Deborah Laufer at her home in Florida in September. As a “tester,” Laufer filed hundreds of lawsuits against hotels for failing to include accessibility information on their websites as required by the Americans With Disabilities Act. When Deborah Laufer tried to plan a road trip after her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, she struggled to find information online about which hotels could accommodate her wheelchair.
Laufer no longer takes more than a few steps without a walker, has limited vision and often uses a wheelchair. she never intended to violate the ADA and was not aware of the requirement. As soon as she got sued and realized her mistake, she updated her website. “We find that Laufer’s feelings of frustration, humiliation, and second-class citizenry are indeed ‘downstream consequences’ and ‘adverse effects’ of the informational injury she experienced.”
Gillespie told the court he deeply regrets the “mistakes” made in his fee petitions, but denied any misrepresentation made in settlement negotiations as to the time and money spent. Gillespie said he is appealing the suspension of his law license and the finding that he inflated his hours and was paid fees for work he didn’t perform.