ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: an Eatery & Juice Station
Plaintiff's Firm: WILSHIRE LAW FIRM
Case Summary
Thuy Thanh Alonzo, represented by WILSHIRE LAW FIRM, filed a class action lawsuit on October 27, 2021, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The plaintiff, who is visually impaired and legally blind, alleges that an eatery and juice station's website fails to provide full and equal access to disabled users, violating Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act.
The complaint details numerous accessibility barriers on the defendant's website, including the critical absence of alternative text for non-text elements, graphics, and images, which prevents screen-reading software from vocalizing descriptions of visual content. Other significant violations include title frames lacking text for identification and navigation, equivalent text not provided when using scripts, and forms that do not offer the same information and functionality as for sighted users. The website is also alleged to have issues with text resizing, indiscernible keyboard focus indicators, non-programmatically determined human language, and inaccessible Portable Document Formats (PDFs).
This lawsuit highlights the ongoing legal risks faced by businesses operating websites that do not comply with established web accessibility guidelines, such as WCAG 2.1. Companies in the food and beverage industry, particularly those offering online menus, ordering, and location information, are exposed to potential litigation if their digital platforms exclude visually impaired individuals, leading to denials of services, privileges, advantages, and accommodations.
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Case Q&A
What specific WCAG violations is this eatery and juice station accused of?
The eatery and juice station is accused of multiple WCAG violations, including missing alt-text for non-text elements and images, title frames without text for identification, equivalent text not provided for scripts, forms lacking full functionality for disabled users, issues with text resizing, and keyboard navigation problems such as an indiscernible focus indicator. The complaint also cites inaccessible Portable Document Formats (PDFs) and markup language deficiencies.
Who filed this lawsuit, and which law firm?
This lawsuit was filed by Thuy Thanh Alonzo, represented by WILSHIRE LAW FIRM.
What legal risk does this create?
This lawsuit demonstrates the legal risk for businesses, especially those in the food service sector, whose websites do not meet digital accessibility standards. Non-compliant websites can lead to ADA Title III and state-level civil rights claims, resulting in demands for injunctive relief to remediate accessibility barriers, statutory damages, attorneys' fees, and costs.