[Nfbc-info] Redbox Settlement - You May be Eligible for Compensation

[LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired]

Have you attempted to use Redbox kiosks to rent movies or video games? You may be eligible for compensation, but you must submit your claim before November 12, 2014. Please read on for details.


After over two years of litigation and extensive negotiations, LightHouse for the Blind and Visually-Impaired and its legal associates, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and the Law Offices of Jay Koslofsky, have entered into a precedent-setting settlement agreement with Redbox, the nation's largest operator of DVD rental machines. Under the settlement agreement, Redbox will modify its self-service DVD rental machines so that they will allow for accessible, independent usage by the blind.  The settlement will also compensate hundreds or thousands of blind Californians for the inaccessibility of these machines in recent years.

Redbox offers the nation's most popular video-rental service for DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and video games and operates thousands of video rental kiosks in California. The settlement ensures that Redbox's self-service kiosks will deploy nonvisual accessibility features including:  headphone jacks, tactile keypads, and text-to-speech services so that blind customers can independently use, browse, select, pay for, pickup, and return Redbox entertainment media.  Additional improvements will be made to Redbox's website, redbox.com, to ensure that blind customers using screen-reading technology can browse and reserve movies for pick-up and register for Redbox services independently.

In addition to these user-interface enhancements, the settlement contains a $1.2 million class damages fund to compensate eligible settlement class members who have been denied access to Redbox's services -- and who submit valid claims before November 12, 2014.  If you experienced barriers attempting to use a Redbox kiosk in California between January 12, 2010 and November 12, 2014 or were deterred from using a Redbox kiosk in California on a particular occasion during that time period because you knew that the kiosks were not accessible to the blind, you may be eligible for monetary compensation.  This includes blind Californians under the age of 18 with the signature of their parent or guardian.

Information about the settlement agreement, including information about filing monetary claims, is contained at: www.lighthouseredboxsettlement.com<http://www.lighthouseredboxsettlement.com>

"This landmark agreement demonstrates that companies utilizing the internet and self-service kiosks can and should do so while providing full access for all potential customers-including blind people," said Lighthouse CEO Bryan Bashin, "We hope that this agreement will lead to continued expansion of access opportunities for customers with disabilities as self-service technologies evolve."


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For further information about LightHouse for the Blind and Visually-Impaired, please visit www.lighthouse-sf.org<http://www.lighthouse-sf.org>

For information about Disability Rights Advocates please visit www.dralegal.org<http://www.dralegal.org>