Five Guys Enterprises
A blind customer sued Five Guys because she couldn't add pickles to a burger.
Lucia Marett wanted to order a burger online from Five Guys. The website let everyone else customize their toppings — pickles, jalapeños, fries — but the customization tool was a custom dropdown that her screen reader couldn't open. She sued in 2017.
Five Guys tried to get the case thrown out, arguing the website wasn't a "place" under the ADA. The judge in New York denied the motion, ruling that Five Guys' site was "heavily integrated" with its restaurants. The chain settled the same year and remediated. The case is now cited in nearly every restaurant accessibility lawsuit.
Settlement
$10K
Court
Southern District of New York
Case
Marett v. Five Guys Enterprises, LLC
1:17-cv-00788
Outcome
Settled — Five Guys agreed to WCAG 2.0 AA compliance; $10,000 in damages and attorney fees reported
What went wrong on the site
Each visual below shows what visitors with disabilities actually experienced.
Screen reader announces:
"Image. Image. Image."
Product images and key visuals had no alt text — screen readers announced 'image' or the file name instead of describing what users were looking at.
WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Click only — Tab key does nothing
Core interactions required a mouse. Keyboard-only users could not navigate menus, complete checkout, or operate widgets.
WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard
<div onClick="buy()">
<div>Buy now</div>
</div>
Custom controls had no ARIA roles, so screen readers could not announce what they were or what state they were in.
WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Sources & documentation
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