Legally Blind Brooklynite Sues RCN for ADA Accessibility Violations on Its Website

RCN Telecom Services failed to design, construct, maintain and operate its website to be fully accessible to and independently usable by visually impaired or blind people, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, said a Friday class action (docket 1:23-cv-05543) in U.S. District Court for Eastern New York in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn plaintiff Vincent Clement, a legally blind person who requires screen-reading software to read website content, said he was injured when attempting to access RCN’s website, astound.com, from his home May 29 and June 8 while trying to shop for the ISP's services. Clement “encountered barriers that denied his full and equal access” to RCN’s online content when he tried to subscribe to RCN’s high-speed internet service, said the complaint.

Clement discovered RCN when he searched online for "1gig internet," said the complaint. He was interested in RCN because the ISP’s pricing was cheaper than other services Clement had reviewed, the complaint said. Due to RCN’s failure to build its website in a manner that’s compatible with screen access programs, Clement was unable to understand and properly interact with the RCN website, “and was thus denied the benefit of" buying a new internet service plan from the website.

The ADA requires RCN to “reasonably accommodate” Clement’s disabilities by removing barriers to its website, the complaint said. Without an injunction, Clement and class members will “continue to be injured” by RCN’s “failure to provide its online content and services in a manner that is compatible with screen reader technology.”

Because of RCN’s “denial of full and equal access to and enjoyment of the good, benefits and services” of its website, Clement suffered an injury due to his inability to buy a new internet service plan, a “concrete and particularized injury” that’s the “direct result” of RCN’s conduct, the complaint said. Despite his “direct harm and frustration,” Clement will attempt to access the website in the future to buy products and services RCN offers and “to purchase a new internet service plan, if remedied.”

RCN has, upon information and belief, invested “substantial sums” in developing and maintaining its website while generating “significant revenue” from it, said the complaint. “These amounts are far greater than the associated cost of making their Website equally accessible to visually impaired customers,” it said.

In addition to ADA violations, Clement alleges violation of the New York City Human Rights Law. He seeks on behalf of himself and the class a preliminary and permanent injunction barring RCN from violating both laws, and seeks injunctions requiring the company to take all steps necessary to make its website fully compliant with the requirements set forth in the ADA, it said. He seeks compensatory, statutory and punitive damages and fines, pre- and post-judgment interest, and attorneys’ fees and legal costs. RCN parent Astound didn't comment.