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Alcazar v. Fashion Nova, Inc.

Class action over Fashion Nova's website inaccessibility to blind shoppers using screen readers. Settlement pending final approval as of early 2026; DOJ filed Statement of Interest opposing.

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Plain language + legal text

What this case is about

This is a federal class-action lawsuit against Fashion Nova, an online clothing retailer. The plaintiff, Juan Alcazar, is legally blind and uses screen-reader software to navigate websites. He sued in 2020 because Fashion Nova's website wasn't compatible with his screen reader — he couldn't shop, browse, or complete a purchase without barriers a sighted person doesn't face. The case is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. In September 2022, the court certified two classes: a nationwide class of all legally blind people who tried to access Fashion Nova's website with a screen reader, and a California subclass eligible for monetary damages under California's Unruh Civil Rights Act. In June 2025, Fashion Nova and the plaintiffs agreed to a proposed settlement: $5.15 million total, up to $4,000 per eligible California class member, and a promise from Fashion Nova to bring its website into substantial conformance with WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards within 180 days. Any leftover money would go to the American Foundation for the Blind. But the settlement has not been finalized. On February 2, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest opposing the settlement. The DOJ argued that the proposed injunctive relief is too vague to actually fix the website, that it has no mechanism for monitoring or enforcement, and — strikingly — that the plaintiffs' own settlement-claims website is itself inaccessible to blind users. The court held a final-approval hearing on February 12, 2026, and set an additional evidentiary hearing for March 30, 2026 to investigate the DOJ's concerns about the claims website. As of mid-2026, the court has not yet ruled. The deadline to file a claim was October 20, 2025. The case is unusual because most website-accessibility lawsuits settle quietly and individually; this one became a class action AND drew DOJ scrutiny. The outcome will affect how courts approach website-accessibility class settlements going forward.

Who may qualify

You may be a class member if all of the following apply: - You're legally blind (or have a vision disability requiring screen-reader software for web access). - You attempted to access Fashion Nova's website (www.fashionnova.com) using screen-reader software at any point from February 26, 2018 to the present. There are two classes: - A Nationwide Class — includes anyone in the US who fits the description above. The Nationwide Class is eligible for the injunctive relief (Fashion Nova fixing the website), but no individual cash payment. - A California Class — includes Nationwide Class members who were in California when they tried to access the website. California Class members may receive up to $4,000 each under California's Unruh Civil Rights Act. The claim filing deadline was October 20, 2025, so new cash-claim filings are closed. You can still be part of the Nationwide Class for purposes of injunctive relief if the settlement is approved, even without a claim filed. The case is on hold pending the court's approval decision. If you tried to file a claim but couldn't because the claims website was inaccessible to you, that's exactly the issue the DOJ raised — write to Disability Rights Advocates or another disability-rights legal organization to ask about your options.

What helps your case

Documentation supporting class membership and claims: - Records of Fashion Nova website access attempts: order confirmations, customer-service correspondence, browser cache or cookies (if preserved), screen-reader logs identifying inaccessible content (announced labels, unlabeled buttons, table-navigation failures, etc.). - Medical or rehabilitative documentation of legal blindness or visual impairment requiring screen-reader use, including ophthalmological records, Bureau of Services for the Blind (or analogous state vocational-rehabilitation) records, treating physician statements, or White Cane Law statutory registration where applicable. - Records of screen-reader software in use (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack) and dates of attempted access. - For California Class members, residency documentation establishing California presence during access attempts (driver's license, utility bills, voter registration). Class membership was established on a classwide basis at certification; individualized proof of access barrier is not required for inclusion. The settlement's cash-claim process required a sworn attestation, which DOJ identified as problematic due to the claims-website's own accessibility deficits.

