Jelly Belly hit with federal lawsuit over website
(Image courtesy Google Maps, Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
The Jelly Belly Candy Company has been hit with a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of a blind Sacramento man who alleged the confectioner’s website was too difficult to use.
The lawsuit, filed last Thursday, claims the Fairfield candy company’s website does not include certain metadata that is necessary for visually-impaired individuals to navigate using the assistance of specialized software on computers, tablets and smartphones.
Christopher Lucero, the Sacramento man who filed the lawsuit, said Jelly Belly failed to “design, construct, maintain, and operate its website to be fully and equally accessible to and independently usable” by those with visual impairments like him.
Lucero retained the Wilshire Law Firm of Los Angeles to represent him in the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and seeks class action status on behalf of other blind individuals.
The Jelly Belly website operates in part as an online retailer where jelly bean fanatics can buy their favorite treats as well as specialized merchandise.
Through his attorneys, Lucero alleges the website lacks so-called “alternative text,” or “alt text,” that is used to represent what an image looks like when a visually-impaired individual uses software known as a “screen reader.”
Lucero also complained that the presentation of hyperlinks on the Jelly Belly website “results in additional navigation and repetition for keyboard and screen-reader users.”
Websites like those operated by Jelly Belly are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, and an advertisement on the website of the Wilshire Law Firm says its settlements have included requirements that companies update their websites to become compliant with the regulation.
“Our attorneys are committed to making sure that all legally blind Californians have the same access to goods and services as their fellow citizens while holding big corporations accountable,” the law firm says.
In addition to class action status, the lawsuit demands a jury trial and further seeks a minimum of $4,000 for each person aggrieved by the website as well as attorneys’ fees and court costs.
A message left with the Jelly Belly Candy Company has not been returned as of early Tuesday afternoon.
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