What Kind of Place Is Cyberspace?

August 6, 2012 By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA FHA General No Comments

By Richard Hunt

Two decisions from opposite ends of the country highlight an unresolved issue that should be of real concern to many businesses. In the Northern District of California Netflix persuaded the Court to dismiss an ADA complaint based on the lack of subtitles on its streaming video content. The reason was simple – a “place of public accomodation” within the meaning of the ADA only applies to physical, not virtual places. Thus, as a practical matter services offered through the web are exempt from the accessibility provisions in Title III of the ADA. At almost the same time the District Court in Massachusetts refused to dismiss an ADA claim against Netflix. The Massachusetts court had no trouble finding that cyberspace can be a “place” covered by the ADA. More

Caveat Emptor – Buyers of post 1991 properties may take on design/build liability

August 6, 2012 By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends No Comments

That may be a bit extreme, but recent cases from Florida and Indiana hold that merely owning an apartment complex that is not in compliance with the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act will require the owner to bring the entire complex into compliance with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (“SAD”). In National Fair Housing Alliance v. S.C. Bodner Co. the Court put the matter plainly, holding that a property owner can be found liable “for merely offering to rent apartments that were designed and built out of compliance with the disabilities access standards.” Harding v. Orlando Apartments, LLC reached the same conclusion, holding that “failure to remedy” deficiently constructed apartments constituted illegal discrimination. More

ATMs and the ADA –The Next Wave of Litigation?

July 17, 2012 By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, Financial Institutions No Comments

By Richard Hunt

In the last two months 19 class action lawsuits have been filed in the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas claiming that ATM owners are violating the ADA because the voice guidance equipment in a single ATM is broken. More will have been filed by the time this blog is posted. The immediate impetus for these lawsuits is the March 15, 2012 effective date of the new Accessibility Standards, which require voice guidance in ATMs. This round of lawsuits may turn out to be a flash in the pan because of serious technical problems with the claims. On the other hand, if the local District Court accept the rationale in these lawsuits they may be part of a much larger wave of ADA litigation that goes beyond problems with individual ATMs. More