ADA Title III & Public Access

The number of ADA Title III lawsuits has more than doubled in the past five years to more than 10,000 per year, with nearly half of these suits being filed in California, New York, and Florida. Businesses across the country feel under siege, bombarded with multiple lawsuits each year by serial plaintiffs and disability rights advocates. Some businesses find themselves defending against investigations and enforcement actions brought by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) which can result in onerous remedial measures, large damage payments, and civil penalties. Businesses are also confused about their accessibility obligations with respect to their digital assets and how to manage and mitigate that risk.

HOW WE HELP

When businesses need practical and sound advice or litigation defense on matters involving Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), they call the Seyfarth ADA Title III team. Led by a former Department of Justice official who was responsible for overseeing the enforcement of this law, the team has more than 10 attorneys across the country who work almost exclusively in this highly specialized practice area. No other law firm in the country has an ADA Title III practice with as much depth, sophistication, and expertise as that of Seyfarth. There is virtually no aspect of the ADA that team members have not encountered. Because of the team’s nationwide footprint, Seyfarth is able to offer its clients complete coverage for ADA Title III matters for a coordinated approach to compliance and litigation.

The ADA Title III team provides ADA Title III litigation defense and counseling services to businesses in every industry, including hospitality, retail, restaurant, financial services, media, health care, higher education, entertainment, sports, car rental, amusement parks, and more. In fact, we are ADA Title III counsel to the market leaders of these industries which seek our counsel when they have critical and cutting edge ADA Title III challenges to solve.

OUR SERVICES

Litigation Defense. The ADA Title III team defends businesses against many hundreds of lawsuits and claims filed across the country each year. These cases concern virtually every aspect of ADA Title III, including but not limited to facilities, websites, mobile apps, effective communication, sign language interpreters, shuttle transportation services, service animals, hotel reservations, self-service kiosks and equipment. Because the team handles so many cases covering so many different topics, it can leverage its institutional knowledge to formulate the most effective defense strategy for its clients.

Seyfarth’s ADA Title III team has extensive experience litigating single plaintiff and class-action lawsuits in New York, California, and Florida, and is very familiar with each jurisdiction’s peculiarities. All three states have their own accessibility codes for public accommodations facilities which are more stringent than federal law. Under California’s Unruh Act and the New York State Civil Rights Law, plaintiffs can obtain statutory damages without having to prove that they suffered actual damages. Certain plaintiff’s firms in California and New York are especially challenging and require special handling. The team’s deep expertise ranges from the negotiation of highly favorable, early resolutions, to the aggressive defense of these cases through all stages of litigation. Seyfarth attorneys know the unique challenges of litigating in the most “plaintiff-friendly” jurisdictions in the country, and routinely use that knowledge to their clients’ advantage.

DOJ Investigations. Led by a former DOJ official in charge of overseeing ADA Title III enforcement, the ADA Title III team has provided insightful and effective representation for businesses under investigation by the DOJ for ADA Title III violations. Seyfarth attorneys have handled numerous DOJ ADA Title III compliance investigations, including some of the most significant matters targeting industry leaders in the retail, hospitality, banking, and higher education industries. In every instance, Seyfarth secured a successful resolution or no action outcomes for the client that avoided the reputational damage and other costs of a high profile enforcement action.

Counseling and Compliance Programs. America’s most well-known and innovative businesses have turned to Seyfarth to help them address their unique compliance challenges under Title III of the ADA, including leaders in the retail, hospitality, health care, and financial services industries. Seyfarth ADA Title III team members develop enterprise-wide ADA Title III compliance programs (e.g. policies, procedures, training materials, facility survey forms/checklists, and contract language, employee training), conduct plan reviews of prototypes for facilities, fixtures, self-service public-facing equipment (point of sale devices, slot machines, sales kiosks, ATMs), advise businesses on how to handle disability-related customer complaints effectively to avoid litigation, and advise franchisors on how to minimize the risk of becoming an “operator” of a franchised business.

In providing advice to clients―particularly on cutting edge new technologies―team members must consider other disability-related laws that may apply. Accordingly, ADA Title III team members are also very familiar with laws such as the Rehabilitation Act, the Air Carrier Access Act, and the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.

Rulemaking and Legislative Support. Seyfarth has participated in every rulemaking under Title III of the ADA for more than a decade on behalf of the lodging, movie theater, retail, and real estate industries. We have served as national ADA counsel to the nation’s leading national lodging industry association and have prepared comments for the lodging industry on every ADA Title III rulemaking since 2006. Seyfarth also prepared comments for leaders in the real estate, movie theater, and retail industries in connection with various rulemakings, including physical access standards, pool lifts, websites, furniture and equipment, and movie captioning and audio description. Team members have also provided input into legislation to reform Title III of the ADA, and have provided testimony to Congressional committees on key ADA Title III issues.

Disability Matters under the Fair Housing Act. Facilities such as condos, cooperatives, timeshares, and rental apartment buildings can sometimes be covered by both the ADA and the FHA. Seyfarth’s ADA Title III team has extensive experience handling DOJ investigations, state and local agency investigations, lawsuits brought under the FHA and other disability access laws concerning assistance/service animals, reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, and the failure to design and construct multifamily housing in accordance with accessibility requirements.

THE SEYFARTH EXPERIENCE

Although the ADA defense bar has grown with the explosion of ADA Title III lawsuits, the number of truly knowledgeable ADA Title III attorneys remains quite small. When clients partner with the Seyfarth ADA Title III team, they receive the collective expertise of more than ten attorneys with 70+ years of collective ADA Title III experience. These attorneys have developed winning legal theories that their competitors failed to identify, and are often sought out to replace counsel with lesser experience. Seyfarth’s ADA Title III attorneys monitor and analyze new court decisions and developments on a daily basis to develop CLE programs and write for the ADA Title III News & Insights Blog. As a result, they rarely need research to answer client questions.

Seyfarth ADA Title III team attorneys also know all of the attorneys in the plaintiff’s bar and their approaches to litigation and settlement. Thus, when clients call about a new lawsuit or complaint, they will most likely be able to provide an accurate assessment of the client’s monetary and other exposure. The team also has well-established procedures, work product, and litigation experience, to handle virtually every type of ADA Title III lawsuit, so its members are able to defend clients in court efficiently. Our many longstanding client relationships―some more than a decade long―are proof of our pragmatic and effective approach to ADA Title III litigation and compliance.