FIGUEROA v. ZOOT SPORTS, INC.

    Plaintiff

    • Name: Jose Figueroa
    • Filing date: April 9, 2019
    • State of filing: New York

    Defendant

    • Name: Zoot Sports, Inc.
    • Website: www.zootsports.com
    • Industry: Apparel
    • Summary: Zoot Sports, Inc. makes and sells triathalon wetsuits, bibs, shorts, bags, and other related accessories.

    Case Summary

    On April 9, 2019, Jose Figueroa filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Zoot Sports, Inc.. Plaintiff Jose Figueroa alleges that www.zootsports.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.1 accessibility standard(s).

    Case Details

    Plaintiff alleges issues in its Complaint including the following:

    • Website, www.zootsports.com, lacks prompting information
      necessary to allow Plaintiff to locate and narrow down a specific field of desired products and price range. This omission was exacerbated by the lack of alt. text, which is the invisible code embedded beneath a graphical image on a website.
    • Website also requires the use of a mouse to effectively browse and make a purchase. Yet Plaintiff cannot use a mouse because manipulating the mouse is a visual activity of moving the mouse pointer from one visual spot on the page to another.
    • Website does not provide user with the ability to skim content, as Plaintiff was forced to manually scroll, line by line, in an effort to browse content of interest located toward the bottom of a given page.
    •  Website did not provide a live chat feature, so Plaintiff was unable to effectively communicate his questions and concerns which would in effect aid his browsing experience.

    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
    • New York City Human Rights Law
    • New York State Civil 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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