February 2022 Digital Accessibility Lawsuit Information

• 176 website accessibility lawsuits were filed in February.
• Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Durables & Apparel and Retailing were targeted most.
• 5 Plaintiffs filed 40% of the month's website accessibility lawsuits.
• MIZRAHI KROUB LLP filed the most complaints in February with 44 lawsuits in New York.
• Most lawsuits (61%) were filed in New York with California coming in second at 35%
• We detected that 10% of litigated websites in February are using a Third-party accessibility Overlay tool.

 

Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Durables & Apparel and Retailing were targeted most in February with a combined total of 82 lawsuits (thats 46.6%)

Most lawsuits (61%) were filed in New York with California coming in second at 35%

Third-Party Overlays

We detected that 10% of litigated websites in February 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

RUSTY RENDON is the most litigious website accessibility plaintiff, filing 20 lawsuits in February.

MIZRAHI KROUB LLP filed the most complaints in February with 44 lawsuits in New York. PACIFIC TRIAL ATTORNEYS, APC came in second place with 30 filings in California.