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Morgan Stanley, Ally Financial website access class action lawsuits overview:
- Who: Alexandra Hobbs filed separate class action lawsuits against Ally Financial Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC.
- Why: Hobbs claims Ally Financial and Morgan Stanley have failed to design, construct and maintain their websites in a way that would make them fully accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
- Where: The class action lawsuits were filed in New York federal court.
Ally Financial and Morgan Stanley have failed to design, construct and maintain their websites so that they are fully accessible for individuals who are blind or visually impaired, new class action lawsuits allege.
Plaintiff Alexandra Hobbs claims in separate complaints against Ally Financial and Morgan Stanley that the companies violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying her full and equal access to their websites and the services offered on them.
Hobbs argues Ally Financial and Morgan Stanley’s websites are not entirely compatible with computer screen reader programs used by herself and other blind and visually impaired individuals to browse the internet.
“Defendant deprives blind and visually-impaired individuals the benefits of its online content, and services—all benefits it affords nondisabled individuals,” both the Ally Financial class action and Morgan Stanley class action state.
Ally Financial, Morgan Stanley class action lawsuits claim websites contain access barriers
Hobbs claims Ally Financial and Morgan Stanley have a number of access barriers on their websites, including a lack of alternative text, empty links containing no text, redundant and broken links and linked images missing alt-text.
“Due to the inaccessibility of Defendant’s Website, blind and visually-impaired customers such as Plaintiff, who need screen-readers, cannot fully and equally use or enjoy the services Defendant offers to the public on its Website,” both the Ally Financial class action and Morgan Stanley class action state.
Hobbs argues the alleged access barriers have deterred her from visiting the websites for Ally Financial and Morgan Stanley and increases a sense of “isolation” and “stigma” for blind and visually impaired individuals such as herself.
Hobbs claims Ally Financial and Morgan Stanley, in addition to allegedly violating the ADA, are in violation of New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law.
She demands a jury trial for both complaints and requests injunctive and declaratory relief along with compensatory, statutory and punitive damages for herself and all class members.
Hobbs wants to represent nationwide classes and New York City subclasses of legally blind or visually impaired individuals who have been denied access to the equal enjoyment of services offered on Ally Financial or Morgan Stanley’s website.
In related news, Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $60 million earlier this year to resolve claims related to data security incidents involving the financial services company in 2016 and 2019.
Have you been denied equal access to services offered on Morgan Stanley or Ally Financial’s website? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Michael A. LaBollita, Jeffrey M. Gottlieb and Dana L. Gottlieb of Gottlieb & Associates.
The Morgan Stanley, Ally Financial website access class action lawsuits are Hobbs v. Ally Financial Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-06138, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and Hobbs v. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Case No. 1:22-cv-06141, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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4 thoughts onMorgan Stanley, Ally Financial class actions claim websites not accessible to blind, visually impaired
Add me too please
Hello I am legally blind and I relate with being denied equal opportunity because of my low vision and with Klondike website not accessible for low vision person
I have been banking with Ally for several years and have experienced issues with using my screen reader on their site. When can we join this class action suit?
I would also like to add that screen readers are not just used by people who have visual disabilities. The suit should include:
— people with brain injuries who may have an easier time with screen reading tech due to better aural comprehension vs. reading comprehension.
— people with neurological and other medical diagnoses that cause extreme exhaustion, chronic pain, etc. that make processing written information difficult. These people find it easier to listen and many use screen readers to help with web browsing.
— migraines and other types of extreme chronic pain that make looking at the screen painfully impossible and worsen other symptoms. Many of these people prefer screen readers to avoid triggering the onset of pain from light and stimuli on the screen and may prefer screen readers instead.
— other types of disabilities that might lead people to use screen readers.
Although I have had diagnosed diplopia since 1991 at age ten, I’ve also developed medical issues from both accidents and illness that fall into all of the above categories. I frequently use screen readers for all of my medical issues.
That being said, the suit should be inclusive of ANYONE with a documented illness/disability where it may be medically necessary to use a screen reader who has had difficulty using the Ally website. I hope the suit can be revised because it is an unfortunate assumption that people who have visual impairments are the only people who rely on this technology.
add me please