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 BRUCE F. SEXTON 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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Dockets.Justia.com

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

I, Bruce F. Sexton, Jr., 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. I have been legally blind since birth due to a genetic condition. I was born on November 25, 1981. I am a student at the University of California - Berkeley and I have been enrolled there

since the Fall of 2005. 5. I have resided at 2415 Dwight Way, Berkeley, California 94704, in the County of

Alameda since August 2005. 6. I understand that this case has been filed as a class action, and that I represent a class

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consisting of blind and vision-impaired individuals who have been denied access to the services and accommodations associated with the website of Target Corporation, http://www.target.com. 7. 8. 9. I have been a member of the National Federation of the Blind since 1996. I have been a member of the National Federation of the Blind of California since 1996. I have served on the board of the California Association of Blind Students (CABS), a

division of the National Federation of the Blind of California, since 2002. I have served as the President of CABS since October 2005. 10. Since 2002, I have attended bi-annual seminars sponsored by CABS in Northern and

Southern California that host around sixty (60) other blind students. 11. Through my CABS board membership and presidency, I have regular contact with other

blind students and have many opportunities to discuss with them the leading issues and concerns of blind students in California. Internet Use 12. 13. I have used a computer since I was 10 years old. I have used the screen reading software "JAWS" to access computers and, especially, the

internet since I was 18 years old.

National Federation of the Blind, et al. v. Target Corporation, et al. Case No.: C 06-01802 MHP Declaration of Bruce F. Sexton 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]

14.

I use the internet every day for between three (3) and six (6) hours. I use the internet for a

variety of functions and activities in my daily life, including: banking; search engines to find information, products and services; online stores to make purchases of consumer goods from my home; research for school; and e-mail and instant messaging. 15. I periodically shop online at various websites to purchase myriad consumer goods,

including electronics, tools, towels, bedding, and other household items. 16. I often use the product listings and descriptions on retail stores' websites in order to

research products, compare prices, and make decisions about purchasing goods in the stores' physical locations. 17. Generally, I only navigate to sites that I know to be accessible through prior experience

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online. When I come upon a site that is inaccessible to me through my screen reader, I become discouraged from even attempting to access that site in the future. 18. It is important to me to be able to do things in daily life on my own, without the

assistance of any other individual. Using my screen reader to access the internet has significantly improved my own view of my independence to conduct personal business and schoolwork without the help of others. Experience with Target Retail Stores 19. family. 20. When I shop at Target's physical locations, I almost always have to travel to the store I have shopped at Target stores for several years by myself and with members of my

with someone else in order to navigate the store and find the products I want. 21. I have shopped at Target for several years with my mother, who is also blind and who has

a Target-sponsored credit card. 22. When I go to Target, with or without a companion to help me shop in the store, I must

hire a driver to take me to the physical location. 23. In order to visit a Target retail store, I must coordinate the schedules of myself, a

companion, and a driver to make an appointment.

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

24.

In addition, I need either the driver or another companion to assist me in browsing the

aisles of the store. 25. The cost of a driver for an average outing to Target, which lasts around three (3) hours, is

thirty to forty dollars ($30-$40). 26. 27. I know many people my age and at my university that shop at Target stores. Target is a popular retail location for college students because they have a big selection

of quality products at affordable prices. Harms Experienced Because of the Inaccessibility of Target.com 28. I would like to shop at Target.com because having to hire a driver and find someone to

travel to the physical retail location with me necessitates a significant expense of time, energy, and money. 29. 30. 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

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Target.com using my screen reader if I do not have a specific item in mind. 31. 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. 32. I have been told that there are many useful store-related features on the Target.com

website, including weekly advertisements, which I would like to use. When I attempted to access the weekly ads, I was unable to do so because the web page is inaccessible. 33. In the summer of 2005, I attempted to purchase towels in preparation for moving into my

dorm room the following fall. I searched Target.com for "towels" and found several items. However, the numerous results were not matched with the different product descriptions. Because of this situation, I could not determine which product I wanted to purchase. I became so frustrated that I did not continue to the point where I could even attempt to complete a transaction on Target.com. I then hired a driver and coordinated my time with both the driver and a companion to go to the store to select my items. Even though I could not complete the transaction online, I purchased the towels I needed along with laundry soap, hand soap, Kleenex
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