ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: a restaurant chain
Plaintiff's Firm: WILSHIRE LAW FIRM
Case Summary
Plaintiff Thuy Thanh Alonzo, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, by WILSHIRE LAW FIRM, has filed an ADA Title III website accessibility lawsuit against an Italian restaurant chain in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on September 30, 2021. The complaint alleges that the restaurant's website is not fully and equally accessible to visually impaired individuals, thereby denying them access to the goods and services offered both online and in conjunction with its physical location, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act.
The lawsuit specifies numerous WCAG violations, including the lack of alternative text for non-text elements and linked images, absence of title frames for identification and navigation, failure to provide equivalent text for scripts, inability to resize text without content loss, unenforcible time limits, missing web page titles, unclear link purposes, keyboard operable user interface lacking a discernible focus indicator, undeclared default human language, components initiating context changes upon receiving focus, unadvised automatic context changes, missing labels or instructions for user input, HTML markup validation errors, and inaccessible Portable Document Format (PDFs). These barriers prevent screen-reader users from independently accessing vital information such as menus, hours, location, and reservation services.
This litigation highlights the significant legal risks for online businesses, particularly those in the restaurant sector, that operate websites non-compliant with digital accessibility standards like WCAG 2.1. Companies failing to ensure their online platforms are fully accessible to blind and visually impaired consumers face potential class action lawsuits, leading to demands for permanent injunctions to remediate accessibility barriers, statutory damages, and attorney's fees under federal and state disability rights laws.
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Case Q&A
What specific WCAG violations is this online restaurant platform accused of?
The online restaurant platform is accused of lacking alternative text for non-text elements and linked images, missing title frames for identification and navigation, failing to provide equivalent text for scripts, preventing text resizing without content loss, enforcing time limits that cannot be extended or disabled, having web pages without descriptive titles, unclear link purposes, a keyboard operable user interface without discernible focus indicators, undeclared default human language, components initiating context changes upon focus, automatic context changes not advised to users, missing labels or instructions for user input, HTML markup validation errors, and inaccessible PDF documents.
Who filed this lawsuit, and which law firm?
Thuy Thanh Alonzo, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed this lawsuit, represented by WILSHIRE LAW FIRM.
What legal risk does this create?
This case demonstrates the legal risk for businesses operating online platforms that are not fully accessible to visually impaired individuals. It could lead to similar class action lawsuits under ADA Title III and state civil rights acts, resulting in demands for injunctive relief, statutory damages, attorney's fees, and costs.