Brann & Isaacson Client Can Pursue Counterclaim in ADA Website “Settlement” Case

On behalf of Electric Bike Technologies, Brann & Isaacson lawyers Peter Brann and Hanna Wurgaft largely prevailed on a motion to dismiss a counterclaim in New York state court. Mizrahi Kroub claimed Electric Bike had previously settled a federal Americans with Disabilities Act website case. Electric Bike vigorously disputed that it had settled the case, and filed a counterclaim seeking confirmation that it had not. The trial court ruled that Electric Bike’s counterclaim was valid, quoting repeatedly from the counterclaim and B&I’s briefs: “plaintiff’s counsel has filed over 1500 of these cut-and-paste complaints against other companies making virtually identical allegations,” and “instead of litigating these types of cases plaintiff and plaintiff’s counsel have used the threat of the cost of Iitigation to extract hundreds of settlements from defendants in these types of cases.” The court found that “it is patently evident that plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that defendant could not prevail upon its counterclaim.”

Although most companies simply succumb and settle these ADA website cases for less than the cost-of-litigation, not everyone does. Electric Bike and Brann & Isaacson are looking forward to litigating its counterclaim.