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Class action lawsuit against Verizon Communications for website accessibility barriers affecting blind users, citing WCAG 2.2 as technical standard. Case settled in March 2025.
Plaintiff
Derek Pollitt (legally blind)
Defendant
Verizon Communications, Inc.
Date Filed
September 4, 2024
Date Resolved
March 10, 2025
Jurisdiction
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Case Number
1:24-cv-06156
WCAG Level
Level AADerek Pollitt, a legally blind user of JAWS screen reader software, filed a class action lawsuit against Verizon Wireless for systematic accessibility barriers on their website and mobile app. The lawsuit alleges that Verizon's digital properties do not comply with WCAG 2.2 standards and prevent blind users from viewing account information, making payments, and accessing customer service. Specific accessibility issues include: - Missing text alternatives for images throughout the site - Hyperlinks without descriptive text or aria-label attributes - UI components without programmatically determinable names - Screen reader incompatibility with navigation menus - Form fields not properly labeled for assistive technology - Interactive buttons without accessible names - Missing context information for visually-dependent features The lawsuit represents one of the first major cases to cite WCAG 2.2 (rather than 2.0 or 2.1) as the technical standard, reflecting the evolution of accessibility compliance expectations.
This lawsuit settlement demonstrates that WCAG 2.2 is becoming the expected standard even though 2.1 AA is the most common regulatory requirement. The relatively quick settlement suggests companies are increasingly willing to resolve accessibility claims promptly.