Fischler v. Blackstone Property Partners L.P.

Summary

On April 4, 2019, Brian Fischler filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Blackstone Property Partners L.P.. Plaintiff Brian Fischler alleges that www.parkertowers.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.0 accessibility standard(s).

About the defendant

Blackstone Property Partners L.P. owns and manages the Parker Towers building in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, leasing apartments.

What the complaint says

The problems the plaintiff describes with the website.

• Lack of alt-text for images.
• Frames do not have a title.
• Form field labels are not unique on a page or enclosed in a fieldset with a legend that makes the label unique.
• Links use general text like “click here” with no surrounding textexplaining the link’s purpose
• Several links on a page share the same link text but go to different destinations.
• Webpages have markup errors.

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.
• New York State Human Rights Law
• New York City Human Rights Law
• Declaratory Relief

What the plaintiff asks for

What the plaintiff wants the court to order.

• 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 withreasonable attorneys’ and expert fees; and
• Such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.