Plaintiff
- Name: Ian Foley
- Filing date: June 26, 2020
- State of filing: New York
Defendant
- Name: The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Inc.
- Website: www.vermontteddybear.com
- Industry: Consumer Goods
- Summary: The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Inc. makes and sells plush teddy bear gifts for all occassions.
Case Summary
On June 26, 2020, Ian Foley filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Inc.. Plaintiff Ian Foley alleges that www.vermontteddybear.com is not accessible.
Case Details
Plaintiff alleges issues in its Complaint including the following:
- Defendant’s Website is so constructed that the product options are not in the tab order. The “Create the Perfect Gift” section has four actionable elements in which a user can add a bow, a gift, flowers and create a gift tag. After selecting one of the four options, this section updates to show the individual product options for that selection. Both the main options and sub options are not in the tab index, as required, and will therefore not be announced by a screen reader under normal navigation. Focus jumps from the review section to the Add to Bag button.
- Screen reader users are not informed about the status messages that are available to visual users. A cart preview window opens after a user adds an item to their bag. This window is not announced to screen reader users and it does not receive focus, as required. Instead of receiving the confirmation message that is available to sighted users, screen reader users hear “unavailable” and then focus moves to the carousel of images at the bottom of the screen so it’s unclear whether the item was added or not.
- The screen reader user is unable to complete some of the text fields as they are unlabeled. The guest checkout field does not have an accessible label. Users hear “list list edit blank” instead of “Email Address*” A text label is available onscreen but is not programmatically associated with this field. As a result, users do not hear the name of the field announced when they tab to it.
Plaintiff asserts the following cause(s) of action in its Complaint:
Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq.
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 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, individuals with visual disabilities
- A permanent injunction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12188(a)(2) and 28 CFR § 36.504(a) which directs Defendant to take all steps necessary to bring its Websites into full compliance with the requirements set forth in the ADA, and its implementing regulations, so that its Websites are 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 it to remain fully in compliance with the law—the specific injunctive relief requested by Plaintiffs is described more fully in paragraph 11 above
- Payment of actual, statutory, and other damages, as the Court deems proper
- Payment of costs of suit
- Payment of reasonable attorneys’ fees, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12205 and 28 CFR § 36.505, including costs of monitoring Defendant’s compliance with the judgment (see Gniewkowski v. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-01898-AJS (W.D. Pa. Jan. 11, 2018) (ECF 191); see also Access Now, Inc. v. Lax World, LLC, No. 1:17-cv-10976-DJC (D. Mass. Apr. 17, 2018) (ECF 11)
- Whatever other relief the Court deems just, equitable and appropriate
- An Order retaining jurisdiction over this case until Defendant has complied with the Court’s Orders
Comments