GOMEZ v. HOULIHAN'S RESTAURANTS, INC.

Plaintiff

Name: Andres Gomez
Filing date: July 11, 2019
State of filing: Florida

Defendant

Name: Houlihan's Restaurants, Inc.
Website: www.devonseafood.com
Industry: Hotel, Restaurant and Leisure
Summary: Houlihan's Restaurants, Inc. is a national chain of casual dining restaurants

Case Summary

On July 11, 2019, Andres Gomez filed a Complaint in Florida Federal court against Houlihan's Restaurants, Inc. . Plaintiff Andres Gomez alleges that www.devonseafood.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.0 accessibility standard(s).

Case Details

Plaintiff alleges issues in its Complaint including the following:

Text equivalent for every non-text element is not provided
Information about the meaning and structure of the Website’s content is not conveyed by more than the visual presentation of content
When the sequence in which content is presented affects its meaning, a correct reading sequence cannot be programmatically determined
Web pages do not have titles that describe topic or purpose
Images on the website are not explained to the user with use of a screen reader program

Plaintiff asserts the following cause(s) of action in its Complaint:

Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq.
Violation of Florida Statutes §509 and §760 et al

Plaintiff seeks the following relief by way of its Complaint:

A Declaratory Judgment that at the commencement of this action Defendant was in violation of the specific requirements of Title III of the ADA and Florida Statutes 509 and 760 as described above, and the relevant implementing regulations of the ADA, in that Defendant took no action that was reasonably calculated to ensure that its Websites are fully accessible to, and independently usable by, blind individuals
A permanent injunction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12188(a)(2), 28 CFR § 36.504 (a), and Florida Statutes §760.02 and §509.092 which directs Defendant to take all steps necessary to bring the Website into full compliance with the requirements set forth in the ADA, and implementing regulations, so that the Website is fully accessible to, and independently usable by, blind individuals, and which further directs that the Court shall retain jurisdiction for a period to be determined to ensure that Defendant has adopted and is following an institutional policy that will in fact cause Defendant to remain fully in compliance with the law—the specific injunctive relief requested by Plaintiff is described more fully in Paragraph 6 above
Payment of costs of suit
Payment of reasonable attorneys’ fees, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12205 and 28 CFR § 36.505
Payment of Compensatory Damages to Plaintiff, including but not limited to mental anguish, loss of dignity, and any other intangible injuries pursuant to Florida Statute §760.11(5).
Retaining jurisdiction to permit Plaintiff to amend the Complaint after proffering a reasonable evidentiary basis for the award of punitive damages
The provision of whatever other relief the Court deems just, equitable and appropriate