Federal Court Dismisses Chocolate Retailer Website Accessibility Lawsuit for Lack of Standing

On September 28, 2025, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted a motion to dismiss filed by defendant Raaka Chocolate, Inc. in a digital accessibility lawsuit brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The court dismissed the amended complaint without prejudice for lack of standing, granting the plaintiff 45 days—until November 12, 2025—to file a second amended complaint.

Raaka Chocolate, Inc. sells organic, gluten-free, and soy-free chocolate online. The plaintiff, who is legally blind and uses screen-reading software, filed the action on December 28, 2023. The plaintiff alleged that during visits to the website on November 29 and 30, 2023, screen-reading software encountered multiple barriers while attempting to purchase a "Ginger Snap" chocolate bar. The alleged barriers included duplicate alternative text for different images, broken links, missing structural landmarks, and malfunctioning cart buttons.

Standards for Standing Under the ADA

To establish standing for injunctive relief under the ADA in the Second Circuit, a plaintiff must show a past injury, a reasonable inference of continuing discrimination, and a plausible intent to return to the website:

• Past injury: The court determined that the plaintiff adequately alleged a past injury. Encountering website barriers that made the shopping process "more difficult and burdensome" than for sighted users satisfies this requirement at the motion-to-dismiss stage.
• Continuing discrimination: The court found that alleging two separate visits with ongoing barriers was minimally sufficient to plead continuing discrimination.
• Intent to return: The court ruled that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate a plausible intent to return to the website. The complaint asserted general statements of intending to return "in the near future" to buy high-end chocolate, but lacked specific facts showing why the plaintiff preferred Raaka Chocolate, Inc., whether the product was unique and unobtainable elsewhere, or any personal history or hobby connecting the plaintiff to the brand.

Because the plaintiff did not show standing for injunctive relief under the ADA, the parallel claim for injunctive relief under the NYCHRL was also dismissed. The court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over remaining local claims for damages and dismissed the declaratory judgment claim as non-actionable on its own.

Leave to Amend and Deadlines

The court gave the plaintiff until November 12, 2025, to submit a second amended complaint curing the standing deficiencies. If the plaintiff files, Raaka Chocolate, Inc. must respond within 21 days of service. If no timely filing is made, the case will be dismissed without prejudice.