Plaintiff
- Name: Thomas J. Olsen
- Filing date: June 10, 2019
- State of filing: New York
Defendant
- Name: WeWork Wellness LLC
- Website: www.risebywe.com
- Industry: Hotel, Restaurant and Leisure
- Summary: WeWork Wellness LLC owns and operates the Rise by We fitness center offering a variety of excercise, meditation, yoga, and other health-related classes and activities.
Case Summary
On June 10, 2019, Thomas J. Olsen filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against WeWork Wellness LLC. Plaintiff Thomas J. Olsen alleges that www.risebywe.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.
- Frames do not have a title.
- Button elements are empty and have no programmatically
determined name. - Webpages have duplicate IDs, which cause problems in screen
readers. - Webpages have markup errors.
- Webpages have no headings, headings are not nested correctly and some headings are empty.
- Links use general text like “here” that doesn’t explain the link’s
purpose. - Several links on a page share the same link text, 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
- 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. 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. Exec. Law § 296, 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 State Human Rights Law and City Law;
- Pre- and post-judgment interest;
- An award of costs and expenses of the action together with
reasonable attorneys’ and expert fees; and - Such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.