A visually impaired individual has taken legal action against a major playing card company, alleging that its website is not accessible to blind users. Blair Douglass filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on June 17, 2024, targeting The United States Playing Card Company.
Douglass, who is legally blind and relies on screen reader auxiliary aids to access online content, claims that the company's website fails to provide adequate accessibility features. This lack of compatibility with screen readers denies him full and equal access to the goods and services offered by the company. The lawsuit alleges multiple violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including failure to provide effective communication through alternative text for images and navigational tools on their website.
According to Douglass, attempts to resolve these issues informally were unsuccessful. He contacted the company multiple times between August and October 2023 but did not receive a satisfactory response. When he revisited the site in June 2024, he found that many accessibility barriers still existed. These include issues such as insufficient alternative text for product ratings, cookies policy notifications, quantity adjustment buttons, size selection indicators, and error messages in forms.
Douglass seeks declaratory and injunctive relief from the court. He requests a permanent injunction requiring the company to make its website fully accessible within a specified timeframe. Specific measures sought include appointing an Accessibility Consultant knowledgeable about digital accessibility standards, developing an accessibility strategy, training employees on accessibility practices, conducting regular audits and end-user testing for compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 A/AA standards.
The case is being handled by attorneys Kevin W. Tucker, Kevin J. Abramowicz, Chandler Steiger, and Stephanie Moore from East End Trial Group LLC. The presiding judge is yet to be named in this case filed under Civil Action No. 2:24-cv-873.