How to document what happened

For documentation of website accessibility barriers (Fashion Nova or analogous public-accommodation websites): At the time of encounter: - Capture screen-reader output: NVDA log, JAWS speech history, or video/audio capture of the access attempt where feasible. - Record the specific WCAG 2.1 / 2.2 failures encountered: unlabeled form controls (1.3.1), missing alt text (1.1.1), keyboard inaccessibility (2.1.1), inadequate focus indicators (2.4.7), color-contrast failures (1.4.3), automated assistive-technology-defeating mechanisms (1.4.4, 4.1.2). - Preserve URL, timestamp, browser/screen-reader version, and the specific user task that failed (product search, cart addition, checkout completion, account creation). Documentation of communications: - Customer service correspondence regarding accessibility issues — preserve full email threads, chat transcripts, and any acknowledgment or denial. - Any prior demand letters or pre-litigation correspondence sent or received. For Fashion Nova claims-process issues: - Document the specific accessibility barriers encountered on the claims website (www.fashionnovaaccessibilitysettlement.com), including the dates of attempted use and the assistive technology employed. This evidence directly supports the DOJ-raised concerns being adjudicated in the March 30, 2026 evidentiary proceedings. Beyond this case: - DOJ accepts administrative complaints under 28 C.F.R. § 36.502; complaints may be filed online at ADA.gov. - Where state law provides parallel remedies (Unruh, NYSHRL, NYCHRL, Massachusetts PAA), local enforcement venues may proceed more rapidly than federal litigation.

What if you don’t have documentation?

Absence of contemporaneous documentation does not foreclose class membership. The Court's Sept. 6, 2022 class certification order rested on the classwide inaccessibility of Fashion Nova's website, not on individualized proof of attempted purchase or access. Class members who lack records may nonetheless: - Benefit from any injunctive relief obtained, regardless of individual claim status. - For California Class members who failed to timely file claims due to the claims-website accessibility barriers identified by the DOJ's Statement of Interest, consult class counsel (Wilshire Law Firm PLC; Thiago M. Coelho) regarding the pending March 30, 2026 evidentiary proceedings and any remedial claims-process modifications the Court may order. - File parallel administrative complaints under 28 C.F.R. § 36.502 with the DOJ Civil Rights Division regarding any other public-accommodation website encountered; DOJ has signaled heightened scrutiny of Title III digital accessibility violations and may pursue independent enforcement. - Pursue analogous state-law remedies under California's Unruh Act, New York's State and City Human Rights Laws, the Massachusetts Public Accommodation Act, or similar statutes in states with parallel digital-accessibility enforcement. The DOJ's intervention in this matter establishes that absence of perfected class claims due to accessibility barriers in the claims process is itself a cognizable injury warranting judicial scrutiny.

What this case doesn’t cover

Scope limitations of this action: - Limited to Fashion Nova, Inc. (now Fashion Nova, LLC) as defendant. Other public-accommodation websites with analogous accessibility deficits require separate enforcement, although the procedural posture and DOJ scrutiny here may inform parallel actions. - Pleaded claims are limited to screen-reader inaccessibility under WCAG criteria implicated by visual impairment. Claims sounding in cognitive accessibility (1.3.5 input purposes), motor-disability accessibility (2.5 input modalities), or auditory accessibility (1.2 time-based media) are not pleaded here. - The action addresses the e-commerce website specifically; Fashion Nova's mobile application, in-store kiosks, and any physical retail locations are outside pleaded scope. - Title III provides for injunctive relief and attorneys' fees, not compensatory damages. Statutory damages are available only to the California subclass under the Unruh Act. Class members domiciled in other states (Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Texas, etc.) with analogous statutory-damages provisions may pursue parallel state-law remedies, but those claims are not aggregated in this action. - The settlement, if approved, provides for injunctive relief in the form of "substantial conformance with WCAG 2.1" — DOJ has criticized this as insufficiently specific. Class members concerned about the enforceability of the injunction should monitor the Court's resolution of the March 30, 2026 evidentiary hearing. For barriers outside this case's scope, parallel enforcement avenues include DOJ administrative complaints under 28 C.F.R. § 36.502, state-court actions under Unruh / NYSHRL / NYCHRL / Massachusetts PAA, and individual Title III actions for injunctive relief and attorneys' fees.

ADA Title III + Unruh Civil Rights Act

Named defendants

  • Fashion Nova, Inc.

Case facts

Type
Class action
Affected states
Nationwide
Court
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Docket
4:20-cv-01434
Filed
2020-02-26

Who to contact

Check who each contact can help before you call — most of them cover one place or one group of people.

Key dates

Status
Final approval pending; outcome of evidentiary hearing not yet on record
Claim deadline
2025-10-20
Class certified
2022-09-06
Complaint filed
2020-02-26
Final approval hearing
2026-02-12
Proposed settlement reached
2025-06-20
DOJ Statement of Interest filed
2026-02-02
Preliminary approval denied (first attempt)
2024-12-20
Evidentiary hearing (DOJ claims-website concerns)
2026-03-30