Reid v. Swanson Health Products, Incorporated

Summary

On August 26, 2019, Valentin Reid filed a Complaint in New York Federal court against Swanson Health Products, Incorporated. Plaintiff Valentin Reid alleges that www.swansonvitamins.com is not accessible per the WCAG 2.1 accessibility standard(s).

About the defendant

Swanson manufactures and sells vitamins and other non-FDA regulated products for sale via retail stores and its website.

What the complaint says

The problems the plaintiff describes with the website.

• When adding a product to the cart and attempt to checkout, the screen reader's focus is on the previous page so that in order to actually checkout Plaintiff was required to tab through the entire previous page.
• When tabbing through the Website there is no logical procession which creates a very difficult and unintuitive browsing experience.
• When attempting to Sign In and an error is encountered due to wrong credentials, there is no error identification message displayed via the screen reader. This leaves the user unable to proceed with his browsing experience and effectively deniedaccess to the privileges and benefits of the Website.

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
• New York State Civil Rights Law
• 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 the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12182, et seq., N.Y. Exec. Law § 296, et seq., N.Y.C. Administrative 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 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 its Website in a manner that discriminates against the blind and which fails to provide access for persons with disabilities as required by Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§12182, et seq., N.Y. Exec. Law § 296, et seq., N.Y.C. Administrative Code § 8-107, et seq., and the laws of New York;
• An order certifying the Class and Sub-Classes 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 and punitive damages and fines, to Plaintiff and the proposed class and subclasses for violations of their civil rights under New York State Human Rights Law and City Law;
• Pre- and post-judgment interest;
• An award of costs and expenses of the action together withreasonable attorneys’ and expert fees; and
• Such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.