Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer

Questions presented

SCOTUS records, cert granted 27 Mar 2023

Does a self-appointed Americans with Disabilities Act "tester" have Article III standing to challenge a place of public accommodation's failure to provide disability accessibility information on its website, even if she lacks any intention of visiting that place of public accommodation?

Opinion summary

Etalia.ai summary of the majority opinion

The case involves a legal dispute between Acheson Hotels, LLC and Deborah Laufer, concerning the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to online hotel reservations. Laufer, an advocate for disability rights who is disabled herself, filed lawsuits against numerous hotels alleging non-compliance with ADA requirements on their websites. She argued that these sites failed to provide sufficient information about accessibility features as mandated by law. The central issue was whether Laufer had standing to sue given she did not intend to visit these hotels but claimed harm from being unable to access necessary information online. The Supreme Court's decision focused on clarifying the criteria for establishing standing in such cases under Article III of the Constitution.