ADA website lawsuits in Pennsylvania: a guide for online sellers
Short answer: Online sellers based anywhere in the US can face website accessibility suits in Pennsylvania federal courts if the store sells to Pennsylvania customers. The claims usually cite barriers such as missing alt text or keyboard traps. A practical response is to document, test, fix, and talk to an attorney.
Website accessibility suits are filed in federal courts across the country, including in Pennsylvania. Many of them name online retailers that have no store, office, or staff in the state. If you sell online and have received a demand letter or a complaint from a Pennsylvania court, this guide explains the general picture and the practical steps that tend to matter.
This is general information, not legal advice. Questions about jurisdiction, deadlines, or how to respond to a specific claim belong with an attorney licensed to practice where the case was filed.
For a running view of filings, see the federal ADA website lawsuit tracker. For the broader background, see ADA website lawsuits explained.
Why a business outside Pennsylvania can be sued there
A common surprise for online sellers is that the suit is not filed where the business is located. In general terms, a plaintiff chooses a court where they believe the case can properly be brought. In website cases, plaintiffs often point to the place where the person lives and where they tried to use the site.
Whether that choice holds up is a legal question, and the answer varies by court and by facts. Courts have not been uniform on questions such as:
- Whether selling and shipping to customers in a state is enough to be sued in that state.
- Whether a website alone, without a physical location, is covered by the ADA's public accommodation rules.
- How much a business's contacts with the state matter compared with where the business is based.
Because these questions are decided case by case, you should not assume that being out of state protects you, and you should not assume it fails to. An attorney can tell you how courts in that district have approached it and what your options are.
What is usually alleged
Complaints in these cases are often short and follow a familiar pattern. The plaintiff, who typically has a disability such as blindness or low vision, says they tried to browse or buy on your site and ran into barriers. The complaint then asserts that the site is not accessible and that this amounts to discrimination under the ADA.
The barriers named tend to be ordinary, checkable problems. Common examples include:
| Barrier | What it means for shoppers | Related guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Images without useful alt text | Screen reader users cannot tell what a product is | WCAG 1.1.1 |
| Menus or buttons not usable by keyboard | People who cannot use a mouse get stuck | WCAG 2.1.1 |
| Low text contrast | Text is hard to read for low-vision users | WCAG 1.4.3 |
| Form fields without labels | Checkout and contact forms are confusing or unusable | WCAG 3.3.2 |
| Controls with no accessible name or role | Assistive technology cannot announce what a control does | WCAG 4.1.2 |
| Focus not visible | Keyboard users cannot see where they are on the page | WCAG 2.4.7 |
Complaints often reference WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published by the W3C. Version 2.1 at level AA is the standard most commonly used as a reference, though the ADA itself does not name a technical standard for private business websites. You can read more about the standard at w3.org.
Plaintiffs usually seek an injunction, meaning a court order to make the site accessible, and often seek attorney's fees. What a specific plaintiff asks for and what a court awards depend on the case, so ask your attorney rather than relying on general descriptions.
Demand letters versus lawsuits
Many matters begin with a demand letter rather than a filed complaint. A letter is not a court filing, but it should not be ignored. A filed complaint, by contrast, comes with deadlines that start running when you are formally served.
- If you received a letter, start with Got an ADA website demand letter? What to do in the first two weeks.
- If you were served with court papers, see Served with an ADA website lawsuit: first steps for a small business.
Check the sender, the court, and any dates carefully. Court deadlines can be short, and missing one can have serious consequences.
A practical response for online sellers
The steps below are general and are not a substitute for legal advice. They reflect what tends to help a small business keep a clear head.
1. Do not ignore it, and do not panic
Read what you received. Note any dates. Save the letter or complaint, the envelope or email, and the date you received it. Avoid replying directly to the sender before you have spoken with an attorney.
2. Talk to an attorney
Ask about the questions that only a lawyer can answer: whether the court has jurisdiction over your business, how to respond, and what your deadlines are. If you carry business insurance, check whether any policy might apply and whether the insurer needs prompt notice. This is a question for the insurer and your attorney.
3. Preserve your records
Keep records of the site as it exists now, including the pages and flows named in the complaint. Do not delete evidence. Fixes are fine and encouraged, but keep a record of what changed and when. A dated accessibility audit record can help show what you knew and when you acted.
