Access Now, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines Co.
227 F.Supp.2d 1312 (2002)
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Rule of Law:
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation, applies only to physical, concrete structures. A non-physical entity, such as a commercial website, is not a 'place of public accommodation' unless there is a sufficient nexus between the website and a physical space that impedes a disabled person's access to it.
Facts:
- Southwest Airlines, Co. operates a commercial website, southwest.com, which allows customers to check fares, book reservations for flights, hotels, and cars, and access promotions.
- Robert Gumson, a blind individual, uses screen-reader software to access the internet.
- Access Now, Inc. is a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of disabled individuals.
- Southwest.com was not fully accessible to Gumson and other blind users because it lacked features like 'alternative text' for images, accessible online forms, and 'skip navigation' links.
- This inaccessibility prevented Gumson and other blind individuals from independently using the goods and services offered on Southwest's website.
Procedural Posture:
- Access Now, Inc. and Robert Gumson filed a complaint against Southwest Airlines, Co. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the court of first instance.
- Southwest filed a Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).
- The District Court heard oral argument and considered the parties' filings on the motion to dismiss.
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Issue:
Does a commercial website, which is not a physical space, qualify as a 'place of public accommodation' under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
Opinions:
Majority - Seitz, District Judge
No, a commercial website does not qualify as a 'place of public accommodation' under Title III of the ADA. The plain language of the statute and its implementing regulations define 'public accommodation' as a physical, concrete structure. The twelve categories of public accommodations listed in 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7) are all physical places, such as hotels, restaurants, stores, and travel agencies. Applying the canon of statutory interpretation 'ejusdem generis,' general terms like 'sales establishment' or 'place of exhibition' must be interpreted as being similar to the specific, physical examples listed alongside them. Therefore, a virtual space like an internet website is not covered. Furthermore, unlike in Rendon v. Valleycrest Prods., where a discriminatory telephone system was covered because it had a nexus to and impeded access to a physical television studio, here there is no nexus between southwest.com and a specific, concrete space. The website does not prevent blind users from accessing a physical ticket counter, and it exists in cyberspace, not a particular geographical location. Expanding the ADA to cover virtual spaces is a task for Congress, not the judiciary.
Analysis:
This decision adopts a narrow, brick-and-mortar interpretation of 'place of public accommodation' under the ADA, holding that the statute's protections do not extend to stand-alone websites. It establishes a 'nexus' test for this jurisdiction, requiring that a non-physical service must be connected to and impede access to a specific physical location to be covered by Title III. This ruling contributes to a significant circuit split on the issue of website accessibility, contrasting with broader interpretations in other circuits (like the First Circuit's in Carparts) and leaving the application of the ADA to the internet legally unsettled pending congressional action or Supreme Court clarification.
