Access Denied: Avoiding & Defending the Expanding Field of ADA Claims (2025 Edition)

Richard Hunt | Hunt Huey PLLC

Richard is a Board-Certified Civil Trial lawyer with more than 35 years of trial experience in state and federal courts. He has a national ADA and FHA consulting and defense practice representing real estate developers, retailers, restaurants, shopping centers, banks, apartment owners and managers, hotels, single family developers and governmental entities in ADA and FHA accessibility litigation and administrative proceedings.

Richard speaks frequently on ADA and FHA accessibility issues to both national and local organizations, including the International Council of Shopping Center Developers, the Society of Exchange Counselors, the National Retail Tenants Association and similar groups. He has been interviewed for and quoted in articles appearing in Forbes, The Economist, and other publications. His consulting practice includes private client training and public webinars on avoiding and winning ADA and FHA lawsuits. He has served as an adjunct professor of Disability Law at the SMU Dedman School of law and as an adjunct professor of Trial Advocacy at the former DFW School of Law. His blog, “Accessibility Defense” serves as a national resource for hundreds of attorneys, accessibility experts and others involved in ADA and FHA litigation.

William Goren | William D. Goren JD LLM LLC

William D. Goren, Esq., of William D. Goren, J.D., LL.M. LLC in Decatur, GA, has been dealing with the ADA as an Attorney since 1990. His law and consulting practice, https://www.understandingtheada.com, as well as his blog, Understanding the ADA, (a member of the ABA Top 100 for five consecutive years, 2014-2018- there was no ABA 100 in 2019-2021), all focus on understanding the ADA so that the client understands what it means to comply with that law and related laws. In particular, he provides consulting, counseling, representation, and training services involving compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and related laws- such as the Air Carrier Access Act and the Fair Housing Act, among others.

Mr. Goren also brings a deep, personal understanding of what it means to have a disability, equipping him with exceptional insight on how the ADA actually works. He is deaf with a congenital bilateral hearing loss of 65–90+ decibels, but functions entirely in the hearing world thanks to hearing aids, Bluetooth technology, and lip-reading. For reasons independent of his deafness, he also uses voice dictation technology to access his computer.

He is also a frequent presenter, a trained mediator, a FINRA arbitrator (Chairperson eligible), and an arbitrator on the CPR employment panel. Finally, he is the author of Understanding the ADA, now in its 4th edition (ABA 2013), and numerous other articles on the rights of persons with disabilities. He is a member of various committees of the American Bar Association and is also a member of: the Federal Bar Association (FBA) Diversity and Inclusion committee; the FBA’s Civil Rights committee and its Governing Board; FBA’s Civil Rights Amicus committee; and the Chair of the FBA’s Working Group on Disability Best Practices, which formulated an accessibility manual for the FBA and its chapters. He is also a member of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association and its lead for its Amicus committee. He has an A.B. from Vassar College, a J.D. from University of San Diego School of Law, and was one of the first in the entire country to receive the LL.M. in health law, in his case from DePaul University College of Law.

Interesting fact: He trained his miniature poodle to be a hearing dog while he practices virtually.

I. What Do We Mean by ADA | 1:00pm – 1:15pm

II. Title III Basics | 1:15pm – 1:30pm

• Disability defined and how it is different from Titles I and II or is it?
• Meaning of “public accommodation” and “commercial facility” to which Title III applies
• No outright “we don’t want your kind” discrimination whether direct or by administrative means
• Having a physically accessible facility
• Having an accessible website
• Modifying rules, practices, and procedures when necessary for equal use of the place of public accommodation
• Effective communication
• The only remedy for a private attorney is injunctive relief and attorney fees
• The DOJ can seek damages on behalf of a plaintiff. They can also see civil penalties
  • Supreme Court decision in Jarkesy

III. A Closer Look at “We Don’t Want Your Kind” Discrimination | 1:30pm – 1:45pm

IV. A Closer Look at The Requirements for Physical Accessibility | 1:45pm – 2:00pm

• New construction obligation
• Renovation obligation
• Readily achievable barrier removal obligation

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

V. A Closer Look at The Modification/Accommodation Obligation | 2:10pm – 2:25pm

• In general
• Service animals VS emotional support animals

VI. Avoiding Enforcement Actions – An Effective ADA Compliance Strategy Requires a Policy and Education About the Following | 2:25pm – 2:40pm

• Identifying and avoiding potential discriminatory “administrative means” when making rules or policies
• Avoiding physical access deficiencies in new construction and renovation
• Identifying existing physical defects that require remediation and planning to remediate them
• Identifying website accessibility problems and planning to remediate them
• Figuring out how to deal with modification requests – a matter of training

VII. Defending the Enforcement Action or Private Suit You Could Not Avoid | 2:40pm – 2:55pm

• Different approaches depending on the plaintiff
  • DOJ
  • Disability rights organization
  • Individual claimant
  • Tester claimant
• Defending DOJ claims
• Defending DRO claims
• Defending individual non-test plaintiffs
• How to handle testers
  • Physical access
  • Website

VIII. What The Future Holds | 2:55pm – 3:10pm

• DOJ enforcement priorities and trends
  • Trump administration is a wild card and likely to be very hands off and side with companies in litigation
  • Title III website accessibility final regulations very unlikely
• Trends in physical access tester litigation
• Trends in website accessibility tester litigation
• Recent/pending Supreme Court and circuit decisions that may make a difference
  • Kisor and Loper-Bright
  • Trans-Union / Laufer
  • Employee benefits (Stanley)
  • Others