Dania
A mid-size furniture chain tried to dodge the case. The court said no.
In 2024, mid-size furniture retailer Dania was sued in Illinois federal court because its website wasn't accessible. The company moved to dismiss the case, arguing it was too small to qualify and didn't have enough of a connection between the site and physical stores to trigger the ADA.
The court rejected the motion. Retail websites of essentially any size are public accommodations subject to the ADA, regardless of whether there's a physical-store nexus. The case underscored that small and mid-market retailers can't hide behind size — plaintiff firms increasingly target them precisely because they have less budget to defend.
Court
Northern District of Illinois
Case
Walsh v. Dania, Inc.
Referenced as 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24037 (N.D. Ill. 2024)
Outcome
Court denied motion to dismiss (2024); found that retail website is a place of public accommodation regardless of company size; case demonstrates SMB liability
What went wrong on the site
Each visual below shows what visitors with disabilities actually experienced.
<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
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
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
Sources & documentation
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