Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer
Deborah Laufer was a frequent litigant with physical disabilities and vision impairments, who brought a lawsuit against Acheson Hotels, alleging that Acheson Hotels failed to publish necessary information about their accessibility features on their website, which is a requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The district court dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that Laufer lacked standing since she had no intention to visit the hotel and, therefore, suffered no injury from the lack of information. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed this decision, asserting that Laufers lack of intent to book a room did not negate the fact of injury.
The primary legal issue at stake was whether an ADA tester has Article III standing to challenge a hotels failure to provide accessibility information on its website, even if they have no plans to visit the hotel.
The arguments presented for Laufer centered on the interpretation of the ADA and whether the failure to provide accessibility information constituted an injury...
Laufers legal team contended that the lack of information was in itself a sufficient injury under the ADA, regardless of her intentions to visit the hotel.
The arguments for Acheson hotels centered on the notion that since Laufer had no plans to visit the hotel, she could not claim...
…more highly structured, with strict time limits and a focus on legal precedents and knowing the wider implications. The role of the justices is more pronounced, as they actively question or challenge the
lawyers to clarify their positions. Lower court proceedings, on the other hand, can be more fact-finding and may have less direct engagement from the judges during oral arguments.
The case of Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer shows the problem of defining standing under the ADA. The Supreme Court's vacatur decision leaves open some unresolved but important questions about the scope of injuries under the ADA and the requirements for establishing standing, which will likely continue to be debated in future…
