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Email: shelland@fredlaw.com
Office: 612.492.7113
Assistant: Jill Beckman Ray, 612.492.7602
Advertising, Marketing & Trademark
Artificial Intelligence
Copyright Protection and Enforcement
Intellectual Property
Securities
IP Technology, Licensing & Commercialization
Internet, Technology & E-Commerce
Start Up & Rapid Growth Enterprises
Data Protection & Cybersecurity
Life Sciences
Website Accessibility
Sports & Entertainment
Law at the intersection of information technology (IT), Internet, software, new media and advertising—this is where Steve has built his career and works with clients to build value, close deals and promote compliance.
Steve chairs a multi-disciplinary group of lawyers, as the laws and marketplace dynamics impacting his clients cut across traditional lines. His areas of focus and experience include: copyright, licensing, contracts, Software as a Service (SaaS), cloud agreements, start-ups and entity formation, advertising, health IT, marketing, social media, privacy, security and breach issues, big data, and machine learning/artificial intelligence (A.I.).
Steve is Chair of Fredrikson & Byron’s Internet, Technology & E-Commerce Group. In 2015, Steve founded the firm’s Website Accessibility Group.
November 6, 2019
In the past month, over 40 retailers and restaurants have been served with lawsuits in federal court, alleging that a lack of Braille gift cards discriminates against blind customers in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
September 24, 2019
Government contractors, are the websites and deliverables you provide to government clients accessible?
January 9, 2019
In December 2018, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) sued Epic Systems, a provider of one of the most widely-used electronic medical record systems in the country.
October 12, 2018
The first known website accessibility ADA case has been filed by a Minnesota plaintiff in a Minnesota court. What steps can you take to reduce your risk of getting sued?
July 20, 2018
Sacha Baron Cohen just premiered his latest television work, “Who Is America?”
April 25, 2018
Federal Judge James P. Jones handed website owners, operators and developers a major win in April 2018 in dismissing the website accessibility/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case brought by blind plaintiff Keith Carroll.
March 23, 2018
Buying a non-accessible website may buy you a class action lawsuit.
January 18, 2018
In a shift from previous tactics, blind plaintiff Juan Carlos Gil sued the underlying platform provider and website developer in his website accessibility/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit, in addition to the specific business promoted by a particular website.
November 10, 2017
For companies that take substantial steps to improve accessibility the defense of “mootness” is having some success.
September 26, 2017
In addition to suing Fordham University, the College of Westchester, Iona College and the College of New Rochelle have also been named in class action lawsuits alleging that inaccessible websites violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws.
June 14, 2017
On June 13, Judge Robert Scola, Jr. released his verdict and Order following a non-jury trial: the defendant Winn-Dixie violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as its website was not accessible to the plaintiff Joan Carlos Gil, a blind individual who uses the JAWS screen reader to access website content.
June 7, 2017
Silence can be devastating when it comes to intellectual property rights.
May 24, 2017
In the case of Frazier v. AmeriServ Financial Bank, # 17cv0031, 2017 federal district judge Arthur J. Schwab ruled that Title III of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, applies to AmeriServ Bank’s website.
April 26, 2017
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently sent out over 90 letters to brands and influencers for failing to properly disclose a sponsored relationship, compensation or other benefit in relation to a social media endorsement.
March 20, 2017
By Steven E. Helland & Marguerite J. Ahmann
Twelve deaf individuals filed a complaint in Federal District Court in Arizona on March 13 against Banner Health, which operates hospitals, surgery centers and urgent care centers in Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming.
February 1, 2017
An established plaintiff disability law firm, Carlson Lynch, has sued HCA Holdings in federal court, alleging that websites operated by over 100 hospitals and health care facilities owned by HCA are not accessible to blind individuals and therefore violate Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
January 18, 2017
The sharp rise of website accessibility litigation and demands that impacted retail, fast-food, financial organizations, banks and education sectors in 2015 and 2016 has expanded to target the healthcare industry, including: hospitals, clinics, health insurance as well as related providers such as drug stores and optical stores.
