ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: An Online Retailer of Design Goods

Plaintiff Nataly Morales filed a class action lawsuit against an online retailer of design goods in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on October 26, 2021. The complaint alleges that the defendant's website is not fully and equally accessible to blind and visually-impaired individuals, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act. The plaintiff seeks a permanent injunction to mandate that the defendant's website becomes and remains accessible to blind and visually-impaired consumers, with compliance to WCAG 2.1 guidelines.

The complaint details several accessibility barriers encountered, including a lack of alternative text for non-text elements and images, empty links without descriptive text, redundant links, forms not providing the same information and functionality as for sighted persons, content information not conveyed by more than visual presentation, text not resizable without assistive technology, time limits on content, web pages lacking titles, link purposes not determinable from text alone, keyboard operable user interface lacking a discernible focus indicator, and missing labels or instructions for user input. Additionally, markup language issues like incomplete tags, improper nesting, duplicate attributes, non-unique IDs, inaccessible Portable Document Formats (PDFs), and unprogrammatically determined user interface elements are cited.

This lawsuit highlights the significant legal exposure for online retailers and other businesses whose websites fail to adhere to established web accessibility guidelines, such as WCAG 2.1. Non-compliant digital platforms risk class action litigation under federal and state disability laws, demanding injunctive relief for website modifications, statutory damages, attorney fees, and costs, thereby underscoring the necessity of proactive digital accessibility measures.