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WILLIAMS v. GHD PROFESSIONAL, NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Filed June 15, 2020

Plaintiff

  • Name: Pamela Williams
  • Filing date: June 15, 2020
  • State of filing: New York

Defendant

  • Name: GHD Professional, North America, Inc.
  • Website: www.ghdhair.com
  • Industry: Beauty
  • Summary: GD Hair manufactures and sells a broad line of hair care products including straighteners, brushes, dryers, curlers, gels, and related items.

Case Summary

On June 15, 2020, Pamela Williams filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against GHD Professional, North America, Inc.. Plaintiff Pamela Williams alleges that www.ghdhair.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. As a result, Plaintiff was unable to differentiate what products were on the screen due to the failure of the Website to adequately describe its content. Such issues were predominant in the section where Plaintiff was attempting, but was unsuccessful, in making a purchase.
  • Many features on the Website also fail to Add a label element or title attribute for each field. This is a problem for the visually impaired because the screen reader fails to communicate the purpose of the page element. It also leads to the user not being able to understand what he or she is expected to insert into the subject field. As a result, Plaintiff and similarly situated visually impaired users of Defendant’s Website are unable to enjoy the privileges and benefits of the Website equally to sighted users.
  • Many pages on the Website also contain the same title elements. This is a problem for the visually impaired because the screen reader fails to distinguish one page from another. In order to fix this problem, Defendant must change the title elements for each page.
  • The Website also contained a host of broken links, which is a hyperlink to a nonexistent or empty webpage. For the visually impaired this is especially paralyzing due to the inability to navigate or otherwise determine where one is on the website once a broken link is encountered. For example, upon coming across a link of interest, Plaintiff was redirected to an error page. However, the screen-reader failed to communicate that the link was broken. As a result, Plaintiff could not get back to her original search.

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.C. Administrative 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 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.C. Administrative Code § 8-107, et seq., and the laws of New York
  • An order certifying the Class and Sub-Classes 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 and punitive damages and fines, to Plaintiff and the proposed class and subclasses for violations of their civil rights under New York City Human Rights Law and 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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