Mercedes v. Gem Nation Corporation

Background

Luis Mercedes brought the action on behalf of himself and others similarly situated. He alleged that Gem Nation Corporation’s websites and mobile applications, including gemnation.com, were not fully accessible to individuals with disabilities in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the New York City Human Rights Law. The decree also identifies disputes concerning the New York State Human Rights Law and New York State Civil Rights Law.

Gem Nation expressly denied that its website violated federal, state, or local law. It also denied that the website was a public accommodation subject to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, denied venue-related allegations, and denied wrongdoing or liability. The parties agreed to resolve the action through a consent decree without a trial or further adjudication of the factual or legal issues raised in the complaint.

Terms of the Consent Decree

The decree requires Gem Nation not to deny people with disabilities the opportunity to participate in or benefit from goods, services, privileges, advantages, and accommodations provided through its website. It also requires Gem Nation to use “reasonable efforts” to provide equal opportunities and to prevent exclusion, denial of services, segregation, or different treatment because auxiliary aids and services are absent.

Within 24 months after the decree’s effective date, Gem Nation must modify the website, to the extent not already done, with the goal of substantially conforming applicable portions to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 and/or 2.1 Level A success criteria, or other applicable guidelines, so that the website will be accessible to people with vision disabilities. The decree excludes certain user-generated or third-party content and does not require narrative descriptions for videos. It also allows Gem Nation to stop the specified remediation efforts if the Department of Justice or a court with jurisdiction determines that the applicable guidelines are not legally required.

The decree defines reasonable efforts in a way that does not require efforts that would create an undue burden, fundamentally alter the website’s operation, or result in a loss of website-related revenue or traffic. It provides that Gem Nation may satisfy its remediation obligations through reasonable reliance on identified accessibility guidance even if substantial conformance is not achieved despite reasonable efforts.

Dispute and Enforcement Procedures

The parties must use the decree’s notice-and-cure procedures if Mercedes alleges a violation or Gem Nation concludes that it cannot substantially comply with an applicable accessibility criterion. The party alleging a breach must provide written notice with reasonable details. The alleged breaching party generally has 30 calendar days to respond, subject to an agreed extension when more time is reasonably needed to cure the problem.

If the parties cannot resolve the dispute during the cure period, the party alleging the breach may seek enforcement from the court. The court may award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing party in an enforcement action. Gem Nation is not considered in breach unless an independent accessibility consultant determines that a particular item cannot be accomplished by a person with average screen-reader competency using a prominent commercially available screen reader and a supported browser, and Gem Nation then fails to remedy the issue through reasonable efforts within a reasonable period.

Court’s Action and Effect

The court found that it had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and 42 U.S.C. § 12188, found that the decree bound the parties, and stated that the decree was for settlement purposes only. It specifically stated that the decree was not an admission by Gem Nation and did not constitute a finding of liability. The court continued its jurisdiction for 24 months and stated that the decree adjudicated all claims, matters, and issues alleged or that could have been alleged based on the complaint’s allegations.

The court approved the consent decree, adopted it, and made it an order of the court. The decree is binding on Mercedes individually, while the website-remediation commitments are intended to benefit nonparty individuals who are blind or have low vision, including members of the group identified in the complaint. The provided text does not clearly identify the judge by name.