4. Test the pages that matter most
Focus first on the path a shopper takes: home page, category pages, product pages, cart, and checkout. You can start with a 5-minute keyboard test and a basic screen reader check. Then run an automated scan to find issues at scale.
Keep in mind that automated tools catch only some problems. Manual testing still matters, especially for checkout and forms.
5. Fix the common problems
Start with the issues that are both frequent and fixable:
- Write meaningful alt text for product images. See How to Write Alt Text for Product Images.
- Make sure every interactive element works with a keyboard and shows a visible focus indicator.
- Check text and button contrast. See How to Check and Fix Color Contrast.
- Label every form field, especially in checkout. See Accessible checkout.
- Review popups, cookie banners, and chat widgets, which often trap keyboard focus. See Cookie Banners, Popups and Chat Widgets: Accessibility Traps.
A short example of a properly labeled form field:
<label for="email">Email address</label>
<input id="email" name="email" type="email" autocomplete="email">For a fuller list of what to check, use the WCAG 2.1 AA checklist for business websites.
6. Be careful with quick fixes
An overlay or widget that promises instant accessibility is not a substitute for fixing the underlying code, and sites using them have still been named in complaints. Read Do accessibility overlay widgets prevent ADA lawsuits? before relying on one.
Also check documents linked from your store, such as size charts, manuals, and PDFs. See Are PDFs on Your Website an ADA Risk?.
7. Get help if you need it
If you do not have in-house expertise, a developer with accessibility experience can speed things up. See Hiring Someone to Fix Website Accessibility: What to Ask.
If you use a platform, the split of responsibility matters. See the guides for Shopify stores, WordPress, and Wix and Squarespace.
What no fix can promise
No scan, tool, or set of changes can make a site "compliant" in a way that guarantees you will not be sued or that a claim will be resolved. Accessibility is ongoing work: content changes, themes update, and new features introduce new barriers.
What you can do is reduce real barriers for real shoppers, keep dated records of testing and fixes, and make accessibility part of how you publish changes. That is a sound practice for customers and a reasonable position to bring to an attorney.
How Pennsylvania compares with other places
Website accessibility claims are not limited to one state. Some states add their own laws or have seen heavy filing volume. For comparison, see Why So Many ADA Website Lawsuits Are Filed in New York and California Website Accessibility Claims and the Unruh Act. The details differ by jurisdiction, so ask an attorney how the rules apply to you.
For official background on the ADA, the U.S. Department of Justice publishes material at ada.gov.
Next step
If you want a clear starting point, run a free scan of your store's key pages and review the results against the WCAG fix guides at /wcag/. Browse the rest of our guides as you work through them.
Frequently asked questions
Can a business outside Pennsylvania really be sued in Pennsylvania?
Plaintiffs often file where they live and where they say they tried to use the site, even when the business is based elsewhere. Whether the court can actually hear the case against an out-of-state seller is a legal question that courts have not answered uniformly. An attorney can explain how it applies to your situation.
What do these Pennsylvania website lawsuits usually claim?
They typically claim that the site has barriers that prevented a person with a disability from browsing or buying, such as missing alt text, keyboard problems, low contrast, or unlabeled form fields. The complaint usually frames this as discrimination under the ADA and often references WCAG. The specific claims vary by case.
Should I just fix the website right away?
Fixing real accessibility barriers is worthwhile, but talk to an attorney first if you have received a letter or court papers. Keep records of the site before and after your changes, and do not delete anything related to the claim. Fixes and legal strategy should be coordinated.
Will an accessibility overlay protect me?
Overlays do not reliably fix the underlying problems, and sites that use them have still been named in complaints. Fixing the code and content directly is the more dependable approach. Check our overlay guide for details.
Does a clean scan mean my site is safe from a lawsuit?
No. Automated scans find only a portion of accessibility issues, and no result can guarantee protection from a claim. A scan is a useful starting point when combined with manual testing, fixes, and dated records of your work.
Related
- Got an ADA website demand letter? What to do in the first two weeks
- Served with an ADA website lawsuit: first steps for a small business
- Accessible checkout: the fixes that matter most for online stores
- Why a dated accessibility audit record matters
Proof of Access provides technical accessibility assessments. We are not a law firm and nothing on this page is legal advice. If you have received a demand letter or a lawsuit, talk to an attorney.