National Federation of the Blind et al v. Target Corporation

Filing 20

MOTION for Preliminary Injunction filed by National Federation of the Blind, Bruce Frank Sexton, the National Federation of the Blind of California. Motion Hearing set for 6/12/2006 02:00 PM in Courtroom 15, 18th Floor, San Francisco. (Attachments: # 1 Affidavit of Dr. James W. Thatcher# 2 Affidavit of Marc Maurer# 3 Affidavit of Anne Taylor# 4 Affidavit of Bruce F. Sexton# 5 Affidavit of Bob Ayala# 6 Affidavit of Tim Elder# 7 Affidavit of Steve Jacobson# 8 Affidavit of Robert Stigile# 9 Affidavit of Tina Thomas# 10 Affidavit of Terri Uttermohlen# 11 Affidavit of Ken Volonte# 12 Proposed Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction)(Paradis, Laurence) (Filed on 5/8/2006)

National Federation of the Blind et al v. Target Corporation

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Case 3:06-cv-01802-MHP

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DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES 2001 CENTER STREET, THIRD FLOOR BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94704-1204 510.665.8644

LAURENCE W. PARADIS (California Bar No. 122336) [e-mail] MAZEN M. BASRAWI (California Bar No. 235475) [e-mail] DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES 2001 Center Street, Third Floor Berkeley, California 94704 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] TTY: [phone] TODD M. SCHNEIDER (California Bar No. 158253) [e-mail] JOSHUA KONECKY (California Bar No. 182897) [e-mail] SCHNEIDER & WALLACE 180 Montgomery Street, Suite 2000 San Francisco, CA 94104 Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone] TTY: [phone] DANIEL F. GOLDSTEIN (pro hac vice) [e-mail] BROWN, GOLDSTEIN & LEVY, LLP 120 E. Baltimore St., Suite 1700 Baltimore, MD 21202 Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone] UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND, the NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF CALIFORNIA, on behalf of their members, and Bruce F. Sexton, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. TARGET CORPORATION, Defendant. Case No.: C 06-01802 MHP CLASS ACTION DECLARATION OF KEN VOLONTE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION Hearing Date: June 12, 2006 Time: 2:00 p.m. Judge: The Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel

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DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES 2001 Center Street, Third Floor Berkeley, CA 94704-1204 [phone]

I, Ken Volonte, declare as follows: 1. The facts in this declaration are based upon my personal knowledge. If called to testify,

I could testify competently to the facts described in this declaration. Background 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. I am 55 years old. I have been legally blind since birth due to a congenital disease. I reside in Stockton, California. I have been a member of the National Federation of the Blind for 35 years. I have been a member of the National Federation of the Blind of California for 35 years. Internet Use 7. I have used the screen reading software "JAWS" to access computers and, especially, the

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internet for eight months. Before that, I used a DOS computer that could not access the internet. 8. I decided to switch to a Windows-based computer in order to take advantage of all the

internet has to offer, including newsgroups, shopping, and email. 9. 10. I use the internet every day for a variety of functions and activities in my daily life. I prefer to shop online rather than going to a physical store mostly because I like to avoid

crowds, especially around the holiday season. 11. Using my screen reader to access the internet has significantly improved my own view of

my independence to conduct personal business without the help of others. Experience with Target Retail Stores 12. I have shopped at a Target store that is near my home. Harms Experienced Because of the Inaccessibility of Target.com 13. 14. I have attempted on numerous occasions to access Target.com with my screen reader. I have found it extremely difficult, and at times impossible, to browse for products on

Target.com using my screen reader. 15. Upon accessing Target.com on several occasions, I have become frustrated with

inexplicable code and garbled text that has prevented me from continuing to navigate through the site.
National Federation of the Blind, et al. v. Target Corporation, et al. Case No.: C 06-01802 MHP Declaration of Ken Volonte in support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction

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DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES 2001 Center Street, Third Floor Berkeley, CA 94704-1204 [phone]

16.

If Target.com were accessible to my screen reader, I would use it to shop frequently. I

like Target's selection of products and their prices. 17. I have been told that there are many useful store-related features on the Target.com

website, including weekly advertisements and an online pharmacy, which I would like to use if the website were accessible. 18. I have found the entire process of attempting to access Target.com to be extremely

frustrating and aggravating. 19. Because the problems I have encountered on Target.com when using my screen reader

have prevented me from making purchases, I have decided to purchase items on different websites instead of going to the Target retail store near me. 20. Target.com's inaccessibility makes me feel as though Target does not care about me as a

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customer or my patronage of their stores and website because I am blind. 21. My inability to use Target.com thwarts my independence and forces me to rely on others

unnecessarily.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the forgoing is true and correct. Executed this April day of ____, 2006, at Stockton, California.

____________________________ KEN VOLONTE

National Federation of the Blind, et al. v. Target Corporation, et al. Case No.: C 06-01802 MHP Declaration of Ken Volonte in support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction

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