Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores - Website Accessibility Trial

Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores is believed to be the first Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility lawsuit to go to trial in Florida, where Juan Carlos Gil, a blind plaintiff, initially prevailed in his claim that Winn-Dixie's website was inaccessible to the visually impaired. Juan Carlos Gil heard ads for the Winn-Dixie website where he could access prescription refills and coupons online, but when he tried using the website with his screen reader, he found that 90% of the tabs on the site didn't work. Gil filed suit alleging that Winn-Dixie's website was incompatible with screen reading software that assists the visually impaired, in violation of Title III of the ADA. Initial District Court Ruling (2017): The district court rejected the theory that a website can never be a public accommodation as defined by the ADA. The court ordered Winn-Dixie to adopt and implement a Web Accessibility Policy conforming with WCAG 2.0 criteria, require third-party vendors to conform to WCAG 2.0, and conduct mandatory yearly web accessibility training. Eleventh Circuit Reversal (2021): After years of appeals, the Eleventh Circuit issued its ruling on April 7, 2021, holding that websites alone are not covered as places of public accommodation under Title III of the ADA. The circuit court vacated the 2017 trial court ruling and concluded that websites are not a public accommodation and that Winn-Dixie's website did not create an "intangible barrier" to its physical store services. The reversal created a circuit split, with the Eleventh Circuit taking a narrower view of ADA Title III coverage for websites compared to other circuits. Despite the reversal, many businesses continue to face website accessibility litigation in other jurisdictions.