October 3, 2007
William Becker

Federal District Judge Marilyn Patel in California has certified a class of plaintiffs for purposes of bringing a lawsuit against the national retailer Target Corp.  The lawsuit alleges that Target's web site violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because it is inaccessible to blind customers.  While that may seem like a strange claim, the proponents of the lawsuit have already had some success with their argument.

According to the plaintiffs, Target's web site is a place of "public accommodation," which is covered by the ADA.  Target has allegedly designed its web site in a way that is incompatible with software often used by blind web surfers to "read" web pages aloud.  Because Target's web site does not allow blind users to "read" the content, the plaintiffs argue that their are effectively denied access based on their disability. The case will now proceed to the discovery stage.

An article discussing the opinion certifying the class can be found here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0245259720071003