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Our attorneys stay on top of changes in legislation, agency regulations, case law, and industry trends—then craft timely legal alerts to keep clients up to date on legal developments important to their business.

January 25, 2023

ADA Accessibility Lawsuits: New "Tester" Plaintiffs—Bryan Velazquez, Daniel Rodriguez, Marina Iskhakova, Elbert Dawkins, Marta Hanyzkiewicz, and Warren Zinnamon—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of Federal Lawsuits

As we have previously reported in several alerts, in recent years, numerous serial plaintiffs have collectively filed hundreds, if not thousands, of website accessibility lawsuits in federal courts throughout the country.

Now, several new plaintiffs are on the scene, including Bryan Velazquez (89 lawsuits), Daniel Rodriguez (48 lawsuits), Marina Iskhakova (91 lawsuits), Elbert Dawkins (59 lawsuits), Marta Hanyzkiewicz (90 lawsuits), and Warren Zinnamon (60 lawsuits), who, according to court records, have collectively filed more than 435 lawsuits since January 2022, primarily in federal district courts in New York State.  

It should be noted that these relatively new plaintiffs are all represented by the same law firm, Stein Saks, PLLC, which, in recent years, has filed more than 1,180 similar ADA lawsuits. 

As we have reported on numerous prior occasions, both federal and state lawmakers have taken steps in recent years to curb website accessibility lawsuits; however, to date, no legislation has been passed. In the absence of legislation or regulations promulgated by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), we recommend that businesses operating a website, mobile application, or both take steps to ensure that these online systems are accessible to visually impaired and hearing-impaired users and otherwise comply with federal, state, and local disability laws in accordance with DOJ guidance issued in March 2022.

In the unfortunate event you or your business is served with one of these website accessibility lawsuits, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Barclay Damon, who have represented and continue to represent a number of defendants in these and similar ADA lawsuits. We will continue to monitor the development of these cases.

If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Rob Thorpe, partner, at rthorpe@barclaydamon.com, or another member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Area or Hotels, Hospitality & Food Service Team.

The Labor & Employment Podcast is a weekly Barclay Damon Live podcast hosted by Ari Kwiatkowski that provides employers with important updates regarding ever-evolving state and federal labor and employment laws as well as a wide range of timely topics pertaining to labor and employment issues in the workplace. Click here to watch or listen to the Labor & Employment Podcast as well as Barclay Damon’s other podcast series: Cyber Sip and Cannabis Counselor. 
 

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