Spokeo May Raise The Bar For Standing In ADA Title III Cases

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Spokeo decision may lead to more careful scrutiny of whether ADA Title III plaintiffs have a sufficiently "concrete" injury to confer jurisdiction in federal court.

As reported in previous posts, some courts have, in recent years, bent over backwards to find that plaintiffs with no legitimate reason to visit a business, or intent to do so in the future, have standing to sue under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  A sharp increase in the number of ADA Title III lawsuits has followed these decisions.

The U.S. Supreme Court's May 16, 2016 decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins may impact how courts across the country interpret standing requirements for these cases in the future.  Although not an ADA case, lower courts may apply Spokeo to reign in the recent growth of Title III litigation.