TATUM-RIOS v. HASTENS BEDS, INC.

    Plaintiff

    • Name: Lynette Tatum-Rios
    • Filing date: August 23, 2019
    • State of filing: New York

    Defendant

    • Name: Hastens Beds, Inc.
    • Website: www.hastens.com
    • Industry: Consumer Goods
    • Summary: Hastens Beds, Inc. is a family-owned manufacturer of beds, frames, and mattresses.

    Case Summary

    On August 23, 2019, Lynette Tatum-Rios filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Hastens Beds, Inc.. Plaintiff Lynette Tatum-Rios alleges that www.hastens.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.
    • Link 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.
    • Webpages have duplicate IDs which can cause problems in screen readers.
    • Form field labels are not unique on a page or enclosed in a fieldset that makes the label unique.
    • Webpages have no headings, headings are not nested correctly, and approximately twenty (20) headings are empty.
    • Several links on a page share the same link text, but go to different destinations.
    • Webpages 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
    • New York City 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 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 her 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; and
    • Such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper. 

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