JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For nearly a decade, Jacques Klempf has owned Cowford Chophouse in downtown Jacksonville, but nothing prepared him for a federal lawsuit over his website.
“When you first heard about the lawsuit, you thought what?,” asked Action News Jax Ben Becker.
“I was shocked.”
Klempf’s website looked harmless enough. But like thousands of businesses nationwide, he was sued for allegedly failing to make it accessible to blind users under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
His attorneys delivered blunt advice.
“My attorneys told me, you can fight it, but you’re going to lose because it’s a federal law.”
Rather than battle the case in court, Klempf settled since he had little practical choice- at a cost of roughly $20,000 including attorney’s fees.
Thousands of lawsuits filed by a handful of firms
Action News Jax and its sister stations across the country combed through tens of thousands of federal lawsuits filed over the past four years.
We found more than 15,332 cases alleging visually impaired individuals had difficulty accessing company websites.
In 2025 alone, nearly 4,000 cases were filed. And 90% of them - 3,567 out of 3,948 - were brought by just 16 law firms.
At least 35 Jacksonville businesses have been sued, including:
- European Street Café
- Al’s Pizza
- Dockside Seafood Restaurant
Each lawsuit cites similar claims, alleging inaccessible menus, missing alt-text for images, or difficulty locating basic information like addresses.
In the complaint filed against Cowford Chophouse, the language reads in part:
“The fact that Plaintiff could not communicate with or within the Website left Plaintiff feeling excluded, frustrated, and humiliated, and gave Plaintiff a sense of isolation and segregation…”
Exploiting the law and clients?
South Florida attorney Aleksandra Kravets has filed more than 200 ADA website lawsuits across Florida.
Her client, Jonathan Drummond, who is from Jacksonville, is the named plaintiff in the local cases and dozens more statewide.
“Are you exploiting the law and your client?,” asked Becker.
“I don’t think there is any exploitation going on here.”
She argues online discrimination is widespread.
“Online discrimination faced by blind people is so rampant these days.”
Drummond says his goal is inclusion.
“My main goal is to make everything inclusive for people with disabilities and people who don’t have disability — we should all be on an equal playing ground.”
‘Hyper-Technical Defects’ or legitimate barriers?
Not everyone agrees with how these cases are being pursued.
“In my experience, I don’t think there’s a website in the universe that’s compliant,” said ADA website litigation attorney Gary Edinger, who has worked dozens of these cases.
“The websites are generally very accessible. It’s just that they have some hyper-technical defects the plaintiffs are able to take advantage of. It doesn’t make the suit frivolous - it makes it unfair and extortionate.”
The accessibility widget
Many businesses, including Cowford, have turned to third-party accessibility tools such as accessiBe.
These widgets promise to make websites ADA compliant with minimal effort.
But in 2025, the Federal Trade Commission reached a $1 million settlement with accessiBe, alleging the company made deceptive claims about its product’s effectiveness and failed to disclose relationships with online reviewers.
The settlement raised further questions for small businesses trying to navigate compliance.
Is reform coming?
For now, federal law does not clearly define precise technical standards for website compliance under the ADA, creating legal gray areas that critics say fuel litigation.
“This law needs to be looked at because it’s being abused,” Klempf said.
Currently, lawmakers in Missouri are considering legislation aimed at curbing what supporters call “predatory” ADA lawsuits targeting small businesses. The proposed bill would require notice and time to cure alleged violations before a lawsuit can proceed.
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