March 2023 Digital Accessibility Lawsuit Information

• 240 website accessibility lawsuits were filed in March.
• Consumer Discretionary, Food, Beverage & Tobacco and Consumer Durables & Apparel were targeted most.
• 9 Plaintiffs filed 42% of the month's website accessibility lawsuits.
• MARS KHAIMOV LAW, PLLC filed the most complaints in March with 67 lawsuits in New York.
• Most lawsuits (76%) were filed in New York with California coming in second at 16%
• We detected that 15% of litigated websites in March are using a Third-party accessibility Overlay tool.

 

Consumer Discretionary, Food, Beverage & Tobacco and Consumer Durables & Apparel were targeted most in March with a combined total of 128 lawsuits (thats 53.33%)

Most lawsuits (76%) were filed in New York with California coming in second at 16%

Third-Party Overlays

We detected that 15% of litigated websites in March 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 15 lawsuits in March.

MARS KHAIMOV LAW, PLLC filed the most complaints in March with 67 lawsuits in New York. STEIN SAKS, PLLC came in second place with 46 filings in New York.