[IL-Talk] FW: [Tech-VI] New Class Action Lawsuit against AccessiBeOverlay Company Sued for Breach of Contract, Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing +++

[dan.tevelde at comcast.net]

Here's an interesting article. Despite the fact that this company met with
leaders in our national organization I'm not convinced by the company that
they want to be transparent. I have never seen an overlay which added any
value to a website. When the user sees a message about using a screenreader
it seems to me like the website is offering a separate and unequal
experience for blind users. I would be happy to write an article for the
Braille Monitor about this issue.

 

Dan

 

From: tech-vi at groups.io <tech-vi at groups.io> On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2024 5:54 PM
To: Tech-VI Announcement List <tech-vi at groups.io>
Subject: [Tech-VI] New Class Action Lawsuit against AccessiBeOverlay Company
Sued for Breach of Contract, Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair
Dealing +++

 

Original Source <https://www.lflegal.com/2024/07/accessibe-class-action/> 

 


New Class Action Lawsuit against AccessiBeOverlay Company Sued for Breach of
Contract, Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing +++


Posted on <https://www.lflegal.com/2024/07/accessibe-class-action/> July 10,
2024


On This Page


This article is about a lawsuit filed against a company that sells overlays.
The company is called AccessiBe. An overlay is a type of software that
promises to make websites accessible. The lawsuit was filed by a small
business that licensed the AccessiBe overlay (also called a widget) for its
website. The small business still got sued by a blind person who said the
website was not accessible. The small business' lawsuit says that AccessiBe
violated the law by claiming that its product makes websites accessible and
compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The next thing that will
happen is that AccessiBe will respond to the lawsuit. Lainey has written and
spoken about problems with overlays for several years. This article will be
updated with any developments in the case.



On June 24, 2024 Tribeca Skin Care, a small skin care dermatology practice
in New York City, filed a class action lawsuit against overlay company
AccessiBe. Relying on AccessiBe's promises about accessibility and ADA
compliance, Tribeca purchased a 1-year subscription to AccessiBe's
"AccessWidget" at an annual subscription fee of $490 in August 2022. The
subscription was renewed in August 2023.

In January 2024 Tribeca Skin Care was sued in a class action complaint
alleging that its website (with the AccessiBe overlay installed) did not
comply with ADA requirements.

The lawsuit that Tribeca filed against AccessiBe lists in great detail
factual allegations about what the AccessiBe widget (overlay) promises vs.
what it delivers. It also spells out promises AccessiBe made to Tribeca
about how it would help if there was a lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that all the alleged facts add up to violations of
several New York state laws. The legal violations include Breach of
Contract, Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, violation
of New York State General Business Law, and Breach of Implied Warranty.

The suit was filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York as
a class action. This means that down the road the lawyers in this case will
seek to represent: "All persons or entities who purchased a subscription to
Defendant's "accessWidget" (formerly known as "Accessibe Solution") and/or
"accessFlow" during the applicable limitations period." The limitations
period will be decided later if the case moves forward.

The next thing that will happen is for AccessiBe to file a response to the
complaint.


Quotes from the Complaint against AccessiBe


The legal complaint against AccessiBe is a thing of beauty for those of use
who have long sounded the alarm about the harms and shortcomings of one line
of code accessibility overlays, and our opinions about the false promises
surrounding them.

Here are just a few of the allegations of the complaint. AccessiBe will have
a chance to rebut these (say they are not true) and argue about the legal
claims down the road. [Note that the company name is spelled without a
capital "B" in the complaint.]

Curious? You can read the 32 page
<https://www.lflegal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Sherwin-v-Accessibe-Comp
laint.pdf> Legal Complaint against AccessiBe here.

Plaintiff further seeks injunctive relief that would require Accessibe to
discontinue its deceptive practices.Complaint against AccessiBeComplaint
against AccessiBe, paragraph 1

Accessibe's claims about the efficacy of its products are overstated and
many of its specific representations are materially misleading and false-as
is its guarantee that its products will ensure that a website is ADA
compliant. Accessibe's fundamental laim is that installing its widget will,
in and of itself, ensure that a website will meet WCAG recommendations and
ADA compliance.

This is simply untrue.Complaint against AccessiBe, paragraph 7

In many cases, installing Accessibe's widget actually hinders accessibility,
in that Accessibe's widget interferes with necessary accessibility
technology tools widely used by users with disabilities who require such
accessibility tools to browse the Internet" (In the Complaint this sentence
cites to the  <http://overlayfactsheet.com/> Overlay FactsheetComplaint
against AccessiBe paragraph 7

In fact, businesses that use Accessibe's products are more likely to be the
targets of lawsuits. Use of Accessibe's widget serves as a signal that a
business has used a flawed shortcut to make its website accessible to people
with disabilities-one that actually impedes visually impaired people from
using the website.Complaint against AccessiBe, paragraph 8

  _____  

Lainey appreciates the careful work and extensive detail that went in to
drafting this legal complaint. I will share updates as I learn of them.

Posted in  <https://www.lflegal.com/category/digital-accessibility/> Digital
Accessibility,  <https://www.lflegal.com/category/articles/> News and
Articles,
<https://www.lflegal.com/category/digital-accessibility/overlays/> Overlays

 

David Goldfield,

Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist

 

 <http://www.davidgoldfield.com/> www.DavidGoldfield.com

 

Director of Marketing,

Blazie Technologies

 <http://www.blazietech.com/> www.BlazieTech.com

 

If you need help using your assistive technology, learn about my training
services by visiting

 <http://www.screenreadertraining.com/> WWW.ScreenReaderTraining.com

 

Am Yisrael Chai

The Nation of Israel Lives!

 

 <https://www.freedomscientific.com/Training/Certification> 

 <https://certification.nvaccess.org/> NVDA Certified Expert

 

Subscribe to the Tech-VI announcement list to receive news, events and
information regarding the blindness assistive technology field.

Email:  <mailto:tech-vi+subscribe at groups.io> tech-vi+subscribe at groups.io

 

 

_._,_._,_

  _____  

Groups.io Links:

You receive all messages sent to this group. 

View/Reply Online (#7319) <https://groups.io/g/tech-vi/message/7319>  |
Reply To Group
<mailto:tech-vi at groups.io?subject=Re:%20%5BTech-VI%5D%20New%20Class%20Action
%20Lawsuit%20against%20AccessiBeOverlay%20Company%20Sued%20for%20Breach%20of
%20Contract%2C%20Breach%20of%20the%20Covenant%20of%20Good%20Faith%20and%20Fa
ir%20Dealing%20%2B%2B%2B>  | Reply To Sender
<mailto:david.goldfield at outlook.com?subject=Private:%20Re:%20%5BTech-VI%5D%2
0New%20Class%20Action%20Lawsuit%20against%20AccessiBeOverlay%20Company%20Sue
d%20for%20Breach%20of%20Contract%2C%20Breach%20of%20the%20Covenant%20of%20Go
od%20Faith%20and%20Fair%20Dealing%20%2B%2B%2B>  | Mute This Topic
<https://groups.io/mt/107153113/4674163>  
Your Subscription <https://groups.io/g/tech-vi/editsub/4674163>  | Contact
Group Owner <mailto:tech-vi+owner at groups.io>  | Unsubscribe
<https://groups.io/g/tech-vi/leave/12617077/4674163/594587398/xyzzy>
[dan.tevelde at comcast.net]

_._,_._,_