Legislation aimed at protecting small businesses from what sponsors describe as frivolous website accessibility lawsuits is under consideration by a House committee today, following a unanimous Senate passage last month.
Senate Bill 907, known as the "Act Against Abusive Website Access Litigation," was on the agenda for an executive session of the House Commerce Committee at 8 a.m. Wednesday. The committee held a public hearing on the measure last week.
Sponsored by 33rd District Sen. Brad Hudson, R-Cape Fair, the bill was combined with similar measures (SB 1154 and SB 1272) before its Senate approval. The legislation responds to a surge in demand letters alleging that Missouri business websites do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Hudson stated that dozens of businesses have settled out of court to avoid expensive legal proceedings.
If signed into law, SB 907 would:
• Provide businesses with 90 days to take "substantial steps" toward correcting a website violation after receiving written notice. If the correction is made within that window, any subsequent litigation regarding that specific violation would be presumed "abusive" by the court.
• Allow the Missouri Attorney General to determine if specific website litigation is abusive and intervene on behalf of targeted residents or businesses.
• Allow courts to award attorney’s fees, punitive damages, or sanctions against parties found to be engaging in abusive litigation.
While the bill aims to curb predatory legal practices, Hudson emphasized that the intent is not to remove accessibility requirements.
“People with disabilities must be assured equal opportunities to full access to public accommodation,” Hudson said. “However, these predatory lawsuits, while brought under the guise of disability access, are abusing the system for the primary purpose of obtaining an award of attorney fees for the plaintiff, instead of remedying the alleged access violation. This bill would allow businesses 90 days to fix the issue before a lawsuit could move forward.”
The bill, which has a proposed effective date of Aug. 28, is being handled in the House by Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson.
