Alcazar v. Rite Aid Corporation

Summary

On April 14, 2020, Jon Alcazar filed a Complaint in California Federal court against Rite Aid Corporation. Plaintiff Jon Alcazar alleges that www.riteaid.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.0, WCAG 2.1 accessibility standard(s).

About the defendant

Rite Aid is a chain of retail pharmacies across the United States.

What the complaint says

The problems the plaintiff describes with the website.

• Lack of Alternative Text (“alt-text”), or a text equivalent. Alt-text is invisible code embedded beneath a graphic or image on a website that is read to a user by a screen-reader. For graphics or images to be fully accessible for screenreader users, it requires that alt-text be coded with each graphic or image sothat screen-reading software can speak the alt-text to describe the graphic or image where a sighted user would just see the graphic or image. Alt-text does not change the visual presentation, but instead a text box shows when thecursor hovers over the graphic or image. The lack of alt-text on graphics and images prevents screen-readers from accurately vocalizing a description of the image or graphic. As a result, Plaintiff and Class Members who are blind and visually-impaired customers are unable to determine what drugstore essentials are available for purchase, find Defendant’s store locations, access information about coupons, online deals, shipping and return policies, payment options, career opportunities, wellness programs, rewards or complete any purchases;
• Empty Links that contain No Text causing the function or purpose of the link to not be presented to the user. This can introduce confusion for keyboard and screen-reader users;
• Redundant Links where adjacent links go to the same URL address which results in additional navigation and repetition for keyboard and screen-reader users; and
• Linked Images missing alt-text, which causes problems if an image within a link does not contain any descriptive text and that image does not have alt-text. A screen reader then has no content to present the user as to the function of the link, including information or links for and contained in PDFs.

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.
• Unruh Civil Rights Act, California Civil Code § 51 et seq.

What the plaintiff asks for

What the plaintiff wants the court to order.

• For an Order certifying the Nationwide Class and California Class as defined herein and appointing Plaintiff and his Counsel to represent the Nationwide Class and the California Class;
• A preliminary and permanent injunction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12188(a)(1) and (2) and section 52.1 of the California Civil Code enjoining Defendant from violating the Unruh Civil Rights Act and ADA and requiring Defendant to take the steps necessary to make https://www.riteaid.com/ readily accessible to andusable by visually-impaired individuals; An award of statutory minimum damages of $4,000 per offense per personpursuant to section 52(a) of the California Civil Code.
• For attorneys’ fees and expenses pursuant to California Civil Code §§ 52(a), 52.1(h), and 42 U.S.C. § 12205;
• For pre-judgment interest to the extent permitted by law;
• For costs of suit; and
• For such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.