November 15, 2016
By Matthew T. Boos, Steven E. Helland & Karla L. Reyerson
In a trend that began several years ago and has migrated through several industries, investment firms are among those being targeted by enterprising plaintiffs’ lawyers alleging that the firms’ website are inaccessible to blind or otherwise disabled users. The claim is that the firms are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
November 4, 2016
The Wall Street Journal ran a major story on November 1, 2016, describing the growing trend of lawsuits brought by a handful of plaintiff law firms representing blind individuals against hundreds of website operators including well-known names such as Foot Locker, Toys ‘R’ Us, Brooks Brothers and the NBA.
September 1, 2016
By Steven E. Helland & Karla L. Reyerson
Is your bank’s website accessible to the visually impaired? If it is not – or if you are not sure – now is the time to address this issue as businesses across the country are receiving demand letters and being made parties to legal claims for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
July 6, 2016
E*TRADE’s recent press release reads as though E*TRADE simply discovered its inner, more-inclusive, corporate self “E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC) today announced an initiative to enhance its website, mobile applications, and desktop trading and investing platforms to make them more accessible for customers with disabilities.“
May 27, 2016
Between April 19 and May 3, 2016, Olive Garden, Domino’s, Potbelly and Dean & Deluca were each named as a defendant in four separate but similar class action lawsuits. The suits, all brought by the Lee Litigation Group, allege that the defendants’ improperly designed websites are inaccessible to blind users and violate Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as state and local laws.
May 19, 2016
In what appears to be the first court decision of its kind, a California state court held not only that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites, but also that in the case of ColoradoBaggage.com, the website design and features were sufficiently inaccessible to blind users (using screen reader technology) that the site owner violated ADA as well as the California Unruh Act and is liable for monetary damages and injunctive relief.
April 27, 2016
Three blind law school graduates just filed a federal class action lawsuit in Texas, alleging that BarBri, Inc., the leading bar exam test prep company, violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act by “maintaining barriers to the accessibility of its services for blind students who use talking screen reading software and failing to make reasonable accommodations or provide auxiliary aids or services.” See, Stanley V. BarBri, Inc.
February 8, 2016
Oklahoma-based pizzeria Mazzio’s Italian Eatery filed a preemptive “declaratory” lawsuit in federal district court against the Carlson Lynch law firm on February 2, 2016. Mazzio’s, LLC v. Carlson, Lynch, Sweet & Kilpela, LLC, N. Dist. Oklahoma, Case No. 16-cv-59-CVE-TLW.
January 18, 2016
As in past years, the Minnesota Bar Association’s “Midwest Legal Conference on Privacy & Data Security“ was fantastic.
December 28, 2015
Patagonia, Ace Hardware, Aeropostale, Bed Bath & Beyond and Estee Lauder are the most recent companies sued by blind plaintiffs, alleging that the retailers’ websites are not accessible to the blind as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In light of the uncertain state of the law, the following actions may reduce risk for website operators, even though such actions may not be legally required.
December 2, 2015
On November 19, the Department of Justice announced it is further delaying issuing guidance on what is required of website operators to be compliant under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
October 8, 2015
The Court of Justice of the European Union effectively invalidated the E.U. – U.S. “Safe Harbor” program in a decision released on Tuesday.
January 27, 2015
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has signaled its willingness to regulate and scrutinize claims of improved physical and mental fitness made by software and app makers.
December 19, 2014
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) targets small and mid-size businesses, extracting settlements with threats of huge damages. In this article, you will be provided a legal background on software license disputes and tips to consider in interacting with the BSA.
November 21, 2014
Software audits, or inquiries by a software vendor regarding legal use of a software license, can be an intimidating experience. This article addresses the most common issues a business might experience when responding to a software audit, including tips on what to do and what not to do.
November 20, 2014
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that the for-profit privacy certification business TRUSTe, Inc. agreed to pay $200,000 to settle allegations of false or misleading statements regarding its Privacy Seal Program.
