ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: An Online Art Gallery
Plaintiff's Firm: WILSHIRE LAW FIRM
Case Summary
Nataly Morales has filed a class action lawsuit against an online art gallery in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on August 25, 2021. Represented by Wilshire Law Firm, the plaintiff alleges that the defendant's website is inaccessible to blind and visually impaired individuals, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act.
The lawsuit specifically alleges numerous Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) violations. These include a lack of alternative text for non-text elements and linked images, title frames and equivalent text not provided for scripts, inaccessible forms, and poor conveyance of content meaning and structure. Other barriers cited are text that cannot be resized, content with enforced time limits without user control, missing page titles, unclear link purposes, and a lack of discernible keyboard focus indicators. Furthermore, the complaint points to issues with programmatically determining the default language, automatic context changes upon focus or setting changes, missing labels for user input, and markup language errors such as incomplete tags, duplicate attributes, and non-unique IDs. Inaccessible Portable Document Format (PDFs) and problems with programmatically determining the name and role of user interface elements are also highlighted.
This action underscores the significant legal risks faced by online businesses, particularly those with a physical presence, that fail to ensure their digital platforms comply with ADA Title III and state accessibility laws. Companies operating e-commerce websites or digital services must proactively address accessibility barriers to avoid litigation, potential injunctions requiring costly website overhauls, and statutory damages for denying equal access to disabled users.
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Case Q&A
What specific WCAG violations is this online art gallery accused of?
The website is accused of lacking alternative text for non-text elements and linked images, failing to provide title frames with text for identification and navigation, having inaccessible forms, and poorly conveying content meaning and structure. Other issues include text that cannot be resized, content with enforced time limits, missing page titles, unclear link purposes, and a lack of discernible keyboard focus indicators.
Who filed this lawsuit, and which law firm?
This lawsuit was filed by Nataly Morales, represented by Wilshire Law Firm.
What legal risk does this create?
This case highlights the legal exposure for online businesses, especially those with physical locations, if their websites are not fully accessible to disabled individuals under ADA Title III. Such companies risk class action lawsuits, mandated website modifications, and statutory damages.