ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: an online restaurant business

Plaintiff Brett DeSalvo, a visually-impaired and legally blind individual, has filed a class action lawsuit against an online restaurant business in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on February 16, 2021. The complaint alleges that the defendant's website is inaccessible to blind and visually-impaired individuals, thereby denying them equal access to its goods and services under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act.

The lawsuit details numerous accessibility barriers on the website, including the lack of alternative text for non-text elements, graphics, and images, which prevents screen readers from vocalizing descriptions. Other issues include the absence of title frames for identification and navigation, forms not providing equivalent functionality for visually-impaired users, web pages lacking descriptive titles, and keyboard operability problems such as the lack of a discernible focus indicator and redundant links. Furthermore, the complaint points to inaccessible Portable Document Format (PDFs) and markup errors that hinder screen reader compatibility.

This action highlights the significant legal risk for online businesses that fail to ensure their digital platforms are accessible to all users. Companies operating e-commerce websites or digital services integrated with physical locations, especially within the restaurant and hospitality sectors, face potential lawsuits under the ADA and state-specific civil rights acts if their websites do not comply with established accessibility guidelines like WCAG 2.1, leading to demands for injunctive relief and statutory damages.