Reed v. 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc.

327 F.Supp.3d 539

Kayla REED, Plaintiff,

v.1-800-FLOWERS.COM, INC., Defendant.

2:17-cv-05713 (ADS)(AYS)

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

Signed August 24, 2018

Dann & Merino, P.C., Counsel for the Plaintiff, 1 Meadowlands Plaza, Suite 200, East Rutherford, NJ 07073, By: Marc E. Dann, Esq., Javier L. Merino, Of Counsel.

Jackson Lewis P.C., Counsel for the Defendant, 44 S. Broadway, 14^th Floor, White Plains, NY 10601, By: Joseph J. Lynett, Esq., Joseph J. DiPalma. Of Counsel.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION & ORDER

ARTHUR D. SPATT, United States District Judge

The plaintiff Kayla Reed (the "Plaintiff") brought this disability discrimination case against the defendant 1-800 Flowers.com, Inc. (the "Defendant"), alleging that the Defendant violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq. ("ADA") and the Unruh Civil Rights Act, California Civil Code § 51 et seq. (the "UCRA").

Presently before the Court is a motion by the Defendant, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("FED. R. CIV. P." or "Rule") 12(b)(6), seeking to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

For the following reasons, the Court denies the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss in its entirety.

I. BACKGROUND

The Plaintiff is a blind or visually-impaired resident of California, County of Ventura. Compl. ¶ 11. The Plaintiff cannot use a computer or access the internet without assistance. Id. ¶ 32. However, the Plaintiff is a regular and proficient user of screen-reading software programs that allow her to access online content found on websites and mobile applications. Id. ¶¶ 33–35. These programs work by vocalizing the visual information on a computer screen. After hearing the vocalization, the user can then perform their desired function via a keyboard. Id. ¶ 16. This process relies on rendering the information on a website into meaningful text. Id. ¶ 20. According to the Complaint, screen-reading technology provides the only means for blind or visually-impaired persons to fully and independently access the internet, websites and other digital content. Id. ¶ 21. Therefore, the Plaintiff alleges, if a screen-reading program cannot render the images on a website into text, blind or visually-impaired users cannot access the same content available to sighted users, because they cannot see the screen or manipulate a mouse in the same manner as a sighted person. Id. ¶ 20.

The Defendant is a national specialty florist and retailer with its headquarters in Carle Place, New York. Id. ¶ 12. The Defendant offers consumers floral related goods and services through its website, 1800flowers.com, and its mobile application. Id. ¶¶ 13, 27. Through these platforms, customers of the Defendant may, among other things, enter online orders; locate physical stores; browse products; find information about products; learn about sales, coupons, offers and discount codes; and purchase gift cards. Id. ¶ 29.

According to the Plaintiff, the Defendant denied her equal access to the goods, services, and benefits offered to the public through 1800flowers.com and its mobile application because of her blindness. Specifically, the Plaintiff made several separate visits to the Defendant's website and mobile application and, each time, encountered multiple accessibility barriers that made her screen-reading programs ineffective.

Id. ¶¶ 36–43. Therefore, the Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant discriminated against her by constructing a website and a mobile application that are inaccessible to visually-impaired individuals, and failing to take actions to correct these access barriers in the face of substantial harm and discrimination to those individuals. Id. ¶¶ 44–52.

On these facts, the Plaintiff brought a cause of action before the Court under Title III of the ADA, and the UCRA. She seeks a declaratory judgment that the Defendant violated these statutes; injunctive relief against the Defendant stemming from these alleged violations; an award of attorney's fees, costs, and litigation expenses; compensatory damages; and prejudgment interest. Id. ¶¶ 59–104.

