Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear its first website accessibility case now that briefing on Domino's Petition for Certiorari is complete.
Earlier today, Plaintiff Guillermo Robles filed his opposition to Domino's request to the U.S. Supreme Court for review of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal's decision to let Robles's lawsuit against Domino's proceed to discovery. Robles, who is blind, sued Domino's alleging that its website and mobile app are not accessible to the blind, in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The district court dismissed the lawsuit at the outset of the case, finding that the lawsuit violated Domino's due process rights because there are no regulations setting accessibility standards for accessible websites or mobile apps of public accommodations. The Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that the ADA does cover websites of public accommodations with brick and mortar locations and Domino's due process rights would not be violated by the lawsuit. The Ninth Circuit remanded the case to district court for discovery and other proceedings.
Domino's filed a Petition for Certiorari in which it argued, among other things, that there is a split among the Circuit Courts of Appeals with regard to the application of the ADA to websites. Today, Robles responded by pointing out that there is no such split among the circuits when it comes to websites of businesses that have a physical locations where they serve customers. Robles also argued, not surprisingly, that the Ninth Circuit's decision was correct and no review by the U.S. Supreme Court is necessary.
We will be keeping a close eye on the developments and let you know as soon as the high court decides whether it will take the case.
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