ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: An Online Chocolate and Confectionery Retailer
Plaintiff's Firm: WILSHIRE LAW FIRM
Case Summary
Crystal Redick has filed a class action lawsuit against an online chocolate and confectionery retailer in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on September 24, 2021. The plaintiff, represented by WILSHIRE LAW FIRM, alleges that the defendant's e-commerce 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 complaint specifically identifies numerous accessibility barriers on the e-commerce website. These violations include a pervasive lack of alternative text (alt-text) on graphics and images, rendering visual content undescribed for screen reader users. Other issues include empty links lacking descriptive text, redundant links causing repetitive navigation, and linked images also missing alt-text. Furthermore, the website's forms do not provide the same information and functionality for visually-impaired users as for sighted users, and critical information regarding content meaning and structure is conveyed only through visual presentation. The complaint also points to keyboard operable user interfaces that lack discernible focus indicators, preventing efficient navigation, and UI elements whose names, roles, and values cannot be programmatically determined by assistive technologies. Inaccessible Portable Document Format (PDFs) are also cited, along with web pages lacking descriptive titles, text that cannot be resized without loss of functionality, and content with enforced time limits without user control.
This litigation underscores the significant legal risks faced by online businesses that fail to design, construct, maintain, and operate their digital platforms to be fully and equally accessible to disabled users. Businesses in the e-commerce sector, especially those offering goods and services online, are expected to comply with established accessibility guidelines like WCAG 2.1 to avoid potential class action lawsuits, costly injunctive relief, statutory damages, and attorneys' fees, and to ensure inclusive access for all consumers.
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Case Q&A
What specific WCAG violations is this online chocolate and confectionery retailer accused of?
This online chocolate and confectionery retailer is accused of numerous WCAG violations, including lack of alternative text (alt-text) on graphics and images, empty links without descriptive text, redundant links, linked images missing alt-text, forms lacking information and functionality for screen readers, information conveyed only visually, keyboard operable user interfaces lacking discernible focus indicators, UI elements without programmatically determinable names, roles, and values, inaccessible PDFs, web pages without descriptive titles, text that cannot be resized without loss of functionality, and content with enforced time limits without user control.
Who filed this lawsuit, and which law firm?
The lawsuit was filed by Crystal Redick, individually and on behalf of a proposed class, and is represented by WILSHIRE LAW FIRM.
What legal risk does this create?
This lawsuit highlights the legal risk for online businesses, particularly those in e-commerce, that do not ensure their websites are accessible to disabled users. Non-compliance with accessibility standards like WCAG 2.1 can lead to class action lawsuits, demands for injunctive relief requiring website modifications, and potential liability for statutory damages and attorneys' fees under the ADA and state civil rights acts.