Plaintiff
- Name: Shael Cruz
- Filing date: July 22, 2020
- State of filing: New York
Defendant
- Name: Global Uprising PBC
- Website: www.ahlemeyewear.com
- Industry: Consumer Goods
- Summary: Global Uprising PBC, Corp. is a privately-held company that operates in the apparel retail industry.
Case Summary
On July 22, 2020, Shael Cruz filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Global Uprising PBC. Plaintiff Shael Cruz alleges that www.ahlemeyewear.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
- Many features on the Website also fail to contain a proper label element or title attribute for each field.
- Many pages on the Website also contain the same title elements.
- The Website also contains a host of broken links
- Obvious link like shopping cart is not labeled properly. This flaw creates issues for the interpretation performed by the screen reader and therefore bars the user from understanding the information the website is to report back to the user.
- Website images lack either direct text or an alternate text that explains the contents of the image so that the screen reader can interpret the text data and provide the description to the user so that he/she may understand the contents of the image and be able to determine what or where they wish to proceed based upon this information.
- The website permits the user to buy quantities of its product greater than one. The “cart” feature allows for the user to increase the quantity count by pressing a (+) or (-) feature on the screen. The website lacks sufficient description in the quantity feature of the cart.
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 NYCHRL
- 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 his 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
- Such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.