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Website accessibility law in Delaware

Last checked

In Delaware a customer cannot go straight to court; they file with the state Division of Human and Civil Rights, and a Commission panel can award actual damages, fees and state civil penalties of $5,000–$25,000 per practice. 'Place of public accommodation' (§ 4502) covers any establishment that offers goods or services to or solicits the general public, with no physical-location qualifier, but no website ruling was found. On top of that, the federal ADA applies in Delaware as everywhere: a business that loses or settles a website accessibility suit pays the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees.

The law

Minimum per violation
None set
Can a person sue for money?
No
Attorney's fees under state law
Yes
Other money remedies
  • actual damages incl. humiliation and embarrassment (panel order), § 4508(h)(1)
  • costs, expenses, reasonable attorneys' fees (panel order), § 4508(h)(2)
  • AG civil action: equitable relief, monetary damages, attorneys' fees, § 4512(a)
  • criminal fine up to $2,500 and/or 1 year applies only to subpoena non-compliance/falsified evidence, § 4510(e) — not to the discrimination itself
Civil penalty
Panel: up to $5,000 per practice (no prior), up to $15,000 (1 prior in 5 yrs), up to $25,000 (2+ prior in 7 yrs), payable to Special Administration Fund, 6 Del. C. § 4508(h)(4). AG suit: up to $25,000 first violation, up to $50,000 subsequent, § 4512(a).
Websites
We found no court decision applying Delaware law to a website.

Verified against the official statute text, Oct 7, 2026. A summary, not legal advice.

The federal baseline

ADA Title III gives a private plaintiff no money damages, but a business that loses or settles pays the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees (42 U.S.C. § 12205). That fee-shifting is what makes a website claim expensive, in Delaware and everywhere else.

Lawsuits in Delaware

The lawsuit tracker has no indexed court records from Delaware yet.

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Questions

Can a business in Delaware be sued over an inaccessible website?

Yes. The federal ADA applies in every state, and a plaintiff can sue in federal court for an order to fix the site plus attorney's fees. Delaware law doesn't let a person sue for money directly; complaints go to a state agency. We found no court decision applying Delaware law to a website.

What is the minimum a Delaware court awards for a website accessibility violation?

Delaware law sets no fixed minimum per violation. In Delaware a customer cannot go straight to court; they file with the state Division of Human and Civil Rights, and a Commission panel can award actual damages, fees and state civil penalties of $5,000–$25,000 per practice. 'Place of public accommodation' (§ 4502) covers any establishment that offers goods or services to or solicits the general public, with no physical-location qualifier, but no website ruling was found.

Do I pay the plaintiff's lawyer if I lose or settle in Delaware?

Under the federal ADA, yes: a business that loses or settles usually pays the plaintiff's attorney's fees (42 U.S.C. § 12205). Delaware law also provides for attorney's fees.

Which accessibility standard should a Delaware business website meet?

The ADA doesn't name a technical standard for businesses. The Justice Department's 2022 guidance points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and its 2024 rule for state and local governments adopted WCAG 2.1 Level AA.