On August 5, 2013, seven class action lawsuits were
simultaneously filed against separate banks and credit unions in
Middle Tennessee, alleging that the defendants' ATMs failed to
comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The
lawsuits were all filed by the same law firm, Gilbert Russell
McWherter PLC, and the cases involve only two named plaintiffs,
both blind individuals who claim that they were denied services by
the defendants as a result of ATMs that are not accessible to the
visually impaired. Specifically, the plaintiffs allege, in part,
that the ATMs did not have braille instructions and lacked audio
capability. These suits seek injunctive relief, as well as
attorneys' fees and costs, for the violations.
In many respects, these lawsuits are similar to previous
litigation targeting operators of ATMs that allegedly lacked ATM
fee disclosure decals. The new class action lawsuits are based on
recent ADA regulations that became effective on March 15, 2012, and
that set forth numerous accessibility requirements for ATMs.
A Wall Street Journal article published on March 7, 2012, noted
that at least 50% of the nation's ATMs remain inaccessible to
blind individuals in violation of the ADA despite the March 15,
2012 effective date of the ADA regulations.
While there are at least 100 similar pending class actions across
the country, yesterday's filings represent part of the first
wave of these lawsuits to reach Tennessee. Nationally, these class
actions are being filed by a small number of law firms, many of
whom were involved in the fee-disclosure lawsuits. If the
plaintiffs' law firm follows the same strategy that was used in
other states like Pennsylvania, Texas, and Georgia, a number
of virtually identical class action lawsuits could be filed against
other Tennessee banks over the course of the next several days and
weeks. With attorneys' fees and costs permitted as an award to
any successful plaintiff, we expect more complaints of this nature
to continue to make their way across Tennessee, Mississippi, and
the rest of the Southeast.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