As for the injunctive relief, the Plaintiff seeks a permanent injunction requiring the Defendant to retain a qualified consultant acceptable to the Plaintiff ("Agreed Upon Consultant") to make an ADA-compliant website for the Defendant. Id. ¶ 54. The Plaintiff further requests that this injunction require the Defendant to cooperate with the Agreed Upon Consultant to: (1) train the Defendant's employees and agents who develop the 1800flowers.com website and mobile application on accessibility and compliance with the ADA; (2) regularly check the accessibility of the Defendant's website and mobile application to maintain accessibility as required by the ADA; (3) regularly test end-user accessibility of the websites by screen-reader users to ensure that the Defendant's website and mobile application are accessible to blind and visually-impaired individuals who would access them with screen-reading technology; and (4) develop an accessibility policy that is clearly disclosed on its website and mobile application, with contact information for users to report accessibility-related problems and obtain meaningful resolution after the Defendant has investigated and identified the accessibility-related problem. Id. ¶ 55.

On December 6, 2017, the Defendant moved under Rule 12(b)(6) to dismiss the Complaint, contending that the Plaintiff's allegations, even if taken as true, fail to plausibly state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

II. DISCUSSION

A. LEGAL STANDARD FOR A MOTION TO DISMISS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 12(B)(6)

In reviewing a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court must accept the factual allegations set forth in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the Plaintiff. See Walker v. Schult , 717 F.3d 119, 124 (2d Cir. 2013) ; Cleveland v. Caplaw Enters. , 448 F.3d 518, 521 (2d Cir. 2006) ; Bolt Elec., Inc. v. City of N.Y. , 53 F.3d 465, 469 (2d Cir. 1995) ; Reed v. Garden City Union Free School Dist. , 987 F.Supp.2d 260, 263 (E.D.N.Y. 2013).

Under the now well-established Twombly standard, a complaint should be dismissed only if it does not contain enough allegations of fact to state a claim for relief that is "plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1974, 167 L.Ed. 2d 929 (2007). The Second Circuit has explained that, after Twombly , the Court's inquiry under Rule 12(b)(6) is guided by two principles:

First, although a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint, that tenet is inapplicable to legal conclusions, and [t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice. Second, only a complaint that states a plausible claim for relief survives a motion to dismiss and [d]etermining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief will ... be a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.

Harris v. Mills , 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 664, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1940, 173 L.Ed. 2d 868 (2009) ).

Thus, "[w]hen there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and ... determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement of relief." Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

B. TITLE III OF THE ADA

Although the Defendant does not directly challenge the merits of the Plaintiff's discrimination claims, the Motion to Dismiss implicates the overall regulatory framework of Title III of the ADA, and the UCRA. Consequently, the Court will briefly lay out the statutory scheme underlying the Plaintiff's claims before turning to the substance of the motion.

Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability "in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation." 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a). In order to comply with that mandate, public accommodations must provide "reasonable modifications" or "auxiliary aids and services" to disabled individuals. Id. §§ 12182(b)(2)(A)(ii)–(iii). However, a public accommodation need not provide modifications or auxiliary aids or services if those modifications are unreasonable or "would fundamentally alter the nature" of the good, service, or accommodation, or if providing auxiliary aids or services "would fundamentally alter the nature of the good, service ... or accommodation or would result in an undue burden." Id.

Further, the UCRA provides that "[a] violation of the right of any individual under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 [ ] shall also constitute a violation of this section." Cal Civ. Code § 51(f). Here, the Plaintiff predicates her UCRA claim on her Title III claim, so that the same analytical framework applies to both statutes. Lentini v. Cal. Center for the Arts, Escondido , 370 F.3d 837, 847 (9th Cir. 2004).

When enacting the ADA, Congress charged the Department of Justice ("DOJ") with issuing regulations under Title III, 42 U.S.C. § 12186(b), rendering technical assistance, id. § 12206(c), and enforcing Title III in court, id. § 12188(b). Specifically, it tasked the DOJ with "providing guidance and technical expertise to develop standards that public accommodations must comply with under the ADA." Access Now, Inc. v. Blue Apron, LLC , No. 17-cv-116, 2017 WL 5186354, at *8 (D.N.H. Nov. 8, 2017). Pursuant to that authority, the DOJ promulgated regulations laying out the technical structural requirements for many places of public accommodation. See Dep't of Justice, 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design , (Sept. 15, 2010) http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm ("ADAAG")....