By LawInspectsWithout a doubt, Fashion Nova is among the biggest fashion brands out there, but right now, they’re facing some sort of legal trouble, and just let us get to it, and you’ll understand what is the exact reason for that. Still, to brief you just a little bit here, see, their main website wasn’t fully readable for everyone. Everyone? Well, to be precise, there are blind people who often use the internet and browse through websites as well, but Fashion Nova’s website wasn’t compatible with many of their screen readers, and that’s why this Fashion Nova Lawsuit exists in the first place. Let’s talk about some details here now.
Why Did This Lawsuit Even Start?
Firstly, this very lawsuit was filed by Juan Alcazar, a blind person by law. Yup, legally, he is blind. He said that the website of Fashion Nova was such hard to use that he couldn’t use his screen reader. And for those who don’t know it yet, a screen reader is a device that can read out the text on a webpage or on screen. But according to him, the Fashion Nova website was not compatible with his device at all, so how was he supposed to navigate through this website? That’s the main issue here we’re referring to!
No matter how insignificant it sounds to you at first, just remember, at present, the United States has a law named the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Going into the details of this law, well, this act allows disabled individuals to use products and services that are non-discriminatory, be it an actual physical store or an online platform. Besides, there is the Unruh Civil Rights Act in California, which is a supportive Act to the ADA. Businesses out there must follow these laws and rules in place, or else they’ll have to be legally liable for a fine of up to $4,000.
And right now, we’re seeing that by employing these two regulations, a class action suit was taken by Juan, which implies that he was the spokesperson of the group members who had an identical problem. A court battle and exchanging motions for almost five years finally ended with the agreement of Fashion Nova to settle the lawsuit instead of prolonging the conflict.
What Was Wrong With Fashion Nova’s Website?
Some of the issues that the lawsuit brought to light were these. Several accessibility issues were present on the website of Fashion Nova, which in turn created navigation difficulties for blind users. If a person with a screen reader were to confront these problems, interacting with the site would be nearly impossible, and it might be kinda difficult to understand for any of us, but just imagine how painstakingly difficult it would be for a blind person.
One instance, the website lacked efficient alt text, you know, text that briefly describes images for visually impaired users. In addition, most of the links contained minimal descriptive text, and as a result, the screen reader would recite “link, link, link” frequently without any understanding of the content whatsoever.
Who Can Benefit From This Settlement?
This settlement isn’t just for one person see, it actually covers two main groups of people:
- Nationwide Group: Legally blind individuals who have tried using Fashion Nova’s website since February 26, 2018.
- California Group: Legally blind users in California, who may qualify for additional compensation under state law.
One of the benefits that the California Class members can receive is a maximum of $4,000 without the need to show proof of a purchase, so you’d just have to legally prove that you’re blind and have used this website, and you’ll be good to go. You have up until 20th October 2025 to file a claim for this settlement. Just saying!