Not every ADA lawsuit is without merit, but many of them aren’t filed in good faith. The Americans with Disabilities Act has protected millions of Americans and guarantees they receive the same service as everyone else. The problem is that many people, and law firms, are filing fraudulent ADA lawsuits that aren’t looking for change, they’re looking for a payday. This isn’t a new phenomenon, but it’s finally facing some scrutiny after years of misuse. Business owners are starting to fight back, and some are actually winning.

Today, we’re going to go over an instance where the “little guy” actually appeared to win for a change. Most internet users are familiar with Reddit, one of the biggest aggregate news and hobby sites across the web. People go there to share memes and they go there to share stories. While many corners of the site are childish and juvenile, you’ll find millions of users talking about everything from Linux to Copywriting to even Shopify - and that’s where we get our story from.

A recent Reddit post from a business owner detailed their own fight with nuisance ADA lawsuits. Turns out you don’t have just to sit down and agree to settle - you can actually fight back!

Let’s dive into the situation, this Redditor’s story, and how the lessons they learned can help you.

Nuisance ADA Lawsuits Against Websites and Online Businesses

The ADA isn’t a bad thing, but bad people are certainly misusing it. Take into account the fact that the internet is still a relatively new advancement, in terms of the business world. It might shock you to learn that not every business even has its own website. In fact, just 71% of businesses had one as of 2023. As you can imagine, most of those websites aren’t run by huge teams of developers who all know current ADA requirements and issues. That’s why these nuisance lawsuits have become so prominent.

Law firms are literally paying differently-abled people to claim that they went to a certain website in order to file that ADA lawsuit. They were only caught when those lawsuit earnings didn’t appear on one of their tax returns. That shows just how much regulation these lawsuits are receiving. None.

Any differently-abled person can file one of those lawsuits and the onus is on the business owner to address it. Most of the time, they haven’t even visited the website, which has led to a few business owners winning their lawsuits. This growing problem literally means that non-contrasting colors or irregular headings on a website could lead to thousands and thousands of dollars in legal fees, and that’s if you win.

Thankfully, Reddit user “bandholz” fought the good fight and won, but how did they do it?

When One Business Owner Refused to Settle an ADA Lawsuit

The title of that Reddit post lays out almost the entire scenario. A business owner was sued for $75,000 for an ADA website claim. After a lengthy legal battle, they managed to win.

Throughout the post, you’ll see that one thing sticks out: those plaintiffs were especially greedy. While the business owner ended up paying $15,000 in legal fees, they at one point offered up to $3,000 to the plaintiff. Instead, that plaintiff countered with $20,000 and suddenly the gloves came off. By the end, it looks like the business could have been ever more ruthless if they wanted to, as they didn’t countersue for their own legal fees.

The sad truth is that nuisance ADA lawsuits didn’t suffer some massive blow, the plaintiff and their law firm just got tired of the fight. While that is a legal win for the business owner, it doesn’t set any precedent for more of these battles down the road.

However, it definitely offers some insight and lessons to business owners who will come across the same issues.

What Commentors Have to Say About ADA Lawsuit Win

The top comment on the post is more indicative of the situation other business owners face.

“OP, congrats. Have been sued twice (2 different sites). First was general accessibility issues, missing alt attributes, wrong headings, etc. second was for a hosted pdf document that had a diagram. The diagram was not properly accessible. No joke.

For $15k, you got out better than settling. Screw those attorneys. There needs to be legislation that prevents ADA lawsuits for website accessibility issues without giving the site owners clear direction of what needs to be corrected and a reasonable time frame to do so.”

Taken from Reddit user ObviousDave

That’s the situation most users face. An obscure issue on a random page that leads to an expensive settlement. While that user doesn’t exactly mention what that lawsuit cost them, reading between the lines implies that they lost much more than $15,000.

Only having to pay for their own legal fees can be considered a win though, even if that’s a hefty cost. What exactly did that $15,000 pay for? OP answered that here:

“Here's how my lawyer explained the process to me:

Plaintiff provided an initial document production along with written responses to our interrogatories and requests for production. In those responses, they concede that there are no communications between Plaintiff and Beardbrand and go one step further and admit that “Plaintiff did not send a communication notifying Defendant that she was experiencing accessibility issues.” A number of courts assessing the relevant NY statutes have held that such notice is a necessary element.

Motion to Dismiss

In view of the foregoing notice requirement, we filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. However, the Court set a return date on the motion for September 9, 2024. Plaintiff has until September 2, 2024 to file an opposition to our motion. Our hope is that Plaintiff will drop the case rather than respond.”

Taken from Reddit user bandholz

Legal fees aren’t cheap, especially when it’s a case that lasts nearly a year, according to that post. Still, rather than wait to spend five figures in legal fees, why not get ahead of the game and avoid those lawsuits in the first place?

How Business Owners Can Avoid ADA Lawsuits

The poster did have some advice on addressing these lawsuits.

“If you make $1k/year I wouldn't worry about it. Keep on going. If you get something like this, just send them a screenshot from your dashboard and be like, "look, we literally have no money."

If it's really a concern, you could make sure you don't ship to people in NY, California, and Pennsylvania. Then they'd have no case against you.

In business you're always going to have hurdles in life. Don't let them hold you back. You must overcome them in your own unique way. Keep on growing!”

Taken from Reddit user bandholz

That’s good advice, but it’s not exactly practical for every business owner. That’s why we’ve got you covered.

I’ve already written a detailed post on how business owners can protect themselves from ADA lawsuits.

The basics are:

  • Find consultants or auditors who can check your website
  • Find developers who specialize in addressing ADA regulations
  • Keep all documentation of changes and efforts to address ADA regulations
  • Keep yourself informed on current regulations so you can address them personally

Don’t let yourself fall prey to predatorial law firms. All they want is a quick settlement, but there are more than a few ways you can prepare your business for the battle.