Blind User Secures Settlement in Funimation Website Class Action

Funimation Global Group, LLC has reportedly agreed to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the company of failing to make its website accessible to those with visual impairments. 

Lead plaintiff, Jenisa Angeles, accused Funimation of failing to use readily available technology that would have made its website accessible to her and others who are blind or visually impaired. In her class action filed in federal court in New York in January, Angeles accused Funimation of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  

The class action lawsuit was reportedly settled by Funimation and Angeles in an out-of-court deal in March. The company declined to comment on the settlement and the details have not yet been made available to the public, reports Anime News Network.  

Funimation, a company that provides anime streaming services, failed “to design, construct, maintain, and operate its website to be fully accessible to and independently usable by [Angeles] and other blind or visually-impaired people,” alleged the class action.  

Angeles claimed that, despite being proficient in the screen-reading software she needs to use in order to access websites, she was unable to use the Shop section of the site on several occasions. She said that the company denied her and others with visual impairments “a shopping experience similar to that of a sighted individual due to the website’s lack of a variety of features and accommodations” in violation of the ADA. 

Specifically, alleged Angeles, Funimation’s website did not include an alt. text feature, and the company did not include a “label element or title attribute for each field.” The plaintiff said that she and other Class Members were unable to determine the products on the website that were for sale, as a result.  

Though it is unknown what Funimation agreed to under the terms of the class action settlement, the lawsuit’s demands included the hiring of a consultant to bring the company’s website into compliance with the ADA and New York state law, along with damages for Angeles and Class Members.  

Have you run into issues using a screen reader or other technology that makes websites more accessible? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.  

The Funimation ADA Class Action Lawsuit is Angeles v. Funimation Global Group, LLC, Case No. 1:21-CV-00299 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  

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