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FHA and ADA Odds and Ends

September 22, 2021 By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA - serial litigation, ADA FHA General, ADA FHA Legislation, DOJ, FHA, FHA design/build litigation, FHA Emotional Support Animals, Uncategorized Tags: ADA defense, Emotional Support Animals, ESA fraud, FHA Defense, Pursuit of Respect

“Odd and Ends” is the title of a Bob Dylan concert compilation film that was recently released in digital format.³ My odds and ends are probably not as interesting, but I’ve been busy for the last month litigating claims under the FHA and ADA, so this blog is part one of a two part effort to catch up. I’m hoping to release a “greatest hits” blog in the near future.

Pursuit of Respect keeps sending demands

I’ve gotten a dozen calls in the last few weeks from businesses in Pennsylvania, California and Florida who got demand letters from one attorney or another claiming to represent Pursuit of Respect. When I last checked none of those lawyers had filed a lawsuit, which I believe is because their client is fictitious and they’d rather not expose themselves to any kind of judicial inquiry. They will, however, keep harassing businesses that don’t respond with calls and additional letters. If anyone reading this knows of a lawsuit filed on behalf of POR I would be very interested in hearing about.¹ More


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ADA and FHA Quick Hits – dog days of summer edition

August 8, 2021 By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA - Hotels, ADA - serial litigation, ADA - Standing, ADA Bars, ADA Internet, ADA Internet Web, ADA Mootness, ADA Website Accessibility Tags: accessible bar seating, ADA defense, ADA Mootness, FHA Defense, Robles v Dominos, Strojnik

The constellation Canis Major rises and falls with the sun during the hottest part July and August; hence the “dog days of summer.” Although only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun*  the courts have been busy working in air conditioned chambers on ADA and FHA matters:

Just what is an accessible website?

Wright v. Thread Experiment, LLC, 2021 WL 243604, at *4 (S.D. Ind., Jan. 22, 2021) is a default judgment case, but it remains interesting because the Court expressly declined to order compliance with any version of WCAG, choosing instead to enter a much less specific permanent injunction ordering that the Defendant be enjoined:
from operating, utilizing, or maintaining www.threadexperiment.com unless and until it fully complies with the requirements of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq., and its implementing regulations, 28 CFR § 36.302 et seq. Defendant is ORDERED to modify the existing features of www.threadexperiment.com and to remove barriers that prevent this website’s compatibility with screen reading technology so that it is accessible to blind or low-vision individuals utilizing screen reading technology.

The first sentence of this injunction seems to violate the general rule against injunctions that simply order compliance with the law.  See, e.g., E.E.O.C. v. AutoZone, Inc., 707 F.3d 824, 842 (7th Cir. 2013).  As the Court observes, there are no regulatory requirements for websites, so the first sentence is just an order to follow the ADA. More


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Need to get rid of some blood? Plasma donation centers and the ADA.

July 23, 2021 By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA, Medical Tags: ADA defense, Gomez v CLS Plasma, goods v services, Half Price Books

Lady McBeth staring at blood on her handsLady McBeth notoriously had a problem with some blood she needed to get rid of. It wasn’t a lot, but suppose she wanted to unload a pint of plasma at her local donation center. Would she be going to a service establishment subject to the ADA, or would this be some other kind of commercial transaction? That question is the subject of a recent DOJ Statement of interest that I’ll discuss in a minute. First though let’s take a look at buying and selling things in general. More


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DOJ announces that there is no safe harbor for physical accessibility.

July 19, 2021 By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA - Hotels, ADA Internet, ADA Internet Web, ADA regulations, ADA rulemaking, Hospitality, Hotels, Inventory requirements Tags: accessible beds., ADA defense, FHA Defense, Hotel beds, Migyanko v. Aimbridge

boat at anchor in a quiet lagoonEarly last month the Department of Justice filed a “Statement of Interest” in Migyanko v. Aimbridge Hospitality LLC¹ that should give pause to every business subject to Title III of the ADA; that is, every business.  Two sentences from the Statement of Interest are of particular concern:

“The ADA Standards do not address every aspect of physical accessibility.”

and

“Of course, in the absence of specific requirements for bed height, hotels have some degree of flexibility in making reasonable modifications to provide usable beds for a person with a disability.  This flexible standard is inherently fact-specific.”

To understand why these innocuous statements are of such concern requires a look at this case and the problems created when DOJ declares that something is discriminatory without defining what discrimination means. More


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Quick Hits – almost Bastille Day edition

July 12, 2021 By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA, ADA - Hotels, ADA - serial litigation, ADA Class Actions, ADA Internet Web, ADA Litigation Procedure, Internet Accessibility Tags: ADA defense, ADA standing, FHA Defense, hotel accessibility information

Delacroix painting Liberty Leading the PeopleSerial litigators file lots of cases and that means lots of decisions, sometimes coming in batches. I’ve omitted a few decisions that say nothing more than the cases I have reviewed just to keep this blog manageable. If there is a theme, it is simply that despite very clear trends toward limiting serial litigation by paying more attention to standing, the outcome of any given case depends very much on the judge because there is still relatively little Circuit court guidance on some issues. Like Delacroix’s inspirational painting of Liberty Leading the People, celebrations of freedom from abusive ADA and FHA litigation may be premature. Before making any strategic decision you need to research the specific decisions of the judge who will hear your case because the ancien régime isn’t gone yet. More


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Richard M. Hunt


Hunt Huey PLLC
3010 Mountain Ash Court
Garland, Texas 75044
972-675-2236 phone
214-279-6124 fax
rhunt@hunthuey.com

I defend businesses nationwide in ADA and FHA accessibility lawsuits and consult with businesses and other attorneys concerning how to promptly and effectively deal with ADA and FHA demands, minimize litigation risk, and obtain meaningful compliance with the ADA and FHA. For more information about this feel free to email me at rhunt@hunthuey.com or visit our firm web site, hunthuey.com

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