Thurston

Filed 9/23/

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

CHERYL THURSTON,

Plaintiff and Appellant, E074098

v. (Super.Ct.No. CIVDS1620291)

OMNI HOTELS MANAGEMENT OPINION

CORPORATION,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. David Cohn, Judge.

Affirmed.

Pacific Trial Attorneys, Scott J. Ferrell and Richard H. Hikida for Plaintiff and

Appellant.

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, Gregory F. Hurley and Michael J. Chilleen

for Defendant and Respondent.

1 Cheryl Thurston (Thurston) is blind and uses screen reader software1 (a screen reader) to

access the Internet and read website content. Defendant and respondent Omni Hotels

Management Corporation (Omni) operates hotels and resorts. In November 2016,

Thurston initiated this action against Omni, alleging that its website is not fully accessible

by the blind and the visually impaired, in violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act

(the Unruh Act; Civ. Code, § 51 et seq.).2 By way of a special verdict, the…