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Choice Hotels Website ADA Class Action Overview:
- Who: A legally blind man is suing Choice Hotels.
- Why: The plaintiff says Choice Hotels does not make its website accessible to the blind, violating the Americans With Disabilities Act.
- Where: The lawsuit was filed in a Pennsylvania federal court.
Choice Hotels does not make its website accessible to the blind, further increasing stigma for people with visual disabilities, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff John Mahoney filed the class action complaint against Choice Hotels International, LLC Apr. 18 in a Pennsylvania federal court, alleging violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
Mahoney, who is legally blind, said he needs screen-reading software to read website content using his computer.
He alleges that Choice Hotels has denied service to people who are blind or visually impaired because it has failed to make its website available in a manner compatible with computer screen-reading programs.
“Choice Hotels… deprives blind and visually impaired individuals the benefits of its goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations of its places of public accommodation—all benefits it affords non disabled individuals—thereby increasing the sense of isolation and stigma among these Americans that Title III was meant to redress,” the class action lawsuit states.
Mahoney said choicehotels.com has never been accessible to the blind because the hotel has never had an adequate corporate policy to cause its website to become and remain accessible.
Choice Hotels Needs Consultant to Make Website Accessible, Class Action States
Mahoney is asking that Choice Hotels retain a qualified consultant to make sure the website is made accessible and stays that way moving forward.
He alleges that the Choice Hotels website lacks alt text, which allows people to “see” images on a web page.
“Plaintiff was unable to differentiate what products were on the screen due to the failure of the website to adequately describe its content,” the Choice Hotels class action lawsuit says.
The website also contains many broken links, which is paralyzing for screen readers, the lawsuit says.
Mahoney is looking to represent anyone nationwide who tried to access the Choice Hotels website with a screen reader and were not able to access the company’s goods and services.
He’s seeking a declaratory judgment that the hotel chain broke the law, a permanent injunction forcing it to make the website ADA compliant, costs, fees and certification of the class action.
Meanwhile, Choice Hotels is a defendant in a sex trafficking lawsuit in which a woman referred to anonymously as Jane Doe 1 alleges that the hotels knowingly allowed sex trafficking to take place on their property.
What do you think of the allegations in this case? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by David S. Glanzberg of Glanzberg Tobia Law, P.C.
The Choice Hotels ADA Class Action Lawsuit is John Mahoney v. Choice Hotels International, LLC, Case No. 2:22-cv-01479, in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania
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4 thoughts onChoice Hotels ADA Class Action Claims Website Not Accessible to Blind, Visually Impaired Individuals
Add me I have proof of visual impairment
Add me please
Add me
Add my husband James Chenoweth