ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: an online retailer
Plaintiff's Firm: WILSHIRE LAW FIRM
Case Summary
Plaintiff Brett DeSalvo, represented by WILSHIRE LAW FIRM, initiated a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on February 23, 2021, against an online retail establishment. The complaint alleges that the defendant's website is not fully and equally accessible to blind and visually impaired individuals, violating their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act.
The lawsuit specifically details numerous accessibility barriers encountered by Plaintiff DeSalvo, including the lack of alternative text for non-text elements (such as graphics and linked images), missing title frames for identification and navigation, the absence of equivalent text when using scripts, forms that do not provide the same information or functionality as for sighted persons, and content whose meaning and structure are conveyed solely through visual presentation. Further alleged violations include unresizable text, time limits without user control, web pages without descriptive titles, unidentifiable link purposes, lack of discernible keyboard focus indicators, unprogrammatically determined default human language, context changes initiated without user advice, missing labels/instructions for user input, markup language issues, inaccessible PDFs, and user interface elements that are not programmatically determinable or do not provide change notifications to assistive technology.
This legal action highlights the critical importance for online retail establishments and similar businesses to adhere to web accessibility standards, such as WCAG 2.1 guidelines. Failure to ensure websites are fully accessible to individuals with disabilities, particularly those using screen-reading software, poses significant legal risk, including injunctive relief to mandate accessibility improvements and statutory damages under state civil rights acts.
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Case Q&A
What specific WCAG violations is this online retail establishment accused of?
The online retail establishment is accused of numerous WCAG violations, including lack of alternative text for non-text elements, missing title frames, absence of equivalent text for scripts, inaccessible forms, content conveyed only visually, unresizable text, time limits without user control, pages lacking descriptive titles, unidentifiable link purposes, lack of discernible keyboard focus indicators, unprogrammatically determined language, unadvised context changes, missing input labels, markup language errors, inaccessible PDFs, and unprogrammatically determinable UI elements.
Who filed this lawsuit, and which law firm?
The lawsuit was filed by Plaintiff Brett DeSalvo, represented by WILSHIRE LAW FIRM.
What legal risk does this create?
This creates a significant legal risk for similar businesses, potentially leading to lawsuits seeking permanent injunctions to enforce web accessibility compliance under ADA Title III and state civil rights acts, as well as statutory damages.