By StartBusinessByStatePublisher: Robert SmithResearch process
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses open to the public, such as shops, restaurants and hotels, to be accessible to people with disabilities. Private individuals can sue in federal court to enforce it. Most of these lawsuits are filed in just a few states. We set the yearly lawsuit counts against the number of retail, restaurant and lodging locations in each state.
Key findings
- 8,800 Title III lawsuits were filed in federal court in 2024 and 8,667 in 2025. That is about 3 times the 2,722 filed in 2013, but below the 2021 peak of 11,452.
- In 2024, New York had about 174 federal suits for every 10,000 retail, food-service and lodging locations. California had 161 and Florida 130. The national figure was about 48.
- Texas had the 4th most suits (224) but only about 15 per 10,000 locations, roughly one-tenth of New York’s rate.
- California, New York and Florida together accounted for about 80% of all federal Title III suits in 2024.
- In 2025, Florida rose to 1,823 suits and New York fell to 1,471. Seyfarth Shaw links New York’s drop to plaintiffs moving to state court after stricter federal rulings in website cases.
Top 10 states, 2024
| State | Federal Title III lawsuits (2024) | Retail, food and lodging locations (2023) | Lawsuits per 10,000 locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 2,220 | 127,338 | 174.3 |
| California | 3,252 | 202,627 | 160.5 |
| Florida | 1,627 | 124,841 | 130.3 |
| Minnesota | 134 | 30,101 | 44.5 |
| Missouri | 135 | 33,817 | 39.9 |
| Illinois | 199 | 66,027 | 30.1 |
| New Jersey | 134 | 52,441 | 25.6 |
| Pennsylvania | 143 | 69,425 | 20.6 |
| Georgia | 107 | 60,226 | 17.8 |
| Texas | 224 | 151,213 | 14.8 |
Lawsuits: Seyfarth Shaw’s hand count of federal ADA Title III filings, top 10 states only. Locations: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023, retail trade (NAICS 44-45) plus accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), employer locations only.
Before a claim ever arrives, it helps to ask an agent what your liability policy does and doesn’t cover; our guides to daycare insurance and food truck insurance walk through the questions to ask for customer-facing businesses.
Limits of this data
- Federal court only. Many suits, especially in California, New York and New Jersey, are now filed in state court, so total risk is higher than shown here.
- Defendants are not only shops, restaurants and hotels. Online-only businesses and others can be sued, so “per 10,000 locations” is a yardstick for comparison, not a measure of any single business’s odds.
- One active law firm or plaintiff can move a state’s count a lot from year to year. In 2024, one firm filed 2,598 of California’s cases.
- We use 2024 for the state rates because the 2025 state figures published so far contain internal inconsistencies, which are noted in our sources file.
- Only the top 10 states are published, so this is not a 50-state ranking. Seyfarth lists Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Montana, Vermont and West Virginia as having no federal Title III suits in 2024.
What a new business owner can do
Common claims involve entrances, parking, restrooms, and websites that screen-reader users can’t navigate. Review the federal 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design before you build out a space. Check whether your landlord or your lease assigns responsibility for accessibility. Ask your insurance agent directly whether your policy covers ADA claims, because many general liability policies limit or exclude them. Our state guides cover choosing a business structure, and our cleaning business lawsuits page covers other common legal risks.
Sources
Seyfarth Shaw, ADA Title III blog: 2024 annual count (March 6, 2025) and 2025 annual count (February 2026, republished on Mondaq). U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (API).