Gomez v. Gen. Nutrition Corp.

323 F. Supp. 3d 1368
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 29, 2018
DocketCase No. 17-22747-Civ-COOKE/GOODMAN
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 323 F. Supp. 3d 1368 (Gomez v. Gen. Nutrition Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gomez v. Gen. Nutrition Corp., 323 F. Supp. 3d 1368 (S.D. Fla. 2018).

Opinion

MARCIA G. COOKE, United States District Judge

In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disability Act to protect people with disabilities from discrimination in places of public accommodation. Since then, a bevy of administrative orders and court decisions have helped businesses understand how to apply the ADA to their brick-and-mortar stores. But as more and more people take their shopping online, regulations have fallen further and further behind. Unsurprisingly, this imbalance results in businesses and their disabled customers disagreeing over what the ADA requires. This case is an example of that. More specifically, this case is about whether and to what extent the ADA applies to websites.

Currently pending before the Court are Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 18) and Plaintiff's Motion to Exclude the Testimony and Opinions of Paul Dolegowski (ECF No. 57). For the reasons stated below, Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiff's Motion to Exclude are both GRANTED in part .

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Andres Gomez is legally blind. Compl. ¶ 1, ECF No. 1. To access the internet, Gomez uses a screen reading software program called Job Access With Speech or JAWS. Compl. ¶ 24. Screen readers work best when websites are designed to be compatible with them.

In the summer of 2017, Gomez visited the website of Defendant General Nutrition Company ("GNC"), a place of public accommodation. Pl. Stat. of Mat. Facts ¶ 4, ECF No. 19. The Website allows customers to purchase GNC's goods and services and view any promotions and deals offered at that time. Gomez Dep. 68:16-19. Additionally, the Website provides a store locator. Compl. ¶ 19.

When Gomez visited the Website, however, he could not access many of its features. Compl. ¶ 2. Gomez could not add items to his online shopping cart, access the store locator, or read the deals and promotions. Gomez Dep. 67-69. This difficulty was due, at least in part, to the mislabeling of the online content. McCaffrey Dep. 172:1-8, ECF No. 52-1. Because the website's content was not labeled properly, Gomez's screen reader did not work correctly. Pl.'s Stat. of Mat. Facts ¶ 10. Though the Website did not include a statement regarding GNC's commitment to ADA compliance, the Website did include a link to the terms of conditions. Def.'s Suppl. Resp. in Opp. to Pl.'s Stat. of Mat. Facts ¶ 14-17, ECF No. 51. In turn, the terms and conditions provide a phone number for customers to call if they need additional assistance. Id.

*1373GNC regularly updates the Website with the latest deals and promotions. Smith Aff. ¶ 10, ECF No. 27. Gomez admits he has not been back to the Website since 2017 but representatives from both parties have tested the Website for accessibility as recently as June 2018. See Dolegowski Dep., Ex. 2 and 3, ECF No. 52-3; see also McCaffrey Dep. 170:7-9. Defendant's expert tested the Website using the automated accessibility tests AChecker and WAVE. Dolegowski Dep. 20:1-5. The test results returned zero errors and no known problems with the Website. Id. Conversely, Gomez's expert found errors that could prevent a user from selecting a product and completing a purchase. ADASure Website Compliance Audit , 7-8, ECF No. 54-1; McCaffrey Dep. 170:7-9.

On July 24, 2017, Gomez brought this complaint on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, seeking injunctive relief.1 Compl. ¶ 5. On January 2018, Gomez filed this motion for summary judgment.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment "shall be granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Allen v. Tyson Foods, Inc. , 121 F.3d 642 (11th Cir. 1997) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c) ) (internal quotations omitted); Damon v. Fleming Supermarkets of Florida, Inc. , 196 F.3d 1354, 1358 (11th Cir. 1999). Thus, the entry of summary judgment is appropriate "against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

"The moving party bears the initial burden to show the district court, by reference to materials on file, that there are no genuine issues of material fact that should be decided at trial." Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc. , 929 F.2d 604, 608 (11th Cir. 1991). "Only when that burden has been met does the burden shift to the non-moving party to demonstrate that there is indeed a material issue of fact that precludes summary judgment." Id.

Rule 56"requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by her own affidavits, or by the 'depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate 'specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Celotex , 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Thus, the nonmoving party "may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of his pleadings, but must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (internal quotation marks omitted).

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Bluebook (online)
323 F. Supp. 3d 1368, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gomez-v-gen-nutrition-corp-flsd-2018.