Federal Court Permits Substitution of Lead Plaintiff in Victoria's Secret Website Accessibility Lawsuit

On June 26, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order conditionally granting a motion to file a second amended complaint to substitute the lead plaintiff in an ongoing website accessibility lawsuit against Victoria's Secret & Co. (Case No. 23-cv-06654-MMC).

Background of the Lawsuit

The original complaint alleged that Victoria's Secret violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act. The initial plaintiff, who is legally blind and uses screen reading software, asserted that she attempted to buy merchandise online for in-store pickup at the San Francisco Centre Mall in May 2023. She alleged that checkout buttons labeled "Select Store" were not coded to announce selections to screen readers, preventing blind shoppers from selecting a pickup location.

On May 16, 2025, the plaintiff moved to substitute another blind consumer as class representative due to health issues that prevented the original plaintiff from continuing. Victoria's Secret opposed the change, arguing that the switch terminated the case or controversy, violated procedural scheduling rules, showed bad faith after an unaccepted Rule 68 settlement offer, was untimely, and was legally futile.

The Court's Ruling

The court rejected the retailer's preliminary jurisdictional and procedural defenses. It noted that the original plaintiff's claims had not been dismissed or settled, meaning a live controversy remained. Additionally, the court found no bad faith, undue delay, or prejudice against Victoria's Secret, noting that the case is still at an early stage without an established trial date.

However, regarding the sufficiency of the allegations, the court found that the proposed substituted plaintiff had not provided specific facts showing which physical retail stores she intended to visit for order pickups or demonstrating an intent to return to the website. To establish legal standing, the court conditioned leave to amend on adding these specific facts.

Deadlines and Next Steps

The court established the following schedule for the pending action:

• July 11, 2025: The new lead plaintiff must file a second amended complaint satisfying the court's standing requirements.
• August 1, 2025: The new lead plaintiff and Victoria's Secret must provide initial disclosures.
• September 5, 2025: The parties must meet and confer in person to explore settlement.
• October 10, 2025: The parties must file either a Notice of Need for Mediation and Certification of Counsel or a Notice of Settlement of ADA Access Case.
• Post-Mediation: Within five days after the mediator files an ADR session certification, the plaintiff must file a notice requesting a case management conference.

Further case details and court filings are accessible via govinfo.gov.