Michael Sandoval v. Visionworks of America, Inc. et al

I. Background

This is an action arising out of allegations that Plaintiff Michael Sandoval (“Plaintiff”) was denied equal access to a website operated by Defendant Visionworks of America, Inc. (“Defendant” or “Visionworks”). See generally Complaint (“Compl.”) (Dkt. 1- 1); Notice of Removal (“Not.”) (Dkt. 1).

Plaintiff is a visually-impaired and legally blind person who uses screen-reading software (“SRS”) to read website content on a computer. Compl. ¶ 1. According to Plaintiff, if certain requirements are not met then SRS is not able to read a website and allow the visually-impaired to access it. Id. ¶¶ 32-38. Plaintiff contends that he visited Defendant’s website, located at www.visionworks.com, on separate occasions and attempted to use SRS. Id. ¶¶ 2, 50. Plaintiff contends that the website provides access to goods and services and he was denied such access. Id. ¶¶ 44-46. He allegedly encountered multiple barriers, including: that “the home page has graphics, links, and buttons that are not labeled or are incorrectly labeled, or lack alternative text”; that “he encountered multiple unlabeled or mislabeled buttons and links”; and that he “was unable to browse products…