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Northwestern University class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiff Joseph Ortiz has filed a class action lawsuit against Northwestern University.
- Why: The Northwestern University website is allegedly not fully accessible to blind and visually impaired individuals.
- Where: The Northwestern University class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court.
- What are my options: Udemy offers online learning options on a variety of subjects.
Northwestern University operates a website that is not fully accessible to and independently usable by blind or visually impaired individuals, according to a class action lawsuit filed May 25 in New York federal court.
Plaintiff Joseph Ortiz is legally blind and requires screen-reading software to access website content on his computer, the Northwestern University class action lawsuit explains.
He says he has unsuccessfully attempted to obtain information on the Northwestern website about the university’s sports teams, rosters, schedules, statistics and news. He was also allegedly unable to purchase admission tickets or purchase team merchandise online.
Because the Northwestern University website is not compatible with screen-reading programs, blind and visually impaired individuals are unable to access the website content in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Ortiz alleges.
As a result, Ortiz says, blind and visually impaired individuals are deprived of the benefits of Northwestern University’s online content, goods and services that are available to nondisabled individuals.
Northwestern University class action says discrimination particularly harmful during COVID-19 pandemic
Northwestern University’s failure to maintain a website that is accessible to blind and visually impaired individuals has increased the “sense of isolation and stigma among those persons that Title III [of the ADA] was meant to redress,” the Northwestern University class action lawsuit states.
Ortiz notes this alleged discrimination is especially detrimental due to the global pandemic, which placed Americans with disabilities at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. To minimize this risk, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Americans with disabilities shelter in place.
Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic has made access to online retailers, including Northwestern University, especially important for this vulnerable population, Ortiz says.
The Northwestern University class action lawsuit seeks an injunction requiring Northwest University to take the steps necessary to bring its website into full compliance with the ADA so that it is independently accessible to blind individuals.
Northwestern University is just one of the latest colleges to face an ADA website accessibility lawsuit alleging its website is not fully accessible to blind or visually-impaired individuals.
What do you think about the Northwestern University class action lawsuit? Join the discussion in the comments.
Ortiz is represented by Michael A. LaBollita, Jeffrey M. Gottlieb, and Dana L. Gottlieb of Gottlieb & Associates.
The Northwestern class action is Ortiz, et al. v. Northwestern University, Case No. 1:23-cv-04418, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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