Olsen v. Tailgate Clothing Company, Corp.

Summary

On May 24, 2019, Thomas J. Olsen filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Tailgate Clothing Company, Corp. d/b/a Todd Snyder. Plaintiff Thomas J. Olsen alleges that www.toddsnyder.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.0 accessibility standard(s).

About the defendant

Tailgate Clothing Company, Corp. d/b/a Todd Snyder is online and department store retailer of men's apparel.

What the complaint says

The problems the plaintiff describes with the website.

• Lack of alt-text for images. Images are labeled “Key Look 1,” for example.
• Frames have no titles.
• Button elements are empty and have no programmatically determined name.
• Forms have fields without label elements or title attributes.
• Webpages have duplicate IDs, which cause problems in screen readers.
• Headings are not nested correctly and approximately twenty (20) headings are empty
• Links use general text like “here” which does not explain the link’s purpose.
• 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.

• Violations of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 1281 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 Todd Snyder 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 Todd Snyder 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 Todd Snyder 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.