What evidence should a Shopify brand keep after settling an ADA claim?

Settling an ADA claim ends the lawsuit, not the risk. Serial plaintiffs monitor settled sites, and a second claim on the same barriers is harder and more expensive to resolve. After a settlement, keep a dated evidence trail: what was remediated, when each fix shipped, the scan results proving it, and the monitoring that keeps it fixed. That file is your leverage if anyone comes back.

The settlement is a pause, not a finish line

ADA settlements typically include a remediation commitment and a timeline. Meeting the deadline is the floor, not the goal. The stores that get sued twice are the ones that treat settlement as paperwork: they fix what the agreement names, file the confirmation, and let the site drift back. Plaintiffs' firms know this pattern, which is why settled sites get re-scanned.

The evidence you keep after settlement should tell a story of sustained compliance, not a one-time scramble. Every future conversation, with a plaintiff, a judge, or your own board, goes better when you can show continuous attention rather than a burst of activity around the settlement date.

Keep the remediation record item by item

For each barrier named in the claim, keep a record with four fields: the finding, the fix, the ship date, and the verification. The verification should be a scan or manual test result dated after the deploy, not just a developer's note that the work was done. Screenshots of the fixed component with the test date visible are cheap and persuasive.

Store this record where it will survive staff turnover. A shared drive folder with a clear naming convention beats a ticket thread that gets archived. If the person who managed the settlement leaves, the record should still be complete and readable.

Document the monitoring that prevents recurrence

The most important post-settlement evidence is proof of ongoing vigilance. Keep the monitoring configuration, the scan schedule, and a log of findings and resolutions since the settlement. A quarterly summary, findings found, findings fixed, current status, takes an hour to write and is the single most useful document in any future dispute.

This is also where most brands fail. They remediate thoroughly and then monitor nothing, so the first they hear of a regression is the second demand letter. Monitoring evidence is the difference between "we fixed it and stayed fixed" and "we fixed it once."

Preserve the settlement terms and timeline

Keep the settlement agreement itself, with the remediation commitments and deadlines, alongside the evidence that each commitment was met on time. If the agreement required an accessibility statement or a feedback mechanism, keep records showing they went live and stayed live. Broken settlement commitments are worse than no commitments, because they show awareness followed by neglect.

Calendar the agreement's key dates. Some settlements include follow-up testing windows or check-ins. Missing a settlement-mandated check-in forfeits the goodwill the settlement bought.

Brief the team that touches the site

Evidence is only as good as the behavior behind it. The content team, the agency, and anyone who installs apps should know the store settled a claim and what that means for their work: no untested theme changes, no new apps without vetting, no skipping the pre-publish checks. One untrained content upload can undo the remediation the settlement paid for.

Make the briefing short and concrete. People remember "we were sued over missing alt text, so alt text is now required before publish" far better than a general lecture on digital accessibility. The settlement is a story; use it. Revisit the briefing whenever the team changes or a new app is installed, because the habits it builds are the cheapest insurance the store has against a second claim.