Last week, the Supreme Court denied Domino’s Pizza’s request to review a Ninth Circuit decision, Robles v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC, No. 17-55504 (1/15/19), that holds the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires stores and other businesses to make online services accessible to disabled persons. The decision (or lack of) returns the case to a California federal court for a decision on the merits.
The lawsuit was originally filed by Guillermo Robles, a blind person who uses screen-reading software to access the internet and read content on his computer and phone. In his Complaint, Mr. Robles’ alleges that the inability of visually-impaired customers to browse and complete Domino’s purchases via remote means, is a violation of ADA public accommodations requirements.
The case was originally dismissed by the district court, partly because the court did not find it appropriate to hold Domino’s accountable for website inaccessibility when the DOJ had yet to release guidance on what’s expected for compliance. The Ninth Circuit reversed the decision on appeal. In its opinion, the appellate court explained that the ADA “applies to the services of a place of public accommodations, not services in a place of public accommodation,” and held that:
- the ADA requires accessibility for online services; and
- imposition of liability, in the absence of regulatory guidance, is not a violation of Domino’s due process rights.
The case is now returned to the district court for a decision on whether Domino’s, who claims it does offer remote accessibility for disabled persons, has discriminated against Robles.