That's pretty much it.

Having had to make pages 508 compliant I can say it's pretty damned hard to do.
The best way to make pages compliant for disabled people is to roll back the Internet about 20 years.

 

[PrchJrkr]

The next thing you know, there will be law suits because the website uses big wurds dat day can't unnerstan.

 

[BOP]

Going after the big bucks.

The ghetto lottery has spread to the interwebz

 

[vraiblonde]

The ghetto lottery has spread to the interwebz

Only if the courts allow it. If I were Supreme Ruler, I'd dismiss it as a nuisance suit and fine the lawyer who wasted my time and taxpayer money with it.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

The ad on this page is for personal injury lawyers, imagine that.

 

[GregV814]

If you have ever bought anything, sold anything, read anything used any form of communication, been given a B- by any school teacher, broken a shoelace, dropped your gum on the ground, had a slight abrasion from unsuitable TP, you may be entitled to a personal injury award..... if you or anyone you know been personally insulted directly or you FEEL you were unjustly spoken about in a private setting weather or not you even were present, YOU may have a claim...call our 1-800 number...if you get disconnected or our operators do not 1) answer with 3 rings, 2) place you on hold, 3) dont show any emotion by your complaint, YOU may have a claim to money!!!