ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: An Online Skincare Retailer

Plaintiff Maria Powell, a legally blind resident of Bronx County, New York, has initiated legal proceedings against an online skincare and personal care retailer. This class action complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 13, 2026, asserts violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, alongside New York State and City human and civil rights laws.

Critically, the complaint details numerous specific accessibility barriers encountered on the defendant's e-commerce platform. These alleged deficiencies include inaccessible pages, absent or deficient alternative text for images, problematic link text, repeated link text leading to diverse destinations, duplicate identifiers, improperly structured content, and inaccessible navigation elements. Such issues collectively impeded the plaintiff's ability to browse products, review descriptions, identify pricing, and complete purchases independently using screen-reading software. The SortSite Accessibility Validation Report, cited within the filing, highlighted 22 accessibility issues across 30 scanned pages, indicative of recurring coding defects.

This litigation underscores the significant legal exposure for businesses that operate digital retail platforms not designed for full accessibility. The Department of Justice's long-standing interpretation that ADA Title III extends to online public accommodations means that companies failing to integrate Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA) face potential litigation. Proactive digital inclusion is not just a legal imperative but essential for avoiding discriminatory practices and serving a broad customer base.