FISCHLER v. URGO HOTELS LP

    Plaintiff

    • Name: Brian Fischler
    • Filing date: June 5, 2019
    • State of filing: New York

    Defendant

    • Name: Urgo Hotels LP
    • Website: www.thewhitefacelodge.com
    • Industry: Hotel, Restaurant and Leisure
    • Summary: Urgo Hotels LP owns and operates the White Face Lodge, a luxury lodge and resort on Lake Placid.

    Case Summary

    On June 5, 2019, Brian Fischler filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Urgo Hotels LP. Plaintiff Brian Fischler alleges that www.thewhitefacelodge.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.0 accessibility standard(s).

    Case Details

    Plaintiff alleges issues in its Complaint including the following:

    • Lack of alt-text for images.
    • Document titles are blank.
    • Tables are not properly labeled.
    • Links use general text like “read more” with no surrounding text
      explaining the link’s purpose.
    • Frames do not have a title.
    • PDFs are not properly tagged and therefore are inaccessible to
      screen readers.
    • Forms have fields without label elements or title attributes.
    • Webpages have duplicate IDs which cause problems with screen
      readers.
    • Webpages have no headings, headings are empty and headings are not nested correctly.
    • Several links on a page share the same link text, but go to different destinations.
    • Webpage have markup errors.

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

    • Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq. 
    • New York State Human Rights Law
    • Declaratory Relief

    Plaintiff seeks the following relief by way of its Complaint:

    • A preliminary and permanent injunction to prohibit Defendant from violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12182, et seq., N.Y. Exec. Law § 296, et seq., N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107, et seq. and the laws of New York;
    • A preliminary and permanent injunction requiring Defendant to take all the steps necessary to make its Website into full compliance with requirements set forth in the ADA and its implementing regulations, so that the Website is readily accessible to and usable by blind individuals;
    • A declaration that Defendant owns, maintains and/or operates its Website in a manner that discriminates against the blind and which fails to provide access for persons with disabilities as required by Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12182, et seq., N.Y. Exec. Law § 296, et seq., N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107, et seq. and the laws of New York
    • An order certifying the Class and the State and City Sub-Classes under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a) & (b)(2) and/or (b)(3), appointing Plaintiff as Class Representative, and his attorneys as Class Counsel;
    • Compensatory and damages in an amount to be determined by proof, including all applicable statutory and punitive damages and fines, to Plaintiff and the proposed class for violations of their civil rights under the New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Law;
    • Pre- and post-judgment interest;
    • An award of costs and expenses of this action together with
      reasonable attorneys’ and expert fees; and
    • Such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper. 

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