May 2023 Digital Accessibility Lawsuit Information

• 174 website accessibility lawsuits were filed in May.
• Consumer Durables & Apparel, Food, Beverage & Tobacco and Retailing were targeted most.
• 7 Plaintiffs filed 41% of the month's website accessibility lawsuits.
• MARS KHAIMOV LAW, PLLC filed the most complaints in May with 48 lawsuits in New York.
• Most lawsuits (70%) were filed in New York with California coming in second at 20%
• We detected that 17% of litigated websites in May are using a Third-party accessibility Overlay tool.

 

Consumer Durables & Apparel, Food, Beverage & Tobacco and Retailing were targeted most in May with a combined total of 112 lawsuits (thats 64.36%)

Most lawsuits (70%) were filed in New York with California coming in second at 20%

Third-Party Overlays

We detected that 17% of litigated websites in May 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

PERLA MAGENO is the most litigious website accessibility plaintiff, filing 14 lawsuits in May.

MARS KHAIMOV LAW, PLLC filed the most complaints in May with 48 lawsuits in New York. STEIN SAKS, PLLC came in second place with 37 filings in New York.