In the past six months, a surge in lawsuits brought in Miami Federal Court against retailers claiming that a company’s website violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The plaintiff, often a visually impaired individual who uses the website with the aid of assistive technology, alleges he is being denied access to the business’s goods and services due to an inaccessible website. Because these lawsuits target traditional brick-and-mortar businesses that also have an on-line presence, retailers are particularly vulnerable.

RK attorneys Nicole Sieb Smith and Jacey Kaps offered retailers advice on avoiding expensive ADA website accessibility claims for the Florida Retail Federation (FRF) on November 9.