Fischler v. Territory Foods, Inc.

Summary

On February 11, 2020, Brian Fischler filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Territory Foods, Inc.. Plaintiff Brian Fischler alleges that www.territoryfoods.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.0 accessibility standard(s).

About the defendant

Territory Foods is an online, meal-delivery service allowing subscribers to select cooked-to-order meals, delivered twice weekly.

What the complaint says

The problems the plaintiff describes with the website.

• Images are not accompanied by alternative text.
• Tables are not properly labeled.
• Frames do not have a title.
• Some pages have the same title so the title cannot be used to distinguish pages.
• Form controls have no label and no programmatically determined name.
• Forms have fields without label elements or title attributes.
• Webpages have duplicate IDs which cause problems in screen readers.
• Webpages have no headings, headings are not nested correctly and approximately thirteen (13) headings are empty.
• Several links on a page share the same link text but go to different destinations

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.