Plaintiff
- Name: John R. Morgan
- Filing date: February 26, 2020
- State of filing: New York
Defendant
- Name: Sears Outlet Stores, LLC
- Website: www.searsoutlet.com
- Industry: Consumer Goods
- Summary: Sears Outlet Stores, LLC is a subsidiary of the larger Sears Department Store Corporation. Sears Outlet Stores operate a chain of retail stores selling discount appliances and home goods.
Case Summary
On February 26, 2020, John R. Morgan filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Sears Outlet Stores, LLC. Plaintiff John R. Morgan alleges that www.searsoutlet.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.1 accessibility standard(s).
Case Details
Plaintiff alleges issues in its Complaint including the following:
- Many features on the Website lacks alt. text, which is the invisible code embedded beneath a graphical image.
- Many features on the Website also fail to add a label element or title attribute for each field.
- Plaintiff has made multiple attempts to complete a purchase on www.searsoutlet.com, most recently in February of 2020, but was unable to do so independently because of the many access barriers on Defendant’s website.
- The Website also contained a host of broken links, which is a hyperlink to a nonexistent or empty webpage.
Plaintiff asserts the following cause(s) of action in its Complaint:
- Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq.
- 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 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.