Good News for Businesses Facing ADA Compliance Lawsuits

After years of being unable to defend against lawsuits relating to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, hoteliers, innkeepers and campground owners like you may start to see defendable cases, thanks to a ruling by the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

In Deborah Laufer v. Ft. Meade Hospitality, LLC, Deborah Laufer sued Fort Meade Hospitality for not offering an online reservation experience that complies with the ADA. The ADA prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities, meaning websites and buildings alike have to be easily accessed by everyone.

The Court ruled Laufer's complaint lacked standing because she didn't actually plan on renting a room at the place she sued.

Laufer has filed almost 500 similar lawsuits against other hospitality businesses, according to Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell Partner Martin Orlick.

A lawsuit like Laufer's is called a "drive-by lawsuit." This term comes from people driving by a place of business, seeing the business' building isn't ADA compliant, and then filing a lawsuit in hopes of getting quick cash. Nowadays, people simply do a quick internet search to find businesses to sue for ADA compliance.

For most hospitality business owners, unless you're a big brand, a drive-by lawsuit is not something worth going to court over, considering the costs of hiring an attorney and the time spent in court trying to resolve the issue. However, you might not have to worry as much about drive-by lawsuits in the future because of the outcome of the Laufer case.

That being said, drive-by lawsuits still happen, which is an unfortunate reality. What's worse is, while there are specific ADA guidelines for buildings, there aren't formal government guidelines for how businesses need to make their website ADA compliant.

In one of his articles, Los Angeles Times staff writer Hugo Martín wrote, "Nearly 5,000 ADA lawsuits were filed in federal court for alleged website violations in the first six months of 2018."

Seven Seattle hotels were sued last year because they allegedly violated the ADA.

"Website accessibility cases may continue to be the low-hanging fruit for some plaintiffs' lawyers until clear guidance emerges," according to an article published by the Journal of Management Policy and Practice in 2020. "Companies can expect to be sued... In fact, 21 percent of defendants in 2019 were sued multiple times."

What can be done to prevent drive-by ADA lawsuits?

The best way to avoid being sued over ADA compliance is to be as ADA compliant as possible.

• Learn what ADA compliance is and how you and your business can be accessible to everyone.

• Talk to someone from a local law office to understand the laws and regulations related to how your building can be ADA compliant, especially because there may be different ADA regulations on the federal level and the local level. For your website, because there aren't formal guidelines on how to make it ADA compliant, try to follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines the best you can.

• Use ADA widgets and website tools to make it easier for those with disabilities to access your site.

• Be up front and honest about what's available at your business.

We hope hearing about the outcome of Laufer's case will help you worry less about being sued over ADA compliance. Though, the best way to be worry-free is to be prepared, which means being as ADA compliant as possible before the lawsuit happens.

If you want to learn more about how ResNexus creates ADA compliant websites, request a demo or watch our webinar.