A federal district court judge issued two landmark decisions today in a nationwide class action against Target Corporation. First, the court certified the case as a class action on behalf of blind Internet users throughout the country under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Second, the court held that web sites such as Target.com are required by California law to be accessible.
The ruling was issued in a case brought by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). The suit charges that Target failed and refused to make Target.com accessible to the blind and, therefore, violated the ADA as well as two California civil rights statutes: the California Unruh Civil Rights Act and the California Disabled Persons Act.
The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion to certify a nationwide class under the ADA for injunctive relief. The court also granted the plaintiffs’ motion to certify a California subclass for both injunctive relief and statutory minimum damages. The court denied Target’s motion for summary judgment.
The court certified, as counsel for the class, the following law firms: Disability Rights Advocates; Brown, Goldstein & Levy; Schneider & Wallace; and Peter Blanck, chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute and university professor at Syracuse University.
Originally posted on October 3, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
AOL today released the new AIM 6.5 instant messaging application. The new version offers a variety of new instant messaging features, including enhanced mobile messaging and a new status message feature. It also showcases two new plugins built using Open AIM APIs that let users stream music and play casual online games.