A visually-impaired woman has filed a class action lawsuit against a major cinema chain, alleging that its website is inaccessible to blind and visually impaired users. The complaint was filed by Eslimerari Ramos in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on September 2, 2024, targeting Cinemark USA, Inc.
According to the filing, Ramos is legally blind and relies on screen-reading software to navigate websites. She claims that Cinemark's website, www.cinemark.com, fails to meet accessibility standards mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). "Defendant’s denial of full and equal access to its website, and therefore denial of its goods and services offered thereby, is a violation of Plaintiff’s rights under the ADA," the complaint states. Ramos attempted multiple times to purchase movie tickets from Cinemark's website but encountered numerous barriers that made it impossible for her to complete the transaction. These barriers included missing alt-text for images, hidden elements on web pages, broken links, and interactive elements that were not properly labeled for screen readers.
The lawsuit highlights that approximately 8.1 million people in the United States are visually impaired according to a 2010 U.S. Census Bureau report. Ramos argues that Cinemark's failure to make its website accessible excludes millions of potential customers from enjoying their services. "Because Defendant’s website...is not equally accessible to blind and visually impaired consumers, it violates the ADA," she asserts in her complaint.
Ramos seeks a permanent injunction requiring Cinemark to modify its corporate policies and practices so that its website becomes fully accessible to blind and visually-impaired consumers. Specifically, she requests that Cinemark retain a qualified consultant who will ensure compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. This would include training employees on accessibility compliance, regularly testing user accessibility by blind or vision-impaired persons, and developing an accessibility policy clearly disclosed on their website.
The plaintiff also seeks nominal damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and expenses of this action together with reasonable attorneys’ fees. The case has been assigned Case No.: 1:24-cv-7963 with Judge presiding over it.
Plaintiff’s attorney is Yaakov Saks from Stein Saks PLLC.