Page:Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer.pdf/7

Rh, may obtain damages or assess civil penalties. § 12188(b)(2).

The Department of Justice promulgated a regulation known as the Reservation Rule to aid in the implementation of the ADA’s prohibition on discrimination. The rule requires hotels to “[i]dentify and describe accessible features … in enough detail to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a given hotel or guest room meets his or her accessibility needs.” 28 CFR § 36.302(e)(1)(ii) (2022). The rule also applies to reservations made “through a third party.” Ibid.

Laufer, who is wheelchair bound, is a self-described “tester” of compliance with the Reservation Rule. From her home in Florida, Laufer scours the internet for hotel websites that do not contain the required accessibility information. When she finds a deficient website, she sues the hotel. She often offers to settle immediately for $10,000 in attorney’s fees and corrective action. See Report and Recommendation in In re Gillespie, No. 1:21–mc–14 (D Md., June 30, 2023), ECF Doc. 13, p. 5; No. 1:21–mc–14 (July 5, 2023), ECF Doc. 14, p. 1, vacated on other grounds by In re Gillespie, No. 23–1819 (CA4, Nov. 14, 2023) (per curiam). In the past five years, Laufer has filed over 600 lawsuits against hotels.

In this case, Laufer visited the website of a bed and breakfast located in Maine, the Coast Village Inn. She filed suit against the Coast Village Inn’s owner, Acheson Hotels, for failing to provide sufficient accessibility information. She also contended that 13 third-party booking websites, such as Expedia, failed to provide accessibility information for the Coast Village Inn. Laufer initially alleged that she was planning to visit the Coast Village Inn as part of a cross-country trip from Florida to Maine to Colorado. But she later disclaimed any intent to travel to Maine (or the Coast Village Inn). 50 F. 4th 259, 267, n. 3 (CA1 2022); see also Brief for Appellant in No. 21–1410 (CA1), p. 4, n. 1.