BUSINESS LAW NEWS Table of Contents

Executive Committee: Message from the Chair…………………………………………………………..5

BLN Editorial Board: Message from the Editor……………………………………………………………8

Agribusiness Committee: 2016 Year In Review……………………………………………………………9
By Lauren Layne, Mark Bateman, Elise O’Brien, and Kari Fisher
The Agribusiness Committee’s "2016 Year in Review" focuses on significant State and Federal decisions, legislation, and regulatory programs affecting the agricultural industry.

Banks Face Wave of Website Accessibility Claims Under the ADA…………………………….11
By Merrit Jones
This past year has seen a surge in demand letters and lawsuits alleging that business websites are inaccessible in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, despite the fact that the ADA and its implementing regulations do not expressly address websites. The Department of Justice is developing regulations for website accessibility, but is not expected to finalize those until 2018 at the earliest. In the meantime, the DOJ has taken the position that an industry standard applies: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 AA. Courts, however, are split as to whether the ADA applies to websites. Most recently, a California district court granted Domino’s Pizza’s motion to dismiss on grounds that it would violate the company’s due process rights to hold that its website violates the ADA, because the DOJ still has not promulgated regulations defining website accessibility. This article by Merrit Jones of Bryan Cave LLP analyzes the controversy, and what it means for a website to be accessible under the WCAG 2.0 AA guidelines.