MURPHY v. NEW MOTORS, INC.

    Plaintiff

    • Name: James Murphy
    • Filing date: November 19, 2019
    • State of filing: Pennsylvania

    Defendant

    • Name: New Motors, Inc.
    • Website: www.newmotorsbmw.com
    • Industry: Automobile
    • Summary: New Motors, Inc. is a BMW dealer in Erie County, Pennsylvania.

    Case Summary

    On November 19, 2019, James Murphy filed a Complaint in Pennsylvania Federal court against New Motors, Inc.. Plaintiff James Murphy alleges that www.newmotorsbmw.com is not accessible.

    Case Details

    Plaintiff alleges issues in its Complaint including the following:

    • Links and buttons on the website do not describe their purpose. As a result, blind users cannot determine whether they want to follow a particular link, making navigation an exercise of trial and error. For example, shoppers who perceive content visually will likely recognize the Menu, Pin, and Telephone icons displayed throughout the website and understand that by clicking them, Defendant will redirect shoppers to a list of its website services, location, and contact information, respectively. Unfortunately, these icons are not labeled. As a result, when Plaintiff hovers over them, his screen reader reads "button" only, making it impossible for him to utilize these important features independently.
    • The website prevents screen reader users who navigate sequentially through content from accessing primary content directly. For example, after users activate or click the menu button, Defendant’s website displays a pop-up menu on the left side of the screen. Shoppers who perceive content visually can click various buttons in this pop-up to access additional content related to, for example, Home, New Inventory, and Pre-Owned Vehicles. Unfortunately, Defendant’s website requires that Plainitff tab through the unrelated elements in the website’s underlying page before his screen reader scrolls to the primary content of this pop-up window. This burdensome and unnecessary interaction makes it likely that Plaintiff will leave the website before accessing this menu and deters him from making a purchase.
    • The website does not provide a sufficient text equivalent for many important non-text elements. Providing text alternatives allows the information to be rendered in a variety of ways by a variety of users. A person who cannot see a picture, logo, or icon can have a text alternative read aloud using synthesized speech. For example, the website uses image files to convey visually available promotions. Unfortunately, Defendant’s corporate accessibility policies fail to ensure these images include alternative text to describe available promotions in sufficient detail so that a screen reader user, like our clients, can determine what these images represent. To this end, Defendant’s website includes an image with text provides: “2019 Volkswagon Atlas $6,000 off MSRP.” Unfortunately, the alternative text associated with this image provides: “seven underscore nineteen underscore new underscore motors underscore vw underscore web underscore banners two thousand nineteen atlas sel jpg link image.” This alternative text is meaningless and fails to describe the important promotional information that other shoppers perceive visually, making it more likely that Plainitff will miss out on the promotion.
    • The Website fails to sufficiently describe the purpose of all headings. As a result, blind users will have significant difficulty understanding what information is contained on pages and how that information is organized. When headings are clear and descriptive, users can find information they seek more easily, and they can understand the relationships between different pieces of content.
    • The Website does not include sufficiently descriptive labels or instructions when content requires a user to submit information or activate particular features. Without these instructions, screen reader users cannot fully navigate the webpages.
    • Elements on the Website do not have complete start and end tags, are not nested according to their specifications, and may contain duplicate attributes. As a result, screen readers cannot parse the webpages’ content accurately.
    • The Website includes user interface components, such as form elements and links, for which the name and role cannot be determined programmatically.

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

    • Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq.

    Plaintiff seeks the following relief by way of its Complaint:

    • A judgment declaring from the commencement of this action Defendant was in violation of Title III of the ADA, and the relevant implementing regulations of the ADA, in that Defendant took no action reasonably calculated to ensure that its Website is 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) directing Defendant to take all steps necessary to bring its Website into full compliance with the requirements set forth in the ADA, and its implementing regulations, so that its Website is fully accessible to, and independently usable by, individuals with visual disabilities, 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 institutional policies that cause it to remain fully in compliance with the law—the specific injunctive relief requested by Plaintiff is described more fully described in paragraphs 12 through 22 above
    • 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)
    • 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

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