February 1, 2024

Related Professionals: P. Brennan Hart , Matthew R. Barnes

Matthew R. Barnes and Brennan Hart recently obtained a dismissal in a case that alleged our client, an e-commerce retailer, violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because its website was allegedly inaccessible to the visually impaired. Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard A. Lanzillo for the Western District of Pennsylvania granted our motion to dismiss, holding that the plaintiff was prohibited from bringing the Title III case against the online business because a website alone is not a “place of public accommodation,” as contemplated under Title III of the ADA.

“This is a faithful application of Third Circuit law and a major win for e-commerce retailers and online retailers in the Third Circuit,” Matt said in a recent interview.

Thousands of website accessibility lawsuits have been filed in recent years and this decision is the first of its kind in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Matt argued the case, and, at oral argument, the Court noted that it was “one of those occasions when oral argument is actually very helpful to the Court.”

The decision lends crucial support to any online company doing business in the Western District of Pennsylvania and beyond.

Read The Legal Intelligencer’s recent article here.