ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: An Online Active Wear Retailer

Plaintiff VICTOR ARIZA has filed an ADA Title III lawsuit in the United States District Court Southern District of Florida on March 16, 2022, against an online active wear and accessories retailer. The complaint alleges that the retailer's website contains pervasive access barriers that prevent blind and visually disabled individuals from fully using its services, thereby violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The lawsuit specifically details several WCAG violations, including improperly labeled text throughout the website that causes cursor skips, inaccessible product prices and colors when using a keyboard, mislabeled product size options (e.g., “cap S”, “cap M”, “cap L”), and unlabeled shopping cart details (price, subtotal, shipping, total) for screen readers. Furthermore, the "Contact Us" link, including hours of operation, telephone number, and address, is inaccessible, social media buttons are not properly labeled, and the site lacks the necessary prompting information for filling out online forms. An accessibility statement and widget were also found to be ineffective barriers, with the website failing to meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA standards.

This federal complaint highlights the significant legal exposure for e-commerce platforms and online retailers that fail to ensure their websites are fully accessible to individuals with disabilities. Businesses operating similar digital platforms face potential lawsuits, substantial legal fees, and the mandatory expense of remediation to bring their websites into compliance with ADA Title III and WCAG guidelines.