B&I Lawyers Seek Dismissal of Another ADA Website Case

Brann & Isaacson lawyers Peter Brann and Hanna Wurgaft sought dismissal of another of the thousands of cases being filed in state and federal court in New York alleging that a small retailer was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not making its website accessible to blind people. They filed a motion to dismiss on behalf of Strangecat, a small company located in Tampa, Florida, that sells toys. The plaintiff is represented by Mars Khaimov, a firm that has filed over 1,000 such cases in New York.

“The business model in these types of cases is to sue increasingly tiny out-of-state internet retailers without first asking for an accommodation, using what courts have described as ‘cut-and-paste’ complaints with ‘Mad Libs’ allegations, and then offer to settle quickly for less than the cost of fighting back,” explained Brann. “Most companies faced with the cost of litigating spurious charges far from home will grit their teeth and settle, but a few, like the newscaster in Network, will respond instead, ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.’ As this motion to dismiss demonstrates, for those strange cats, there are multiple grounds to seek to dismiss these types of cases.”

Brann & Isaacson represents numerous large and small internet and multichannel companies in the many legal issues that affect that industry.