Pacific Trial Attorneys – Scott Ferrell – ADA Website Lawsuits & Business Code 17600 Website Lawsuits

Pacific Trial Attorneys run by Scott Ferrell and Dave Reid are now filing under Business codes 17600, 17602 and 17500. They are filing these civil lawsuits using well known serial plaintiff’s such as Luis Licea, Rusty Rendon and Dominick Martin.

Here is an example of Business codes violated within Pacific Trial Attorney’s demand letter:

 Re: Violation of California “Free Trial Offer” Law

(1) You have violated California Business & Professions Code section 17602(a)(1) because your offer did not “include a clear and conspicuous explanation of the price that will be charged after the trial ends…”;

(2) You have violated California Business & Professions Code section 17602(a)(2) because you charge consumer’s credit and debit cards without first obtaining “affirmative consent” to charge;

(3) You have violated California Business & Professions Code section 17602(a)(3) by failing to provide a permanently retainable post-transaction acknowledgement that allows cancellation before payment;

(4) You have violated California Business & Professions Code section 17602(a)(3) and 17602(b) by failing to provide an acknowledgement that includes the full cancellation policy in a manner that is capable of being retained by the consumer; and

(5) You have violated California Business & Professions Code section 17500 as a result of the above-referenced violations. See Johnson v. Pluralsight LLC, No. 17-15374 (9th Cir. 2018) (“Johnson’s complaint alleges that Pluralsight violated ARL by charging him without first providing information on how to cancel the subscription… This amply satisfies the UCL requirement that an unlawful business practice by any violation of ‘other laws.’).

Pacific Trial Attorney’s are notorious for filing ADA lawsuits and also sending demand letters such as the example below:

Via Federal Express
Your Company
Address
City, State, Zip
Attention Legal Department

Re: Lawsuit For Violations of Disability Access Laws

To Whom It May Concern:

This law firm represents blind consumers across the United States. We have been retained to pursue claims against you under the American With Disabilities Act and the California Unruh Act.

In short, your website (www.yourwebsite.com) is not fully accessible to visually-impaired individuals, which may subject you to liability under both California and federal law. Indeed, the California Supreme Court recently conformed that anti-discrimination laws apply to online businesses. We argue you consult your own counsel about your rights and obligations in this emerging area of law.

We will shortly file suit. If you wish to discuss this matter or would like additional information about these claims, your counsel should promptly contact me.

Sincerely,
Scott Ferrell
Scott J. Ferrell, Esq.