Anna Marie Defeo v. Fossil Group, Inc

Summary

On February 12, 2019, Anna Marie DeFeo filed a Complaint in Florida Federal court against Fossil Group, Inc.. Plaintiff Anna Marie DeFeo alleges that www.fossil.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.0 accessibility standard(s).

About the defendant

Fossil Group, Inc. produces and sells watches and accessories at brick and mortar retail stores and via its website.

What the complaint says

The problems the plaintiff describes with the website.

• Text equivalent for every non-text element is not provided;
• Information about the meaning and structure of the Website’s content is not conveyed by more than the visual presentation of content;
• When the sequence in which content is presented affects its meaning, a correct reading sequence cannot be programmatically determined;
• Web pages do not have titles that describe topic or purpose;
• Images on the website are not explained to the user with use of a screen reader program.

Legal claims

The laws the plaintiff says the defendant broke, called causes of action.

• Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq.

What the plaintiff asks for

What the plaintiff wants the court to order.

• A Declaratory Judgment that at the commencement of this action Defendant was in violation of the specific requirements of Title III of the ADA described above, and the relevant implementing regulations of the ADA, in that Defendant took no action that was reasonably calculated to ensure that its Websites are fully accessible to, and independently usable by, blind individuals;
• A permanent injunction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12188(a)(2) and 28 CFR § 36.504 (a) which directs Defendant to take all steps necessary to bring the Website into full compliance with the requirements set forth in the ADA, and implementing regulations, so that the Website is fully accessible to, and independently usable by, blind individuals, and which further directs that the Court shall retain jurisdiction for a periodto be determined to ensure that Defendant has adopted and is following an institutional policy that will in fact cause Defendant to remain fully in compliance with the law—thespecific injunctive relief requested by Plaintiff is described more fully in Paragraph 6 above;
• Payment of costs of suit;
• Payment of reasonable attorneys’ fees, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12205 and 28 CFR § 36.505; and,e. The provision of whatever other relief the Court deems just, equitable and appropriate.