Plaintiff
- Name: Thomas J. Olsen
- Filing date: June 10, 2019
- State of filing: New York
Defendant
- Name: Belhurst Estate Winery, Inc.
- Website: www.belhurst.com
- Industry: Hotel, Restaurant and Leisure
- Summary: Belhurst Estate Winery, Inc. owns and operates the Belhurst Mansion, a resort and winery in Geneva, New York.
Case Summary
On June 10, 2019, Thomas J. Olsen filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Belhurst Estate Winery, Inc.. Plaintiff Thomas J. Olsen alleges that www.belhurst.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. Images are labeled only with file names or non-descriptive text such as “spa 1” or “spa 3.”
- Some pages have the same name, so the name cannot be used to distinguish pages.
- Webpages have markup errors.
- Links use general text like “Learn More” with no surrounding text explaining the link purpose.
- Multiple links share the same name but go to different destinations.
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
- 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.
