A California federal judge's ruling this week keeps alive a suit that alleges CVS Pharmacy Inc.'s website and mobile apps do not ensure blind users can access services and could be a violation of federal disability laws.

Uncertainty over the scope of ADA protections has only increased in recent years, sparking a wave of lawsuits that seek to push the reach of the law beyond entrance ramps and bathroom access for people with disabilities. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court turned away an appeal that sought Coca-Cola Co. and other companies to equip vending machines for use by blind people, agreeing with a lower court that the ADA's protections for “places of public accommodation” does not extend that far

In the CVS case, U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald of the Central District of California ruled in favor of blind users in Reed v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc. and said that the business did not comply with the U.S. Justice Department's directive to ensure that disabled individuals have equal access to websites. He dismissed the stance that CVS, like many businesses addressing this issue, took that the users were asking the company to abide by non-governmental guidelines.