Skip to Main Content
Services Talent Knowledge
Site Search
Menu

Alert

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.

November 27, 2024

Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several "Tester" Plaintiffs—Zayzay Howard, Carlos Gonzalez, Waleska Pena, Luis Compres, Carlos Moreno, Nersi Nin Vasquez, and Shivan Bassaw—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of Lawsuits

We continue to report on the plethora of serial plaintiffs who have collectively filed thousands of website accessibility lawsuits, primarily against small businesses, in state and federal courts throughout the country. These lawsuits generally allege that these businesses’ websites are inaccessible to visually impaired individuals who use screen-reading software, thus denying them full and equal access to the goods or services offered on the websites.

There has been a recent surge in lawsuits filed by several of these plaintiffs, including Zayzay Howard, Carlos Gonzalez, Waleska Pena, Luis Compres, Carlos Moreno, Nersi Nin Vasquez, and Shivan Bassaw, who, according to court records, have collectively filed approximately 365 website accessibility lawsuits, many of which were filed in recent months. These plaintiffs are all represented by Mizrahi Kroub LLP, which has filed more than 3,000 similar lawsuits in federal court and, recently, hundreds more in New York State courts.

  • Howard has filed 33 lawsuits since October 31, 2024.
  • Gonzalez has filed 17 lawsuits since November 7, 2024.
  • Pena has filed 15 lawsuits in 2024 (and 93 total lawsuits since November 2022).
  • Compres has filed 90 lawsuits in 2024.
  • Moreno filed 15 lawsuits in 2024—all on the same day (November 22, 2024).
  • Vasquez has filed 20 lawsuits in 2024 (and 39 total lawsuits since June 2023).
  • Bassaw has filed 37 lawsuits in 2024 (and 79 total lawsuits since December 2022).

As we have reported on numerous occasions, both state and federal 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 these online systems are accessible to users with disabilities and otherwise comply with federal, state, and local disability laws in accordance with DOJ guidance issued in March 2022.

In the unfortunate event your business is served with one of these website accessibility lawsuits, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Barclay Damon. 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 or Commercial Litigation & Complex Trials Practice Areas or Hotels, Hospitality & Food Service Team.

The Labor & Employment Podcast is an award-winning biweekly Barclay Damon Live presentation that keeps you updated on all things employees. Our Barclay Damon hosts and their guests discuss state and federal anti-harassment and discrimination laws; wage and hour and misclassification audits; onboarding, disciplining, and offboarding employees; enforcing restrictive covenants; and other topics of interest to employers. Click here to watch or listen to the Labor & Employment Podcast, and click here to watch or listen to Barclay Damon’s other award-winning podcast series, Cyber Sip™.

Subscribe

Click here to sign up for alerts, blog posts, and firm news.

Featured Media

Alerts

New York City Council Passes Resolution No. 689 Approving "City of Yes" Zoning Reforms

Alerts

FinCEN Issues Response to Nationwide Injunction on the Corporate Transparency Act

Alerts

Fake Consumer Reviews, Testimonials, and Influence Indicators: Prohibitions and Penalties Under the Federal Trade Commission's Rule

Alerts

Personal Financial Data Rights Rule: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Compliance

Alerts

Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several "Tester" Plaintiffs—Paradise Morgan, Timothy Hernandez, Erika Alexandria, Denise Crumwell, and Eugene Duncan—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of Lawsuits

Alerts

Nationwide Injunction on the Corporate Transparency Act

This site uses cookies to give you the best experience possible on our site and in some cases direct advertisements to you based upon your use of our site.

By clicking [I agree], you are agreeing to our use of cookies. For information on what cookies we use and how to manage our use of cookies, please visit our Privacy Statement.

I AgreeOpt-Out