![\"\"](\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mazzie-boyd-1024x620.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
State Rep. Mazzie Christensen, a Republican from Bethany, speaks during Missouri House debate in 2024 (Tim Bommel\/Missouri House Communications). .<\/p>\n
More than 100 locally owned businesses across Missouri have been the target of lawsuits concerning compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act on websites.<\/p>\n
Missouri legislators in Jefferson City and in Washington, D.C., are seeking to provide some protections for small business owners.<\/p>\n
State representatives have come together to create the Act Against Abusive Website Access Litigation to give businesses 90 days to respond and alter their websites before a lawsuit can ensue. The House bill requires reasonable notice prior to a lawsuit being filed. Passed by the House on Feb. 5, the bill awaits hearings in the Senate.<\/p>\n
According to multiple House members, lawyers are pursuing lawsuits against small businesses for minor ADA violations on their websites to get a fast settlement for clients. There is no intention of fixing the websites to comply with ADA regulations with these lawsuits, the legislators say.<\/p>\n
In Washington, U.S. Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri has introduced the Protecting Small Businesses from Predatory Website Lawsuits Act.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmall businesses should not be targeted and exploited for a quick cash grab. They should not have to choose between paying a lawyer or paying their employees,\u201d Graves said in a news release. \u201cThese lawsuits are not about helping or ensuring access for customers. They are about making money off hard working business owners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graves\u2019 action comes after a nationwide surge in website-related suits. In a letter to his constituents, Graves said that similar cases nationwide had increased from 200 in 2016 to more than 4,000 in 2025. According to Graves, more than half of the 4,000 cases were filed by just 33 people.<\/p>\n
Representatives of many businesses that have been sued in Missouri spoke in favor of HB 1694 on Jan. 14 during a Missouri House General Laws Committee hearing.<\/p>\n
Sandy Waggett, representing website maker MSW Interactive Design, said she has had six clients sued in the state of Missouri and one business that had to shut down as a result.<\/p>\n
Scott Fetterman, who owns Fetterman\u2019s Deli in Kansas City, said he was issued a warning 20 days after he opened his second location. The demand letter did not specify what on the website was out of compliance. Fetterman said he had to shut down his website for a month while the new one was being created.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be accessible to everybody,\u201d Fetterman said.<\/p>\n
A similar Senate bill was introduced by state Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, a Republican from Jefferson City. The Senate bill would allow a business 30 days to take steps to correct a problem when notified.<\/p>\n
In considering if a lawsuit is abusive, a court would consider the number of full-time employees of the business, the resources available for the defendant and whether the jurisdiction or county where the lawsuit was filed creates an obstacle, under the bill.<\/p>\n
Tourism and entertainment-based businesses in the Lake of the Ozarks are paying roughly between $10,000 and $20,000 to settle, according to state Rep. Jeff Vernetti, a Republican from Camdenton.<\/p>\n
Legislators complained during floor debate that many of the lawsuits are settled in nondisclosure agreements keeping from the public key details as to how much was paid by the business to settle the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Speaking as a small-business owner himself during House floor debate, Vernetti said that some of these businesses have spent three to four months of their loan payment on these lawsuits.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is ambulance chasing. This is a bait and switch. This is legal vulturing,\u201d said state Rep. Brian Seitz, a Branson Republican.<\/p>\n
The cases have been on the radar of multiple Missouri Chambers of Commerce and were brought to the attention of several state representatives. Five different bills targeting the issue were combine and are sponsored by state Rep. Mazzie Christensen, a Republican from Bethany.<\/p>\n
Christensen said that these businesses should be \u201cfixing problems instead of paying ransom\u201d and focused on making their websites ADA compliant.<\/p>\n
Groups like National Federation of Independent Business, Missouri Chamber of Commerce, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Missouri Civil Justice Reform Coalition, Missouri Restaurant Association, Missouri Association of Sheltered Workshop Managers and Associated Industries of Missouri came out in support of of the legislation.<\/p>\n
Christensen said the goal of this bill is to revive \u201cfairness, accountability and restoring trust in the system.\u201d<\/p>\n
One witness, Sarah Berry, testified that she opposes it and worries that it will create more problems instead of fixing them. Berry said in written testimony that she believes that this bill is too broad, rushed and could jeopardize citizen trust.<\/p>\n
A similar bill was passed in Kansas in 2023. State Rep. Sherri Gallick, a Belton Republican, said that such sue and settle cases like these have stopped there.<\/p>\n
Graves is not the only one in Washington who has seen this as an issue. On Feb. 2, the DOJ filed a statement of interest for a case in California, taking concern with the nature of a class action lawsuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States does not oppose relief that would actually make a website available to individuals who are blind or have low vision,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cRather, we oppose using a civil claim principally to enrich class counsel on the backs of persons with disabilities instead of vindicating the rights of persons with disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
A statement of interest acts as a disclosure of the DOJ\u2019s stance on a case and expresses the federal government\u2019s stake in the outcome.<\/p>\n