ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: an apparel and lifestyle brand
Plaintiff's Firm: WILSHIRE LAW FIRM
Case Summary
Thuy Thanh Alonzo has filed a class action lawsuit against an apparel and lifestyle brand in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on September 30, 2021. The plaintiff, a visually impaired individual, alleges that the defendant's e-commerce website is inaccessible to blind and visually impaired consumers, thereby violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act.
The complaint details multiple WCAG violations, including: the absence of alternative text for non-text elements and linked images, hindering screen-reader functionality; a lack of title frames for identification and navigation; failure to provide equivalent text when using scripts; forms lacking the same information and functionality as for sighted persons; content meaning and structure not being conveyed beyond visual presentation; text that cannot be resized up to 200% without loss of content or functionality; time limits imposed without user control; web pages without descriptive titles; undetermined purposes for links; and keyboard operable user interfaces missing discernible focus indicators. Additional issues include unprogrammatically determined human language for web pages, unexpected changes in context, missing labels for user input, various markup language errors, inaccessible PDFs, user interface elements with unprogrammatically determined roles, empty links, and redundant links.
This lawsuit highlights the significant legal risk for online retailers and similar businesses under ADA Title III if their digital platforms fail to meet accessibility standards like WCAG 2.1. Non-compliant e-commerce websites face potential litigation seeking permanent injunctions to mandate accessibility improvements, as well as statutory damages, and attorneys' fees and costs.
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Case Q&A
What specific WCAG violations is this online apparel retailer accused of?
The online apparel retailer is accused of numerous WCAG violations, such as missing alternative text for images, lack of proper title frames, forms that are not equally functional for visually impaired users, text that cannot be resized, web pages without descriptive titles, and issues with keyboard navigation and focus indicators.
Who filed this lawsuit, and which law firm?
Thuy Thanh Alonzo filed this lawsuit, represented by Wilshire Law Firm.
What legal risk does this create?
Businesses operating e-commerce websites, especially in the apparel industry, face significant legal risk under ADA Title III if their digital platforms are not fully accessible to visually impaired users, potentially leading to costly lawsuits seeking injunctive relief and statutory damages.