Olsen v. Breather Products US Inc.

Summary

On March 27, 2019, Thomas J. Olsen filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Breather Products US Inc.. Plaintiff Thomas J. Olsen alleges that www.breatheroffices.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.0 accessibility standard(s).

About the defendant

Breather is a flexible workspace provider based in Montreal, Canada, with office spaces in New York City.

What the complaint says

The problems the plaintiff describes with the website.

• Non-text images lack alt-text describing them. Several images are not even detected by the screen reader.
• Sample floor plans contained on the Website are completely inaccessible to a screen reader.
• A Google map provided with pins indicating all the office spaces in the designated neighborhood is completely inaccessible to the screen reader.
• There are multiple forms on the Website that are inaccessible to a screen reader.
• Some pages have the same title so the title cannot be used to distinguish pages
• Webpages have duplicate IDs which cause problems in screen readers
• Webpages have no headings
• Headings are not nested properly
• Webpages have markup errors

Legal claims

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

• Violations of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq.
• Violations of the NYSHRL
• Violations of the NYCHRL
• 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 Title III of the ADA, 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 the requirements set forth in Title III of 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 the Website in a manner that discriminates against the blind and which fails to provide access for persons with disabilities as required by ADA, 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 Subclasses 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 damages in an amount to be determined by proof, including all applicable statutory damages, punitive damages and fines
• Pre- and post-judgment interest
• An award of costs and expenses of this action together with reasonable attorneys’ and expert fees
• Such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper