Last Christmas, instead of experiencing the joys of the holiday season, our family flower shop Leaf & Blossom, Co. here in Orlando was blindsided by a lawsuit over alleged “website accessibility issues.” Shockingly, the individual who filed the lawsuit had never even been a customer, never stepped a foot into our establishment, never had any form of contact with us. We felt this wasn’t about advocating for accessibility—it was about exploiting a loophole in the law to extract money from mom-and-pop businesses like ours, crippling us right before our busiest time of year: Valentine’s Day. We’re just a small, family-run shop between my mother, me, a full time designer and two part-time delivery drivers. Our success with over 900 glowing Google reviews made us visible—but that visibility made us a target. We don’t build or code our own website—it’s operated through a third-party floral platform, which confirmed our site was 100% ADA/accessibility compliant. We even included an accessibility notice in the footer of our e-commerce site. Yet we were still served. Our attorney urged us to settle as “the path of least resistance.” But that settlement cost us thousands of dollars during our busiest season, money that should have gone to supporting our staff and keeping our business strong. Not only were we reprimanded to pay the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees by thousands of dollars, we were not even told how to be digitally ADA compliant. Sadly, we KNOW we are not alone. Hundreds of small businesses across the nation are facing similar frivolous ADA lawsuits, often orchestrated by a handful of opportunistic firms, 16 to be exact. These actions do nothing to advance the rights of people with disabilities. Instead, they exploit small business owners who may be unaware of minor, technical non-compliance on their websites, and surely they must’ve amounted to millions as they’ve created their own market for this type of business. The intent of the ADA is noble and vital—to ensure equal access for all. But when it is weaponized for profit, it undermines the very spirit of the law. The plaintiffs these law firms use make them agree to use their name across thousands of lawsuits by using a software scanner. They USE these visually impaired clients for their own financial gains and it is a multimillion dollar cottage industry. Their software scans through thousands of domain names within the United States jurisdiction to find flaws, and then they exploit the ADA. These actions are essentially tarnishing the reputation of that law to protect those who are TRULY in need. This is why I felt a common sense law only makes perfect sense: A 30-, 60-, or even 90-day grace period before any lawsuit can move forward would give small businesses the chance to address alleged issues and comply with accessibility standards—without facing immediate legal and financial ruin. But the standards themselves aren’t clear, and there is no such thing as being 100% compliant. Not even the ADA’s website is visually compliant. So how exactly is this just? Across the country, both online and brick-and-mortar businesses are being hit with cookie-cutter lawsuits from individuals who have no real involvement with them. Many owners feel bullied into settling because defending themselves feels impossible. Settlements often range from $10,000 to $40,000, devastating micro-businesses. According to the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, more than 40% of ADA lawsuits are filed in just two jurisdictions known as litigation abuse hotspots— Florida, California, New York are some of the country’s biggest hotspots for these suits. This highlights the disproportionate impact and underscores the urgent need for reform. We are calling on the Florida Legislature to enact laws that provide a reasonable grace period—30, 60, or even 90 days—for ADA compliance. This would preserve the financial health of small businesses and protect the local economy while still upholding the rights of individuals with disabilities. Please, sign this petition to stand with small businesses in Florida. Together, we can ensure the ADA continues to be a force for good—not a weapon of financial exploitation and intimidation.