News

A wave of ADA website accessibility class action lawsuits that had been making its way across the United States recently hit two Oklahoma businesses, according to an article published in The Journal Record. In each case, the plaintiff claimed that the companies’ websites violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act because they were inaccessible to blind and visually impaired customers.

McAfee & Taft attorney Alyssa Lankford, who was interviewed for the article, confirmed that even though such lawsuits are on the rise, there is still ambiguity surrounding the law, including which Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) guidelines apply to businesses that qualify as places of public accommodation under the ADA, as well as who has the legal standing to file such a lawsuit.

According to Lankford, some of that ambiguity may be resolved soon, as the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to look at “tester” plaintiffs next term to determine whether individuals who do not intend to visit the businesses whose websites they test have the standing to sue.

“I think that will be something that’s going to be really necessary, and I think will help businesses with some of these more rapid-fire lawsuits, if you will,” said Lankford.