The Fashion Nova settlement most people are searching for is a proposed $5.15 million class action deal in Alcazar v. Fashion Nova, Inc., which alleges the retailer’s website was unusable for legally blind shoppers who rely on screen-reading software. Only legally blind California residents who submitted a claim by October 20, 2025 are eligible for cash, with individual payments capped at $4,000. As of mid-2026, the deal has not been approved. The U.S. Department of Justice has formally asked the judge to reject it.
What the Lawsuit Claims
Juan Alcazar filed the class action on February 26, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California before Judge Jon S. Tigar (Case No. 4:20-cv-01434-JST).1PR Newswire. Fashion Nova Accessibility Class Action Settlement Notice The complaint says FashionNova.com was incompatible with screen readers, effectively blocking blind and visually impaired users from browsing. It relies on the Americans with Disabilities Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which permits statutory damages of up to $4,000 per violation.2Lainey Feingold Legal. Fashion Nova Settlement
Who Qualifies for a Payment
The settlement splits affected consumers into two groups, and only one of them gets money.
The California Class covers legally blind California residents who attempted to use FashionNova.com with screen-reading software any time on or after February 26, 2018. These class members are the only ones eligible for cash. A separate Nationwide Class covers blind users elsewhere in the country who had the same experience, but that group receives no monetary payment under the deal.3Top Class Actions. $5.15M Fashion Nova Website Accessibility Class Action Settlement
To claim a payment, California class members had to file a form attesting under penalty of perjury that they are legally blind, that they visited the Fashion Nova site intending to find a physical store location, and that they were unable to do so despite reasonable effort.4Lainey Feingold Legal. Amended Settlement Agreement, Alcazar v. Fashion Nova Only one payment is allowed per household. The claims deadline was October 20, 2025, and the claims administrator, CPT Group, Inc., is no longer accepting submissions.5Fashion Nova Accessibility Settlement. Alcazar v. Fashion Nova Settlement
How the $5.15 Million Is Divided
The fund’s split is the loudest point of contention in the case. According to the DOJ’s analysis, roughly $2.52 million is earmarked for attorneys’ fees and litigation costs, while about $2.43 million would reach class members.6U.S. Department of Justice. Department of Justice Opposes Unfair Class Action Settlement Involving Accessibility of Website A separate breakdown shows class counsel seeking up to $1,287,500 in fees (25 percent of the fund) plus $1,235,259 in out-of-pocket litigation costs.7Converge Accessibility. Fashion Nova Web Accessibility Settlement
Individual payments are capped at $4,000 but the actual per-person amount depends on how many valid claims were filed. If total claims exceed available funds, payouts will be reduced proportionally. Any unclaimed money will go to the American Foundation for the Blind.5Fashion Nova Accessibility Settlement. Alcazar v. Fashion Nova Settlement If the settlement is ultimately approved, payments would be distributed within 30 days of the effective date.4Lainey Feingold Legal. Amended Settlement Agreement, Alcazar v. Fashion Nova
Website Changes Fashion Nova Agreed To
On the non-monetary side, Fashion Nova agreed to modify its website to reach “substantial conformance” with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, a common technical standard for digital accessibility. The company must adopt and implement a website accessibility policy within 180 days of the settlement’s effective date, and class counsel keeps the right to conduct an audit to verify compliance.4Lainey Feingold Legal. Amended Settlement Agreement, Alcazar v. Fashion Nova
The agreement gives Fashion Nova significant flexibility. It can modify or change website features going forward so long as it uses “best efforts” to keep changes from disproportionately reducing accessibility for visually impaired users. Third-party content, user-generated posts, and linked external sites are excluded from the accessibility obligation.4Lainey Feingold Legal. Amended Settlement Agreement, Alcazar v. Fashion Nova
Why the DOJ Is Opposing the Deal
On February 2, 2026, the Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest urging Judge Tigar to reject the proposed settlement. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division argued the deal is structured to benefit the attorneys more than the disabled class members it is supposed to help.8U.S. Department of Justice. Alcazar v. Fashion Nova Inc.
The department called the injunctive relief a “mere recitation of the ADA obligation” with no concrete steps, no confirmation mechanism, and no enforcement provisions to ensure the site actually becomes accessible.6U.S. Department of Justice. Department of Justice Opposes Unfair Class Action Settlement Involving Accessibility of Website It also noted that the deal offers nothing to the nationwide class of blind users outside California, and that the split of the fund favors counsel over consumers. In a pointed detail, the DOJ said the settlement’s own informational website, the one class members were supposed to use to learn about their rights, was itself inaccessible to blind users, relying on an accessibility overlay product rather than being built to work natively with screen readers.2Lainey Feingold Legal. Fashion Nova Settlement
The DOJ stated it “does not oppose relief that would actually make a website available to individuals who are blind or have low vision” but does “oppose using a civil claim principally to enrich class counsel on the backs of persons with disabilities instead of vindicating the rights of persons with disabilities.”9Bromberg Translations. U.S. Website Accessibility Law Update, Trends, What’s Coming The department added that it does not endorse WCAG as the sole appropriate standard for ADA compliance, even though it has used WCAG benchmarks in its own past settlements.
Current Status
The settlement’s path through court has been rocky. Judge Tigar denied an earlier motion for preliminary approval in December 2024.10Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. Alcazar v. Fashion Nova, Inc. The parties then filed an amended settlement agreement on February 13, 2025. A final approval hearing was scheduled for February 12, 2026, but produced no ruling. An evidentiary hearing was held on March 30, 2026.3Top Class Actions. $5.15M Fashion Nova Website Accessibility Class Action Settlement As of mid-2026 the case remains under review with no final approval granted. The last known filing on the docket was dated May 6, 2026.11CourtListener. Alcazar v. Fashion Nova, Inc. Whether Judge Tigar will approve the deal, reject it, or require further changes is still open.
Not the Same as the FTC Refund
If you’re looking for a different Fashion Nova payout, note that this accessibility case is separate from the Federal Trade Commission action over blocked customer reviews. In that unrelated matter, Fashion Nova agreed to pay $4.2 million after the FTC alleged the retailer suppressed hundreds of thousands of negative reviews to inflate product ratings. The FTC sent 148,351 refund payments totaling nearly $2.4 million to consumers who purchased products before November 2019.12Federal Trade Commission. Fashion Nova Settlement Refunds Those refunds are not part of the accessibility case and have their own eligibility rules.