Five bills aiming to protect small businesses from “abusive website access litigation” were passed by the Missouri House of Representative lawmakers Wednesday, and are on their way to possibly becoming Missouri law. The bills — HB 1674, 1694, 1755, 1780, and 2056 — collectively called the “Acts Against Abusive Website Access,” were passed out of the General Laws Committee and will now head to the House Legislative Rules Committee before they can reach the Senate. If ultimately passed in both the House and Senate, these bills will allow defendants to have 30 days to correct the website accessibility issues in “good faith” while also having the opportunity to counter-sue if they feel unfairly or incorrectly targeted by attorneys. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she is now aware of this type of litigation and its impact on Missouri small business owners. “The victim of the ripoff is the one who should benefit the most, not the lawyer,” Hanaway said. Last week, General Laws Committee members heard testimony from business owners across the state who have been sued over alleged noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Scott Fetterman, who owns Fetterman’s Deli, located in Parkville and Kansas City, testified before the General Laws committee on Jan. 14. He pleaded with lawmakers to help small businesses have a way to counter these lawsuits.”On June 7 (2025), I received a letter saying my website was not in compliance with the ADA … I wanted to fight this. I didn’t think I did anything wrong,” Fetterman said.Fetterman ended up settling with the attorney for an undisclosed amount and stated in his testimony, “There’s no compensation for the plaintiff. None of this money goes back to the plaintiff. It all goes back to the lawyer.” Court filings show that attorney Kevin Puckett of Kansas City has filed litigation against 126 small businesses across Missouri on behalf of one client, Robert Glen Myers of Hamilton, Missouri, who claims to have macular degeneration. He says he has legal blindness and states he can’t fully access the features of the business websites, which, if true, is a violation of the ADA. As part of a KMBC investigation last summer, it was discovered that Myers lives on the Puckett family farm. Myers declined to comment. Hanaway said every person has a right to file litigation and be well-represented, but sees these lawsuits as taking advantage of business owners who never knew their websites were not in compliance and had no time to remedy the issues. “I do know there have become these shops where copycat suits are filed over and over again, and it does have a chilling effect on businesses,” Hanaway said.Four similar bills — SB 907, 1154, 127,2 and 1471 — are currently being discussed in the Senate.
Five bills aiming to protect small businesses from “abusive website access litigation” were passed by the Missouri House of Representative lawmakers Wednesday, and are on their way to possibly becoming Missouri law.
The bills — HB 1674, 1694, 1755, 1780, and 2056 — collectively called the “Acts Against Abusive Website Access,” were passed out of the General Laws Committee and will now head to the House Legislative Rules Committee before they can reach the Senate.
If ultimately passed in both the House and Senate, these bills will allow defendants to have 30 days to correct the website accessibility issues in “good faith” while also having the opportunity to counter-sue if they feel unfairly or incorrectly targeted by attorneys.
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she is now aware of this type of litigation and its impact on Missouri small business owners.
“The victim of the ripoff is the one who should benefit the most, not the lawyer,” Hanaway said.
Last week, General Laws Committee members heard testimony from business owners across the state who have been sued over alleged noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Scott Fetterman, who owns Fetterman’s Deli, located in Parkville and Kansas City, testified before the General Laws committee on Jan. 14. He pleaded with lawmakers to help small businesses have a way to counter these lawsuits.
“On June 7 (2025), I received a letter saying my website was not in compliance with the ADA … I wanted to fight this. I didn’t think I did anything wrong,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman ended up settling with the attorney for an undisclosed amount and stated in his testimony, “There’s no compensation for the plaintiff. None of this money goes back to the plaintiff. It all goes back to the lawyer.”
Court filings show that attorney Kevin Puckett of Kansas City has filed litigation against 126 small businesses across Missouri on behalf of one client, Robert Glen Myers of Hamilton, Missouri, who claims to have macular degeneration.
He says he has legal blindness and states he can’t fully access the features of the business websites, which, if true, is a violation of the ADA.
As part of a KMBC investigation last summer, it was discovered that Myers lives on the Puckett family farm. Myers declined to comment.
Hanaway said every person has a right to file litigation and be well-represented, but sees these lawsuits as taking advantage of business owners who never knew their websites were not in compliance and had no time to remedy the issues.
“I do know there have become these shops where copycat suits are filed over and over again, and it does have a chilling effect on businesses,” Hanaway said.
Four similar bills — SB 907, 1154, 127,2 and 1471 — are currently being discussed in the Senate.
