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2025 Year-End Digital Accessibility Lawsuit Report
ADA Digital Accessibility Lawsuit Trends Involving Websites, Mobile Apps, and Video Content
Note: The PDF reflects the original report layout and design. The text on this page is an accessible version of the same report content, formatted for easier reading. Charts and visual elements from the PDF are presented here as text summaries.
Data and images may be shared with attribution to UsableNet and a link to www.usablenet.com.
Digital Accessibility Litigation Remains High-Volume
For more than seven years, the UsableNet research team has tracked and documented digital accessibility lawsuits involving websites, mobile apps, and video content. This report covers cases filed across all 14 federal circuit courts under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as cases filed in key state courts, including New York and California. It highlights litigation trends as of December 2025.
In 2025, UsableNet reviewed more than 5,000 ADA-related digital accessibility lawsuits filed in federal and state courts. Federal filings declined slightly year over year, but state-level activity, led by New York, remained a major driver of total volume.
This sustained volume sends a clear message: digital accessibility litigation is not slowing down and continues to grow. Even as rules evolve and the market matures, enforcement continues. Accessibility remains an ongoing compliance and risk priority rather than a temporary legal trend.
Cases Filed in 2025: Federal vs. State Courts
In 2025, a total of 5,114 ADA digital accessibility lawsuits were filed.
• Federal courts: 3,195 cases, representing 62 percent of all filings
• State courts (New York and California): 1,919 cases, representing 38 percent of filings
Federal courts accounted for the majority of cases, while state courts represented a substantial portion of total filings.
Act Fast Before Your Next Lawsuit
In 2025, 1,427 ADA digital accessibility lawsuits targeted companies that had already been sued. These cases accounted for 45 percent of all federal filings.
A single lawsuit rarely resolves legal exposure unless it is followed by comprehensive remediation. Plaintiff firms actively monitor prior defendants, and companies that implement partial or surface-level fixes remain vulnerable to additional claims.
From a risk-management perspective, an initial lawsuit should be treated as an early warning rather than an isolated incident.
High-Activity States Increase Litigation Exposure
Number of 2025 Cases Filed in California, New York, and Florida
New York continues to lead the nation in ADA digital accessibility lawsuits across both federal and state courts. Companies do not need to be headquartered in New York to face litigation there, as courts continue to accept cases against businesses whose websites are accessible to New York residents, even without a physical presence in the state.
In 2025, Florida returned as a high-volume jurisdiction after several years of decline, once again generating a significant number of digital accessibility lawsuits. In contrast, California, long the second-most prominent state in these cases, experienced a noticeable drop in filings compared to prior years.
Monthly lawsuit filings in 2025:
January
California: 27
New York: 245
Florida: 61
February
California: 14
New York: 269
Florida: 58
March
California: 25
New York: 255
Florida: 114
April
California: 9
New York: 243
Florida: 81
May
California: 21
New York: 247
Florida: 107
June
California: 9
New York: 167
Florida: 71
July
California: 20
New York: 235
Florida: 108
August
California: 8
New York: 206
Florida: 62
September
California: 13
New York: 165
Florida: 78
October
California: 17
New York: 227
Florida: 88
November
California: 25
New York: 225
Florida: 68
December
California: 38
New York: 258
Florida: 81
Beyond these traditionally active states, increased legal activity emerged in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Missouri. These states became meaningful contributors to overall lawsuit volume and expanded the geographic footprint of digital accessibility litigation.
Companies can be sued in any state where they do business or serve customers. This expanding set of active jurisdictions underscores the need to assess accessibility risk at a national level rather than focusing compliance efforts on a limited number of states.
Certain Industries Face Consistently Higher Risk
Most digital accessibility lawsuits continue to target industries aligned with the ADA’s original intent: places of public accommodation. This includes websites that serve as primary gateways to goods and services.
