Inclusion Daily Express -- Court Rejects Target Corp's Motion To Drop Class Action Status In Web Accessibility Case

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Court Rejects Target Corp's Motion To Drop Class Action Status In Web Accessibility Case
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 3, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA--The lawsuit against Target Corporation over accessibility problems with its Internet website will move ahead as a class action.

The National Federation of the Blind released a statement Wednesday applauding the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco for denying Target's motion to appeal the class action status of its lawsuit.

The court's decision means that the suit, which was filed nearly two years ago, will represent all Americans that have vision-related disabilities.

"We are pleased that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed our lawsuit against Target to move forward on its merits," said NFB President Dr. Marc Maurer. "Target can no longer delay being held accountable to the blind of the nation for denying us access to its Web site."

The nonprofit law firm Disability Rights Advocates filed the suit in February 2006 on behalf of blind UC Berkeley student Bruce Sexton, Jr. and the National Federation of the Blind of California.

The suit alleged that Target.com is not accessible, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the California Unruh Civil Rights Act and the California Disabled Persons Act.

Specifically, the plaintiffs said the website lacked "alt text" tags, which are words that can be written into webpage code along with graphic images so that computerized screen readers can describe those images out loud to blind web surfers. The website also lacked image maps, which allow blind users to move to different places on the site, and required users to use a mouse to complete any transaction, which means that they must have a sighted person help them.

Target's lawyers have asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the federal and state civil rights laws only apply to physical premises and not the Internet.

The suit asked the court to force Target to stop violating the laws, to declare that Target operated its website in a manner that discriminated against users who are blind or have vision-related disabilities, and to pay damages to the plaintiffs.

Related:
"Target Corporation Sued for Discrimination Against the Blind" (Disability Rights Advocates)
http://www.dralegal.org/cases/private_business/nfb_v_target.php
Text of complaint: "National Federation of the Blind v. Target" (Alameda County Superior Court)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/0208e.htm

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