Second Circuit Thwarts Mass ADA Litigation Against Retailers

Deborah White, president of the Retail Litigation Center (RLC) and general counsel of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), issued the following statement in response to the Second Circuit’s decision announced today affirming the dismissal of hundreds of “cookie cutter” ADA complaints filed against retailers simply because they do not sell Braille-embossed gift cards:

“The Retail Litigation Center is pleased that the Second Circuit called an end to what it described as ‘Mad-Libs-style’ ‘cookie-cutter’ mass litigation, which was based on manufactured harm and not at all about accessibility. These cases were launched by a single firm that deployed hundreds of virtually identical ‘cut-and-paste’ complaints against law-abiding retailers in a transparent shakedown effort to extort millions of dollars. Leading retailers have strong programs in place to ensure that all customers – regardless of their physical abilities – can access the goods and services that the retailers’ offer. We hope this decision will serve as a warning to the plaintiffs’ bar that distortion of the law will not prevail.”

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Directed by the chief legal officers of the country's leading retail companies, the Retail Litigation Center (RLC) is the only organization dedicated to advocating for the industry's top priorities in the federal and state judiciary. The RLC also works with leading law firms and retail corporate counsel to develop forward-thinking strategies to combat meritless mass action litigation. Founded by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) in 2010 as an independent organization, the RLC is a 501(c)(6) membership association open to all retailers and select law firms.

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• Retail Litigation Center
• Legal Affairs & Compliance