Industry distribution in 2025:
• eCommerce: 70 percent
• Food Service Industry: 21 percent
• Healthcare: 2 percent
• Fitness and Wellness: 2 percent
• Entertainment and Leisure: 1 percent
• Travel and Hospitality: 1 percent
• Education: 1 percent
• Other: 1 percent
Banking and Financial, Automotive, Digital Media and Agencies, Self-Service, Insurance, Telecommunications, and Real Estate Agencies and Properties each accounted for less than 1 percent of filings.
Legal activity in 2025 remained heavily concentrated in eCommerce, food service, and healthcare. Companies operating in these sectors should assume a higher baseline level of exposure.
Larger Retail and Enterprise Brands Face Increasing Scrutiny
Lawsuits against enterprise companies continued to rise in 2025.
Companies with less than 25 million dollars in annual revenue accounted for 64 percent of cases. Companies with more than 25 million dollars in annual revenue accounted for 36 percent of cases.
In the first half of 2025, 36 percent of companies sued reported annual revenue exceeding 25 million dollars, up from 33 percent in 2024 and 27 percent in 2023.
This trend reflects a deliberate focus by plaintiff firms on larger, well-known brands with significant digital traffic and the financial capacity to settle and remediate.
Well-Known eCommerce Brands Attract More Accessibility Lawsuits
In 2025, 36 percent of the top 500 eCommerce retailers received at least one ADA digital accessibility lawsuit.
More popular websites are more likely to be sued because plaintiffs must establish a legitimate reason for using the site and the likelihood of returning. High-traffic eCommerce platforms make it easier to demonstrate that need.
A Sophisticated Plaintiff Bar Drives Accessibility Litigation
A relatively small and experienced group of plaintiff firms continues to drive digital accessibility litigation. Defense-side firm rankings remained relatively stable, while plaintiff-side activity evolved as state-level filings expanded.
Most active defense firms:
Dentons US LLP
Stein and Nieporent LLP
Jackson Lewis P.C.
Ogletree Deakins
O’Hagan Meyer, LLC
Law Offices of Nolan Klein, P.A.
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Morgan, Lewis and Bockius LLP
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton LLP
Littler Mendelson, P.C.
Most active plaintiff firms:
Mizrahi Kroub LLP
Equal Access Law Group PLLC
Gottlieb and Associates
Stein Saks PLLC
Shaked Law Group, P.C.
Kravets and Associates, P.C.
Manning Law APC
Nye, Stirling, Hale, Miller and Sweet, LLP
Throndset Michenfelder Law Office LLC
Roderick Hannah, Esq., P.A.
These firms demonstrate deep familiarity with accessibility standards and jurisdictional considerations, reinforcing that this litigation follows a deliberate and repeatable strategy.
Accessibility Widgets Do Not Reduce Legal Risk
Accessibility widgets did not slow litigation in 2025. An increasing number of lawsuits were filed against companies already using these tools.
Monthly lawsuits against companies using widgets in 2025:
January: 95
February: 126
March: 133
April: 111
May: 132
June: 106
July: 155
August: 114
September: 107
October: 128
November: 95
December: 114
Widgets typically do not resolve underlying code-level accessibility issues and may interfere with assistive technologies such as screen readers. As a result, they offer little protection against legal claims and are frequently cited as insufficient solutions.
Reducing legal risk requires substantive remediation rather than add-on tools.
Methodology and Data Sources
The UsableNet research team tracks and documents digital accessibility lawsuits involving websites, mobile apps, and video content. This report includes cases filed across all 14 federal circuit courts under the ADA, as well as cases filed in key individual state courts, including New York and California.
Data is based on UsableNet’s research team’s collection across multiple legal sources from January 1, 2025, through December 15, 2025. This methodology enables UsableNet to provide current guidance for planning digital accessibility initiatives.
Reducing Risk Starts With the Right Strategy
A trusted partner can help improve digital accessibility while reducing legal exposure.
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