PITTSBURGH — Purple Innovation is accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act for allegedly failing to have a website that can be accessed by visually impaired users.
Antoinette Suchenko and Lisa Gathers filed a complaint on July 23, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, against Purple Innovation, doing business as Purple, for alleged violations of civil rights under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Antoinette Suchenko and Lisa Gathers, both visually impaired individuals, claim the defendant denied them and the 7 million Americans who are visually impaired to access to its website's goods, content, and services because the website is largely incompatible with the screen reader programs they use to navigate an increasingly economic world.
Plaintiffs claim they were not provided the benefits that are equal to those provided to non-disabled persons, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs hold Purple responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to make its website compatible with computer screen reader programs, which deprives blind and visually-impaired individuals the benefits of its online goods, content, and services.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek declaratory and permanent injunction, payment of actual, statutory and punitive damages, payment of costs, attorneys' fees and whatever other relief the Court deems just, equitable and appropriate. They are represented by Benjamin J. Sweet and Kevin W. Tucker of Carlson Lynch Sweet Kilpela & Carpenter, LLP in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Case number 2:18-cv-00962-AJS