[Blindtlk] Fwd: National Federation of the Blind Secures Court Ruling Against Cardtronics

[David Andrews]

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>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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>CONTACT:
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>Chris Danielsen
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>Director of Public Relations
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>National Federation of the Blind
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>(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
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>(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
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>cdanielsen at nfb.org
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>National Federation of the Blind Secures
>  Court Ruling Against Cardtronics
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>Company Must Make ATMs Accessible or Face Sanctions
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>Baltimore, Maryland (December 19, 2011): A 
>federal court has found that Cardtronics, Inc., 
>has failed to comply with the terms of a 
>settlement and subsequent remediation plan 
>reached with the National Federation of the 
>Blind (NFB) and the Commonwealth of 
>Massachusetts to make all of the automated 
>teller machines owned by Cardtronics accessible 
>to the blind.  In an order dated December 15, 
>2011, the Honorable Nathaniel M. Gorton of the 
>United States District Court for the District of 
>Massachusetts found that Cardtronics had not 
>complied with the terms of the settlement 
>agreement or remediation plan and that civil 
>contempt was therefore appropriate.  Judge 
>Gorton ordered Cardtronics to comply with the 
>remaining terms by March 15, 2012, or face 
>monetary sanctions of $50 per month for each ATM 
>that remained inaccessible to blind users­giving 
>the company the “Shakespearean warning” to “beware the ides of March.”
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>“Instead of admitting their non-compliance and 
>promising better effort, defendants 
>disingenuously claim they have complied in spite 
>of a plethora of evidence to the contrary,” 
>Judge Gorton wrote in his memorandum 
>opinion.  “The deadlines they have consistently 
>missed were, ironically, the ones they proposed in the first place.”
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>Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National 
>Federation of the Blind, said: “It is critical 
>that blind Americans have access to all of the 
>technologies that are now a part of everyday 
>life in the twenty-first century if we are to 
>achieve full and equal integration into society, 
>and this includes the technology necessary to 
>handle our finances.  Toward that end, we 
>reached an agreement with Cardtronics to make 
>its ATMs accessible, and when problems arose and 
>initial deadlines were missed, we worked in good 
>faith with the company to come up with a 
>workable remediation plan.  Sadly, however, 
>Cardtronics has not complied with the agreed 
>terms of the remediation plan.  We are therefore 
>pleased with the court’s decision requiring 
>Cardtronics to meet its legal obligations.”
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>About the National Federation of the Blind
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>With more than 50,000 members, the National 
>Federation of the Blind is the largest and most 
>influential membership organization of blind 
>people in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 
>"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" 
>/>United States.  The NFB improves blind 
>people’s lives through advocacy, education, 
>research, technology, and programs encouraging 
>independence and self-confidence.  It is the 
>leading force in the blindness field today and 
>the voice of the nation's blind.  In January 
>2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of 
>the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research 
>and training center in the United States for the 
>blind led by the blind.  Please visit our Web 
>site: <http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org.