ACCESS NOW, INC. and ROBERT GUMSON vs. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES, CO. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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ACCESS NOW, INC. and ROBERT GUMSON vs. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES, CO.

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Is Southwest.com a place of public accommodation defined by the ADA and does it ... Southwest.com is Not a 'Place of Public Accommodation' as defined by the ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: ACCESS NOW, INC. and ROBERT GUMSON vs. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES, CO.


1
  • ACCESS NOW, INC. and ROBERTGUMSON vs. SOUTHWEST
    AIRLINES, CO.
  • By Tessa Barrans, Andrea Beckman, Feiya
    Suo and Monica Olsson

2
Background Information
  • United States District Court for the Southern
    District of Florida
  • Decided and filed on October 18, 2002

3
Facts
  • Plaintiff Access Now, Inc. is a non-profit
    advocacy group for disabled individuals working
    to.
  • Plaintiff Robert Gumson a blind individual who
    claims the Southwest Airlines website is
    inaccessible.
  • Access argued that Southwest was obligated under
    Title III of the ADA to take a number of steps to
    make its website accessible to the visually
    impaired.
  • Southwest wanted dismiss the Plaintiffs
    complaint based on how southwest.com is not a
    "place of public accommodation" and thus is not
    within the scope of Title III of the ADA.

4
Issues
  • Is Southwest.com a place of public accommodation
    defined by the ADA and does it need to be
    accessible to visually impaired persons?

5
Decision
  • On Southwest's motion, the Court dismissed
    plaintiffs' suit, finding that Title III of the
    ADA did not impose an obligation on Southwest to
    modify its website so as to accommodate the
    visually impaired as websites are not recognized
    as "public accommodations".

6
Rationale
  • Title III governs solely access to physical,
    concrete places of public accommodations. This
    does not include websites.
  • Southwest.com is Not a Place of Public
    Accommodation as defined by the unambiguous
    language of the ADA
  • Southwest has no obligation under Title III to
    make its web site accessible to the visually
    impaired.
  • Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim upon
    which relief can be granted
  • Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) provides
    that dismissal of a claim is appropriate when "it
    is clear that no relief would be granted under
    any set of facts that could be proved consistent
    with allegations".

7
Significance
  • This case ruling is a substantial loss to the
    disabled community, specifically the visually
    impaired, especially when one takes into account
    the very active and growing role of the Internet
    in today's society.
  • This enforces the limited interpretation of the
    ADA.
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