JD Supra: 2026 Crystal Ball: What to Expect in the ADA Title III Universe This Year
By: Minh Vu
We know we are cheating a little by doing 2026 predictions two months into the year, but better late than never, right?
On the litigation front, it’s business as usual. Plaintiffs continue to send demand letters and file lawsuits about inaccessible websites and physical access barriers in federal and state court. The hot spots continue to be California, New York, and Florida, though we’ve seen more activity in other states than previously. In New York, we are seeing more cases being filed in state court, most likely because federal judges are scrutinizing the standing of serial plaintiffs and applying a rigorous standard. In California, federal courts weary of ADA Title III lawsuits continue to decline supplemental jurisdiction of state law claims that are necessary for plaintiffs to recover damages. This too has caused a shift to state court for some plaintiffs seeking statutory or other damages under the Unruh Act. The number of overall cases filed in federal court for January 2026 are in line with 2025 numbers so we do not expect a significant change in volume.
On the regulatory front, we predict no new regulations under Title III of the ADA, as Executive Order 14192 signed January 31, 2025 (Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation) requires federal agencies to repeal 10 existing regulations for every one new regulation, and specifies that “the total incremental cost of all new regulations, including repealed regulations, being finalized this year, shall be significantly less than zero.” In fact, in September 2025, the DOJ said it was revisiting the regulations issued in April 2024 under Title II of the ADA for web content of state and local governments to see “if they could be made less costly.” These regulations required such web content on websites and mobile apps to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA. The first compliance deadline is just around the corner (April 24, 2026) for cities with a population above 50,000. Cities with a population below 50,000 have until April 26, 2027 to comply.
Despite the regulatory slowdown, the DOJ continued to engage in some enforcement actions, and we believe that will continue in 2026, albeit not at the level we’d see during a Democratic administration. In September 11, 2025, DOJ sued a ride share company for allegedly discriminating against people with disabilities who use service animals and wheelchairs, and there is a Motion to Dismiss pending. And more recently, DOJ announced that it was investigating SeaWorld for not letting people use their rollators (i.e. walkers with seats) in the park. The announcement of an investigation departed from the DOJ’s standard practice of keeping investigations confidential until it files an enforcement lawsuit or reaches a resolution.
DOJ also took the unusual step of objecting to a proposed class settlement of a website accessibility lawsuit because the injunctive relief would not meaningfully increase accessibility, and the monetary payments disproportionately favor the attorneys over the members of the class. The DOJ even went so far as to audit the website of the settlement administrator and claims that this website is not fully accessible to people with disabilities. The DOJ’s scrutiny of class counsel’s fee award may make the plaintiffs’ bar think twice about pursuing class-wide settlements.
In sum, while DOJ’s regulatory and enforcement approach has changed, private litigants continue to press their cases, including more pro se litigants filing lawsuits filing lawsuits with the help of AI.