In Law360 Article, Akin Gump Lawyers Examine Braille ADA Claims Against Retailers and Restaurants

Law360 has published the article “ADA Braille Gift Card Claims Shouldn’t Gain Traction In NY,” written by Akin Gump litigation partners Kathryn Deal, Michael McTigue, Meredith Slawe, Michael Stortz and James Tysse and labor and employment partner Esther Lander. The article discusses the more than 100 class action lawsuits recently filed under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), alleging violation of the law by retailers and casual restaurant chains for not offering gift cards in Braille.

All the cases in question, the article states, were filed in the Eastern and Southern districts of New York. The authors write that they appear “to be an attempt to ride the recent wave of ADA website accessibility claims that prompted many retailers and restaurant chains to settle early to avoid the cost of litigation.” Without any clear and consistent guidance from the Department of Justice, they add, “enterprising plaintiffs counsel have brought and threatened litigation based on the assumption — endorsed by some courts — that retail websites and mobile apps must comply with the privately issued Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.”

The article cites an amicus brief filed by Akin Gump on behalf of the Retail Litigation Center and the National Retail Federation, urging the Supreme Court to hear a case involving Domino’s Pizza that could have led to the establishment of a reasonable, nationwide standard for evaluating website accessibility claims filed under the ADA. (Click here to learn more.) The Court decided not to hear the case, leading to “the latest wave of ADA cases that flooded the dockets of the New York district courts.”

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.