Blind man settles ADA lawsuit with Hawks Cay

Dec. 27--A legally blind man with cerebral palsy who has sued scores of companies for lack of access to their websites has settled a case against a Florida Keys resort.

Juan Carlos Gil this month informed U.S. District Court in Key West that he had struck a confidential settlement with Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key.

Earlier this year, Gil sued, this time demanding Hawks Cay redo its website so that screen-reader software he uses can be used to access it. Gil also sought compensation for his time and suffering, saying he tried to plan a vacation to the Keys resort but was stymied by the website's limitations.

"No price can be put on the plaintiff's inability to shop for himself," his attorney Scott Dinin of Miami wrote in the 32-page complaint against the resort.

Senior Judge James Lawrence King signed a final order of dismissal Dec. 7, according to court records.

Gil, who filed the suit at U.S. District Court in Key West on July 18, this year won a similar lawsuit against the Winn-Dixie company after a two-day trial. A judge found that the grocery chain's website is an extension of its physical locations and therefore subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In that case, filed in Miami federal court in July 2016, Judge Robert Scola Jr. ordered Winn-Dixie to change its website as a remedy and limited Gil to attorney fees.

"Gil has been on 500-600 other websites that actually work with the screen reader software," Scola wrote in his verdict June 12.

Gil has sued a lengthy list of companies over the same issue, with many of them ending in settlements.

Gwen Filosa: @KeyWestGwen

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