[blindlaw] nfb v. target

Sat Mar 14 04:24:11 UTC 2009

Steve:

If you are not an attorney or a law student, we may be arguing and 
understanding different concepts here. "Damage" is a legal concept, and if 
not used in that sense can certainly lead to ridiculous understanding. A 
damage award allows a plaintiff to be compensated for the harm caused by the 
defendant. Damages take various forms: physical harm, emotional harm, loss 
wages, etc. Here as Scott said, the legislature has decided to make such 
civil rights violations compensable as damages. It is a legal recognition 
that a harm was caused, and it was caused to the plaintiff. The harm here 
was violations of federal and State civil rights.
I hope that helps.

Rod Alcidonis
Juris Doctor Candidate, 2009.
Roger Williams University School of Law
10 Metacom Ave., Box: 9003
Bristol, RI 02809
Cell: 718-704-4651
Home: 401-824-8685

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve P. Deeley" <stevep.deeley at insightbb.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 9:20 PM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] nfb v. target

> Well, sign me up.  There are dozens of Web sites a year that I can't 
> access. This is just ridiculous.  This is, exactly, what raises the cost 
> of doing business for companies.  I'm not condoning Target's continuing 
> unwillingness to deal with their inaccessible
> web site, however, there is no way that an individual is damaged to the 
> tune of $4,000.00.
> Steve
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mehgan Sidhu" <ms at browngold.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 5:02 PM
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] nfb v. target
>
>
>> Steve,
>>
>> In addition to the ADA claim, the lawsuit was brought under California's 
>> Unruh Act and Disabled Person's Act, both of which provide for minimum 
>> statutory damages ($4,000 and $1,000 per violation, respectively).  Under 
>> the agreement, members of the California class who are legally blind, had 
>> attempted to use Target.com between February 7, 2003 and December 9, 
>> 2008, and experienced significant barriers were eligible for damages of 
>> up to $3,500 per violation for a maximum of 2 violations.
>>
>> A copy of the settlement is available at the following site:
>> http://www.nfbtargetlawsuit.com/final_settlement.html
>>
>> Mehgan Sidhu
>> Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP
>> 120 East Baltimore Street, Suite 1700
>> Baltimore, Maryland 21202
>> 410-962-1030 x1324
>> 410-385-0869 (fax)
>> ms at browngold.com
>> www.browngold.com
>>
>> Confidentiality Notice
>>
>> This e-mail may contain confidential information that may also be legally 
>> privileged and that is intended only for the use of the addressee(s) 
>> named above.  If you are not the intended recipient or an authorized 
>> agent of the recipient, please be advised that any dissemination or 
>> copying of this e-mail, or taking of any action in reliance on the 
>> information contained herein, is strictly prohibited.  If you have 
>> received this e-mail in error, please notify me immediately by use of the 
>> reply button, and then delete the e-mail from your system.  Thank you!
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf Of Steve P. Deeley
>> Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 4:31 PM
>> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] nfb v. target
>>
>> This is ridiculous!  How were these people damaged?
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Mehgan Sidhu" <ms at browngold.com>
>> To: <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 3:20 PM
>> Subject: [blindlaw] nfb v. target
>>
>>
>>> To answer the recent questions posted about the Target case, the final
>>> settlement hearing took place on March 9th.  I understand from our 
>>> counsel
>>> in California, Larry Paradis of DRA and Josh Konecky, that there were no
>>> objectors and the Judge was pleased with the resolution of the case. The
>>> settlement is not fully "final" until the time for any appeals has run -
>>> which is about 30 days.  Given there were no objectors, it is highly
>>> unlikely that any appeals will be filed.  The judge has not yet made a
>>> ruling on attorneys fees, but that will not hold up enforcement of the
>>> settlement.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> As for disbursements, assuming there are no appeals, the claims 
>>> administer
>>> has 45 days from the final approval date to disburse funds to claimants.
>>> I do not know the final tally of approved claimants, though I think 
>>> there
>>> were several hundred.  I will pass that information along when I have 
>>> it.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> We will now be working on enforcing the settlement commitments that 
>>> Target
>>> made with respect to the accessibility of the website.
>>>
>>>
>>> Mehgan Sidhu
>>> Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP
>>> 120 East Baltimore Street, Suite 1700
>>> Baltimore, Maryland 21202
>>> 410-962-1030 x1324
>>> 410-385-0869 (fax)
>>> ms at browngold.com<mailto:ms at browngold.com>
>>> www.browngold.com<http://www.browngold.com/>
>>>
>>> Confidentiality Notice
>>>
>>> This e-mail may contain confidential information that may also be 
>>> legally
>>> privileged and that is intended only for the use of the addressee(s) 
>>> named
>>> above.  If you are not the intended recipient or an authorized agent of
>>> the recipient, please be advised that any dissemination or copying of 
>>> this
>>> e-mail, or taking of any action in reliance on the information contained
>>> herein, is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this e-mail in
>>> error, please notify me immediately by use of the reply button, and then
>>> delete the e-mail from your system.  Thank you!
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> blindlaw mailing list
>>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> blindlaw:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/stevep.deeley%40insightbb.com
>>
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>> No virus found in this incoming message.
>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>> Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.13/1999 - Release Date: 
>> 03/13/09
>> 05:59:00
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindlaw mailing list
>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> blindlaw:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/ms%40browngold.com
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindlaw mailing list
>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> blindlaw:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/stevep.deeley%40insightbb.com
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.13/1999 - Release Date: 03/13/09 
> 05:59:00
>
> _______________________________________________
> blindlaw mailing list
> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> blindlaw:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/roddj12%40hotmail.com
> 