ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: an online mattress and furniture retailer
Plaintiff's Firm: RODERICK V. HANNAH, ESQ., P.A. and LAW OFFICE OF PELAYO DURAN, P.A.
Case Summary
Plaintiff NELSON FERNANDEZ has filed an ADA Title III lawsuit in the United States District Court Southern District of Florida on January 28, 2021, against an online mattress and furniture retailer. The complaint alleges that the retailer's website contains numerous accessibility barriers, preventing visually disabled individuals from fully and equally accessing its services, merchandise, and information.
The plaintiff, a visually impaired individual, alleges the e-commerce website fails to comply with WCAG 2.0 Level AA standards. Specific violations include unlabeled menu site functions, a mislabeled homepage link, an inaccessible monthly payment option, and an unlabeled size option, all hindering screen reader integration. Furthermore, the website lacks necessary prompting information for visually disabled users to complete online forms and features an ineffective accessibility statement that fails to provide functional assistance.
This lawsuit highlights the significant legal risks faced by businesses with public-facing websites, particularly those that serve as extensions of physical stores, if they do not ensure full digital accessibility. Such entities could be exposed to claims of discrimination under the ADA Title III, requiring costly remediation, injunctive relief, and potentially damages for trespass for installing data-gathering software without informed consent from visually impaired users.
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Case Q&A
What specific WCAG violations is this online mattress and furniture retailer accused of?
The online mattress and furniture retailer is accused of having website barriers including unlabeled menu functions, a mislabeled homepage link, an inaccessible monthly payment option, an unlabeled size option, and a lack of prompting information for online forms. The site also allegedly features an ineffective accessibility statement and does not comply with WCAG 2.0 Level AA standards.
Who filed this lawsuit, and which law firm?
NELSON FERNANDEZ filed this lawsuit, represented by RODERICK V. HANNAH, ES
, P.
and LAW OFFICE OF PELAYO DURAN, P.
What legal risk does this create?
This case demonstrates the legal risk for businesses, especially those with e-commerce platforms extending physical retail, if their websites are not accessible to disabled users under ADA Title III. Non-compliance can lead to demands for injunctive relief, mandatory website remediation, and potential damages for issues like unauthorized software installation.