Akin Gump Represents Retail Organizations in Supreme Court Amicus Brief Seeking Clarity in ADA Site Claims

(Washington, D.C.) - The Retail Litigation Center (RLC) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take a case that will enable the Court to establish a reasonable, nationwide standard for evaluating website accessibility claims filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Akin Gump prepared the amicus brief on behalf of the retail industry organizations.

At issue is whether a website should be treated as a “public accommodation” (like a physical store) within the meaning of the ADA. In their brief to the Court, the RLC and NRF explained that the 9th Circuit stretched the definition too far by deciding that websites and mobile applications must be judged under the “public accommodations” standard rather than just considered as one of many ways in which a consumer might access a retailer’s offerings. The 9th Circuit determined that Domino’s Pizza violated the ADA because a customer encountered barriers ordering online despite the fact that its made-to-order-pizza was accessible to the customer in store or by phone, text, social media, and other means.

The Akin Gump team representing the RLC and NRF includes Supreme Court and appellate practice co-head Pratik Shah and partner James Tysse, and litigation partners Meredith Slawe and Kathryn Deal, both of whom co-lead the firm’s retail industry group.

The matter has attracted an array of media coverage, including from The Washington Post, which quoted Mr. Shah in its article “Do protections for people with disabilities apply online? Domino’s asks High Court.”

To view a copy of the brief, please click here.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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