Blind Customer Files ADA Class Action Lawsuit against Express

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A class action lawsuit accusing Express Inc. of forcing blind customers to disclose their personal identification numbers (PINs) when making purchases with their debit cards was filed Friday in Pennsylvania federal court.

The class action lawsuit was filed by Robert Jahoda, who accuses the retailer of violating Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide card swipe machines with textured keys for customers to use when making debit card purchases. Jahoda alleges that Express stores throughout the United States lack this feature, forcing blind customers to disclose their PINs when they pay with a debit card, leaving them vulnerable to bank fraud.

Jahoda alleges that Express uses flat touch screens on their point of sale (POS) devices, which render blind customers unable to discern the difference between the numbers on the screen. He also alleges Express fails to provide any alternative means of securely entering PINs during a debit card transaction. As a result, blind customers are unable to independently make a debit purchase at Express stores. “Instead, the blind or visually impaired customer must divulge their PIN number in order to complete a debit transaction,” the class action lawsuit says.

According to the class action lawsuit, Jahoda, who is legally blind, visited a Pennsylvania Express retail store in December 2013. When he attempted to make a purchase with his debit card, he was allegedly unable to do so independently because the POS device was not “fully accessible to, and independently usable by,” blind or visually impaired customers, in violation of the ADA.

Jahoda filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a class of similarly situated individuals. He seeks an injunction requiring Express to replace or repair all of its POS devices that do not comply with the ADA, so that they are fully accessible to blind or visually impaired customers. He also seeks a declaratory judgment that Express was in violation of the ADA by failing to provide POS devices that were accessible to blind or visually impaired customers.

Express’s “non-compliance threatens blind people with the loss of their private banking information,” the class action lawsuit says. “Blind people who wish to make a debit purchase at Defendant’s stores have no choice but to reveal their private PINs to others to complete the purchase.”

The ADA is a federal law that was designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in important areas of American life, including employment, access to services, transportation and places of public accommodation. It was signed into law in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush.

Express is just the latest retailer to be targeted by Jahoda for its alleged failure to provide POS devices that are accessible to blind and visually impaired customers. He filed a similar class action lawsuit against Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. in November and another against Kay Jewelers in December.

Jahoda is represented by Bruce Carlson, Stephanie K. Goldin and Carlos Diaz of Carlson Lynch Ltd.

The Express Inc. ADA Class Action Lawsuit is Robert Jahoda v. Express Inc., Case No. 2:14-cv-00012, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.