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On March 27 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case concerning whether a self-appointed “tester” of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has the right to sue hotels over alleged violations of the law. ICSC, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Litigation Center, American Resort Development Association and National Association of Home Builders filed an amicus brief in December in support of the high court hearing the case.
Excerpt from the brief:
This case presents a question of Article III standing that extends far beyond the specific circumstances of this case, the resolution of which is important to the Nation’s entire business community. Respondent is a self-avowed “tester”—a private individual who has taken it upon herself to file hundreds of lawsuits under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), including (as here) against businesses that she has never visited or has any intention of visiting.
Separate briefs were filed by the Retail Litigation Center (RILA), the National Retail Federation, the National Restaurant Law Center and the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
The case involves Acheson Hotels LLC (a hotel owner in coastal Maine) v. Deborah Laufer, who sued on the grounds the hotel violated the ADA because its website was not in compliance with ADA rules that require hotels to disclosure information about how accessible they are to individuals with disabilities. Such lawsuits are brought to force the hotels to update their websites to be in compliance with the law. A district court dismissed Laufer’s suit, ruling she lacked the standing to bring the suit, however, on appeal, a First Circuit court reversed and ruled for her.
Now, the justices will decide next term whether she has the right to act as a “tester” toward hotels she doesn’t intend to visit. Currently there are differing circuit court opinions based on interpretation of the Supreme Court's 2016 ruling in Spokeo Inc. v. Robins, which requires plaintiffs to demonstrate that they suffered an injury that is “concrete and particularized and actual or imminent” to satisfy Article III standing.
The hotel contends, “Laufer is one of numerous ‘testers’ who have collectively brought thousands of lawsuits under the ADA. A cottage industry has arisen in which uninjured plaintiffs lob ADA lawsuits of questionable merit, while using the threat of attorney’s fees to extract settlement payments. These lawsuits have burdened small businesses, clogged the judicial system, and undermined the Executive Branch’s exclusive authority to enforce federal law.”
At the time of filing of the brief last year Laufer had filed more than 600 suits. Laufer’s attorneys said, “without civil rights advocates such as this plaintiff, there would be no enforcement of the ADA.” On the other side, defendants often settle because they lack the resources to litigate.
The high court will hear the case in its next term later this fall, with a decision likely spring of 2024.
For more information contact ICSC Government Relations & Public Policy at gpp@icsc.com.