ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: a California hotel and hospitality company
Plaintiff's Firm: WILSHIRE LAW FIRM
Case Summary
Plaintiff Richard Paul Merrell, represented by WILSHIRE LAW FIRM, filed an ADA Title III website accessibility lawsuit on December 22, 2020, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against a hotel and hospitality company.
The complaint alleges numerous WCAG violations, including the pervasive lack of alternative text for non-text elements, graphics, and linked images. Other critical barriers include keyboard navigation failures, such as missing focus indicators and an inability to determine link purpose from text, making content unusable for screen reader users. Additionally, the website's forms are inaccessible, lacking equivalent functionality for visually impaired users and sufficient labels or instructions for input. The site also contains inaccessible PDF documents, fails to allow text resizing without loss of content, and lacks descriptive page titles, among other programmatic issues hindering full access.
This action highlights the significant legal risks faced by businesses in the hotel and hospitality sector that operate websites or digital platforms not fully accessible to disabled users. Non-compliance with ADA Title III and WCAG guidelines can lead to class action lawsuits, demands for injunctive relief to remediate digital barriers, and statutory damages under state civil rights acts.
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Case Q&A
What specific WCAG violations is this hotel and hospitality website accused of?
The website is accused of lacking alternative text for non-text elements, graphics, and linked images, as well as exhibiting keyboard navigation failures, including missing focus indicators and empty or redundant links. Additionally, inaccessible forms, text resizing issues, missing page titles, and inaccessible PDF documents are cited.
Who filed this lawsuit, and which law firm?
Richard Paul Merrell filed this lawsuit, represented by WILSHIRE LAW FIRM.
What legal risk does this create?
This case demonstrates that online businesses, particularly those in the hospitality industry, risk class action lawsuits, injunctions for website remediation, and potential statutory damages if their digital platforms are not accessible to individuals with disabilities, violating ADA Title III and state civil rights acts.