Rebecca Castillo v. Lush Cosmetics LLC

Summary

On July 18, 2019, Rebecca Castillo filed a Complaint in California State court against Lush Cosmetics, LLC . Plaintiff Rebecca Castillo alleges that www.lushusa.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.0, Section 508 accessibility standard(s).

About the defendant

Lush Cosmetics, LLC manufactuers and sells cosmetics and beauty products.

What the complaint says

The problems the plaintiff describes with the website.

• The home page has graphics, links, and buttons that are not labeled or are incorrectly labeled, or lack alternative text {"Alt-text")
• Plaintiff encountered multiple unlabeled or mislabeled buttons and links.
• Plaintiff encountered multiple pages containing an assortment of unlabeled list boxes, cursor traps, and videos that are inaccessible to screen readers, obstructing Plaintiff's ability from effectively navigating Defendant's Website;
• Plaintiff was unable to effectively access Defendant's Website because category headings were not accessible for screen-reader use
• Plaintiff was unable to make a purchase because of an inaccessible checkout system
• Plaintiff was unable to create an account because of an inaccessible signup system

Legal claims

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

• Violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, California Civil Code §51 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 owns, maintains, and/or operates its Website in a manner which discriminates against the blind, fails to provide access to blind or visually-impaired individuals, and that Defendant took no action that was reasonably calculated to ensure that its Website is fully accessible to, and independently usable by blind and visually impaired individuals in violation of California’s Unruh Act, California Civil Code 51, et seq;
• A preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining Defendant from further violations of the UCRA, Civil Code 51 et seq. with respect to its website "lushusa.com"
• A preliminary and permanent injunction requiring Defendant to take the steps necessary to make lushusa.com readily accessible to and usable by blind and visually-impaired individuals but Plaintiff hereby expressly limits the injunctive relief to require that Defendant expend no more than $50,000 thereon;
• An award of statutory minimum statutory damages of not less than $4,000 per violation pursuant to 52(a) of the California Civil Code
• An additional award of $ 4,000.00 as deterrence damages for each violation pursuant to Johnson v. Guedoir, 218 F. Supp. 3d 1096; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150740 (USDC Cal, E.D. 2016);
• For attorneys’ fees and expenses pursuant to all applicable laws including, without limitation, Civil Code §52(a);
• For pre-judgment interest to the extent permitted by law
• For costs of suit
• For such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper