Game stores are closing due to lawsuit-happy predatory trolls attacking small businesses whose websites may not be ADA-compliant.
This is happening, and this is very real. If you own a game store (especially in California), or any other small business, be aware that your industry may be being targeted by predatory individuals for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website compliance.
Games Stores Closing Due to Lawsuit Happy ADA Compliance Trolls
It looks like the main culprits filing litigation are a lot of the same people too, but more on that below. They have already sued dozens of game companies as well as large corporate brands outside of the hobby.
So, what exactly is happening, and how are they getting money? First, it seems like individuals scroll through the web to find uncompliant sites with the ADA (and it seems like many game stores are). Then they send out lawsuits (which look to be in the neighborhood of $20,000 and more) to those companies.
The problem then becomes, that even if you take action to be compliant after you receive notice, that isn’t enough. There is zero tolerance for ADA violations, no matter the size.
So these small businesses still have to fight the settlement in court, and if you’re a small business, that has only been opened for a few years, you might not have the cash sitting around to pay lawyers for a possibly drawn-out case, or enough just outright to pay the settlement.
Case in point, Blackrowan Games was just forced to close on October 6th because of just such an occurrence:
Disturbingly in the past 90 days, there appears to have been litigation against 212 different businesses with the word “game” in their name, according to the accessibility website.
Most notably, they have sued GameKastle (Hobby Games Distribution, Inc), Games of Berkeley, California, Black Rowan Games in Tracy, California, GMT Games in Hanford, California, Crafty Games of Washington, GameScape North in San Rafael, California.
Unfortunately, this isn’t just something that could happen, it is happening right now. They even say they are now compliant, but the issue becomes fighting the settlement or paying the settlement.
ADA compliance is a good thing in practice, but the way the law is written, predators like this can go and attack small companies without a single care in the world (besides money).
ADA Settlements on the Rise:
The ADA law was passed in 1990, and this was mainly for buildings, which is a good precedent for keeping aisles big enough, accessibility ramps, and so many other important standards. This made sense so people with disabilities could have the same standards as folks without disabilities.
However, when the internet became mainstream years later, the compliance laws have not really kept up… So, now this has led to instances of these predatory trolls giving notice to thousands and thousands of companies with seemingly no consequence. Worse yet, these numbers have grown at a staggering rate.
Here are the increases according to the Washington Post:
In New York, the number of ADA lawsuits has soared to 2,744 from 125 in 2013, according to Seyfarth Shaw. California accounts for more than half of the 11,452 federal suits filed last year over disability issues.
More than 4,000 lawsuits against websites, apps or video content were filed in 2021, a 15% increase from the previous year, according to UsableNet, an accessibility consultancy.
As we said, the issue comes from actually fighting the settlement, even the actor Clint Eastwood was targeted back in 2000, and he had some good thoughts about the issue in the article by LA Times:
He has lashed out at provisions in the federal law that prohibit the disabled from collecting damages but allow attorneys to collect fees. Paul Rein, the attorney for plaintiff Diane Zum Brunnen, wants $577,000 in legal fees, he said.
The lawyers drive off “in a big Mercedes, and the disabled end up riding off in a wheelchair,” he said.
So, if you want to fight it, the lawyers are going to get their money from this either way…
From Accessibility.com, you can find a lot of resources for what’s happening, but also you can see from the graphic above, 43% of the suits are filed by only five plaintiffs.
What Can Game Stores Do to be ADA-Compliant?
It’s somewhat simple and will be much cheaper than paying a settlement. There are tons of ADA compliance companies who can look over your game store’s site and actually show your score along with what you can do to stay in complaicne.
So, it might cost a little cash but could save you big in the long run. W3 has many great resources for making your site compliant, what you have to deal with, and much more. So if you want resources, check them out here.
If you have a web developer, talk with them and what you can do to make your site compliant. You can also do free scans to see how your site is doing. Whatever you do, if you own a game store (especially in California), check on your site before it’s too late!
We’ve heard about this for a little while now, but it seems to be getting worse, and now smaller game stores without fully compliant websites are being hit by these lawsuit happy predators!
Has this issue with ADA compliance happened to any of your local game stores?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures. Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including the Adepticon Team Tournament and American Team Tournaments, and is on a first-name basis with almost every major company in the space.
He’s all gaming all the time. With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. He advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1908s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
