Thomas J. Olsen v. Sildan Corporation

Summary

On February 25, 2019, Thomas J. Olsen filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Sildan Corporation. Plaintiff Thomas J. Olsen alleges that www.illesteva.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.0 accessibility standard(s).

About the defendant

The Sildan Corporation sells sunglasses under the name illesteva both in retail stores as well as through the website.

What the complaint says

The problems the plaintiff describes with the website.

• Lack of alt-text for images.
• Frames do not have a title.
• Button elements are empty.
• Webpages have duplicate IDs, which cause problems in screen readers.
• Radio button groups are not contained in a fieldset element.
• Webpages have no headings, headings are not nested correctly and headings are empty.
• Several links on a page share the same link text but go to a different destination.
• 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 Illesteva 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 Illesteva 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 Illesteva 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; and
• Such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.