NISBETT v. INTERNATIONAL VAPOR GROUP, LLC

    Plaintiff

    • Name: Kareem Nisbett
    • Filing date: January 12, 2021
    • State of filing: New York

    Defendant

    • Name: International Vapor Group LLC
    • Website: www.directvapor.com
    • Industry: Consumer Goods
    • Summary: Direct Vapor is an online retailer of nicotine vaporizers and liquid refills. 

    Case Summary

    On January 12, 2021, Kareem Nisbett filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against International Vapor Group LLC. Plaintiff Kareem Nisbett alleges that www.directvapor.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.1 accessibility standard(s).

    Case Details

    Plaintiff alleges issues in its Complaint including the following:

    • Lack of alt-text for images.
    • Many unlabeled buttons
    • Fields in a group lack labels.
    • Row and column headers are not properly labeled;
    • Label elements are blank;
    • Pages lack titles, for example: https://www.directvapor.com/vandy-vape-jackaroo-100w-tc-vape- mod-18727/ Line 862 and https://www.directvapor.com/vandy- vape-jackaroo-100w-tc-vape-mod/
    • Links use general text of “read more” with no surrounding text. For example:
      https://www.directvapor.com/eliquids/coffee/
      https://www.directvapor.com/e-liquids/menthol/
      https://www.directvapor.com/e-liquids/nicotine-salts/
    • No title attributes found for frames on pages;
    • Pages have duplicate IDs
    • Form control has no labels;
    • Pages have markup errors. For example
      https://www.directvapor.com/shop-by-brand/eleaf/ Line 32 41 387 1563 1927 ... https://www.directvapor.com/shop-by-brand/joyetech/
    • Difficulty navigating through Website or completing an order

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

    • VIOLATIONS OF THE ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq
    • VIOLATIONS OF THE NYSHRL
    • VIOLATIONS OF THE NYCHRL
    • DECLARATORY RELIEF

    Plaintiff seeks the following relief by way of its Complaint:

    • A preliminary and permanent injunction to prohibit Defendant from violating Title III of the ADA, 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 the requirements set forth in Title III of 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 the Website in a manner that discriminates against the blind and which fails to provide access for persons with disabilities as required by ADA, 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 Subclasses 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 damages in an amount to be determined by proof, including all applicable statutory damages, punitive damages and fines
    • Pre- and post-judgment interest
    • An award of costs and expenses of this action together with reasonable attorneys’ and expert fees
    • Such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.

    Comments