ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: online marine supply retailer

YUDY HERNANDEZ, represented by Mendez Law Offices, PLLC, has filed an ADA Title III lawsuit in the United States District Court Southern District of Florida on January 14, 2025, against an online marine supply retailer. The plaintiff, who is visually impaired and uses screen reader software, alleges that the e-commerce website is inaccessible, thereby denying her equal access to its goods, services, and information.

The complaint details multiple WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA violations, including failures in meaningful sequence (1.3.2) where users cannot close modal pop-ups, focus order (2.4.3) preventing operation of forms and filters, and insufficient contrast (1.4.3) making content unreadable. Further alleged barriers include a lack of error identification (3.3.1) for missing input fields, absence of bypass blocks (2.4.1) for navigation and product filters, ambiguous link purposes (2.4.4) for critical actions like 'View Account' and 'View Cart', and keyboard operability issues (2.1.1) for interactive elements.

This lawsuit underscores the significant legal exposure for online businesses, especially e-commerce platforms, that do not adhere to ADA Title III and WCAG digital accessibility standards. Companies in similar industries face the risk of litigation, demands for injunctive relief, and the necessity to implement comprehensive accessibility modifications to ensure their digital presence is fully usable by individuals with disabilities.