Warner Bros. Joins Growing List of Companies With Class Action Complaints For Websites Lacking Access for Visually Impaired

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Warner Bros. Website Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff Yensy Contreras has filed a class action lawsuit against Warner Bros.
• Why: The plaintiff alleges Warner Bros. website is not accessible to blind or visually impaired people.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., failed to design, construct, maintain and operate its website to be fully accessible to and usable by the plaintiff and other blind or visually impaired people who use screen-reading software, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Lead Plaintiff Yensy Contreras, who is a blind, visually impaired, handicapped person, claims that earlier this month, he browsed and attempted to transact business on the defendant’s website, www.wbshop.com. The main reason the plaintiff visited the website was to purchase Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. merchandise and apparel. 

“In today’s tech-savvy world, blind and visually impaired people have the ability to access websites using keyboards in conjunction with screen access software that vocalizes the visual information found on a computer screen,” the lawsuit states.

For screen-reading software to function, however, the information on a website must be capable of being rendered into text. If it is not, the blind or visually impaired user is unable to access the same content available to sighted users. 

In this case, the screen reader skips over certain text on the page, fails to describe the images and fails to read the link found on the promotional images.

Plaintiff Claims ‘Access Barriers’ Did Not Allow Him To Use the Warner Bros. Website

“The access barriers plaintiff encountered have caused a denial of plaintiff’s full and equal access in the past, and now deter plaintiff on a regular basis from visiting the website presently and in the future,” the lawsuit states. “If the website were equally accessible to all, plaintiff and the class could independently navigate the website and complete a desired transaction as sighted individuals do.” 

There have also been several recent lawsuits filed by others against major companies for denying access to blind and visually impaired individuals. These include Evenflo, Vitamin Shoppe, Sally’s Beauty Supply, American Eagle and Gold’s Gym. 

Plaintiff Yensy Contreras brings this class action on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, for declaratory relief, injunctive relief and compensatory damages—including statutory and punitive damages.

He also requests that Warner Bros. retain a qualified consultant acceptable to the plaintiff to assist the defendant to comply with web accessibility guidelines for its website. This includes training for employees and agents, regular accessibility tests and checks and development of an accessibility policy with contact information for users to report accessibility-related problems.

Are you a blind or visually impaired consumer who has been unable to access the Warner Bros. website? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Jarrett S. Charo of Mizrahi Kroub LLP. 

The Warner Bros. Website Class Action is Contreras, et al. v. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Case No. 1:21-cv-09205, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• BIC USA, Pen, Razor, Lighter Maker, Denies Website Access to Blind People, Class Action Alleges
• Evenflo Joins Growing List of Companies With Class Action Complaints for Websites Lacking Access for Visually Impaired
• FedEx Drop Boxes Inaccessible to Wheelchair Users, Class Action Alleges
• Blind Man’s McDonald’s Drive-Thru Only Hours Discrimination Class Action Tossed