ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: Sunglasses Retailer
Plaintiff's Firm: LAW OFFICE OF AMANDA BENEDICT
Case Summary
RICHARD COOKS, represented by LAW OFFICE OF AMANDA BENEDICT, filed a class action lawsuit against an online sunglasses retailer in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on January 17, 2020. The complaint alleges that the defendant's website is not fully and equally accessible to and independently usable by blind and visually-impaired individuals.
The lawsuit specifies numerous WCAG violations, including missing alternative text for non-text elements, lack of label elements or title attributes for form fields, broken links, web pages without descriptive titles, and headings/labels failing to describe their purpose. It also cites issues with keyboard focus indicators, inability to programmatically determine content language, missing labels for user input, and text resizing limitations. Further allegations include a lack of mechanisms to bypass repeated content blocks, incorrect reading sequences, and improper use of markup languages, leading to non-unique IDs and inability to determine UI element roles.
This legal action highlights the ongoing risk for e-commerce websites and other online platforms in the retail sector that do not comply with ADA Title III and WCAG 2.1 AA standards. Businesses operating online must ensure their digital interfaces are fully accessible to individuals with visual disabilities to avoid similar class action litigation and ensure equal access to goods and services.
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Case Q&A
What specific WCAG violations is this online sunglasses retailer accused of?
The retailer is accused of numerous WCAG violations, including missing alternative text, lack of label elements or title attributes for form fields, broken links, web pages without descriptive titles, and headings/labels that fail to describe their purpose. Other issues include keyboard focus indicator failure, inability to programmatically determine content language, missing labels for user input, text resizing limitations, and improper markup.
Who filed this lawsuit, and which law firm?
This lawsuit was filed by RICHARD COOKS, and he is represented by the LAW OFFICE OF AMANDA BENEDICT.
What legal risk does this create?
This creates a legal risk for similar online retailers who may be non-compliant with ADA Title III and WCAG 2.1 AA, potentially leading to similar class action lawsuits and requirements for injunctive relief to make their websites accessible to visually impaired individuals.