April 2023 Digital Accessibility Lawsuit Information

• 219 website accessibility lawsuits were filed in April.
• Food, Beverage & Tobacco, Consumer Durables & Apparel and Consumer Discretionary were targeted most.
• 6 Plaintiffs filed 40% of the month's website accessibility lawsuits.
• MARS KHAIMOV LAW, PLLC filed the most complaints in April with 79 lawsuits in New York.
• Most lawsuits (72%) were filed in New York with California coming in second at 23%
• We detected that 13% of litigated websites in April are using a Third-party accessibility Overlay tool.

 

Food, Beverage & Tobacco, Consumer Durables & Apparel and Consumer Discretionary were targeted most in April with a combined total of 129 lawsuits (thats 58.9%)

Most lawsuits (72%) were filed in New York with California coming in second at 23%

Third-Party Overlays

We detected that 13% of litigated websites in April are using a Third-party accessibility Overlay tool.

Typically overlays, or widgets, apply a third-party's source code to the existing webpage in an effort to change the user experience by overriding or altering elements of the page. Overlays are often used in-place of manual identification and resolution of accessibility barriers. Because such overlays try to hide underlying accessibility issues, their effectiveness is debated and their use seems to promote the idea that website operators need not concern themselves with the accessibility of their webpages. There has been an increase in the number of lawsuits against websites that use third-party overlays.

Plaintiffs Who Filed the Most Lawsuits

JENNY HWANG is the most litigious website accessibility plaintiff, filing 21 lawsuits in April.

MARS KHAIMOV LAW, PLLC filed the most complaints in April with 79 lawsuits in New York. PACIFIC TRIAL ATTORNEYS, APC came in second place with 28 filings in California.