private lawsuits
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Allergies and the ADA: Restaurants do not have to be gluten-free
Many restaurants have responded to consumer demand by offering various alternative menu items to satisfy special dietary needs or desires. One of the most popular is gluten free alternatives for those who need or want a gluten free diet. A recent case from California makes it clear that these options are not required by the… Continue reading
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The ADA turns 25 – let’s celebrate with a lawsuit!
The Department of Justice and various disabilities rights groups are busy celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is a peculiarly American kind of celebration, because much of the focus is on stepped up enforcement; that is, filing a lot of new lawsuits. The lead sentence from an article in the… Continue reading
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Numerosity, the ADA and FHA Class Action Numbers Game
“How to Lie with Statistics” by Darrell Huff is one of my favorite books, because statistical analysis is often critical in ADA class action and other kinds of civil rights litigation, and statistics are so often abused in these cases. The difference between the manageable defense of one or two properties and an unbelievably expensive defense… Continue reading
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Strangle the internet? That’s what DOJ’s position on ADA accessibility would do.
On June 26 the Department of Justice announced that it had filed Statements of Interest in two lawsuits concerning access to online content. The suits were filed against Harvard (National Ass’n of the Deaf v. Harvard University et al, Case No. 3:15-cv-30023 in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts) and M.I.T. (National Ass’n… Continue reading
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Disparate Impact – Will it now apply to disability discrimination under the FHA?
On June 25 the Supreme Court held that FHA discrimination claims can be based on disparate impact. Texas Dep’t of Hous. & Cmty. Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., 2015 WL 2473449, at *9 (U.S. June 25, 2015). At first blush this doesn’t seem to have much to do with accessibility claims. When we talk about the… Continue reading
