December was a Slow Month
2025 is going to end with a whimper and not a bang. My not-so-reliable Lexis alerts, only offered one case this month-- and even it is hardly newsworthy. Back in August, I described Velazquez v. The Spice and Tea Exchange and suggested that it was one of the few cases where a serial New York plaintiff adequately alleged an "intent to return." This month, Judge Gardephe accepted the Magistrate Judge's opinion, making the decision final by the court. Velazquez v. Spice, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 218517 (S.D.N.Y. 2024).
I'm not unhappy that there wasn't much happening this month. The last few months have been crazy at Converge Accessibility. We are working like crazy and we may even start expanding in 2025! Plus, I developed a nasty cough around the middle of December that I can't seem to shake. A little downtime is welcome.
Remembering 2024 and Predictions for 2025
Before I close out 2024, I thought I'd take a 30,000 foot view of web and digital accessibility litigation. There were three hot topics for 2024-- and I expect we'll see more of them in 2025.
- Nexus Standard Increasingly Dominant. Until a year ago, the Second and Third Circuits were decidedly in the category of jurisdictions that followed the nexus approach and required some kind of connected bricks-and-mortar place of public accommodation in order to bring a web accessibility case. Then, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Southern District of New York started dropping this requirement and, for a little while, it seemed that every online-only company was an easy target to a Manhattan plaintiff attorney. Well, that door seems to be closing now that both districts are moving back to requiring a nexus. This is a trend that I think will continue in 2025.
- "Intent to Return" Defense Getting Firmed Up. For much of 2024, the Calcano "intent to return" requirement was knocking off a ton of web accessibility cases in the Southern District of New York. It felt a bit like COVID. Well, if that's the case, it appears that there's a potential vaccine that seems to be saving a lot of complaints from getting thrown out. It does mean that plaintiff's attorneys are going to have to be more careful in writing the allegations in their complaint but that's hardly a bad thing.
- Loper Bright Will Likely Come Up in 2025. No lawyer can talk about 2024 without mentioning the Loper Bright decision and the overturning of the Chevron doctrine. I have a sickening feeling that we are going to see more of Loper Bright in 2025.
Disclaimer
Nothing in this post should be interpreted as legal advice or as forming an attorney-client relationship. It is offered for educational purposes only. You should always contact a qualified attorney in your area to discuss your legal rights and responsibilities.
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