RICHMOND, Va.—After having their lawsuit tossed, a plaintiff whose suit against a credit union and its website alleging Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violations is back with an amended complaint.
As CUToday.info reported, the suit was thrown out late last month, and may be a step forward for credit unions facing a rash of ADA lawsuits, possibly setting a precedent for other cases.
U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton decided to dismiss Carroll v. Northwest FCU after finding the plaintiff was not eligible to join the credit union, and therefore unable to suffer any harm or injury. The court also decided that a website is not a place of public accommodation, taking the approach that a place of public accommodation must be a brick-and-mortar location.
CUNA and NAFCU reported that the plaintiff’s amendment to the original complaint attempts to make additional arguments concerning standing. Specifically, the plaintiff is they have standing, because the field of membership extends to those participating in the special Olympics.
Since the court did not accept that websites were places of public accommodation, the plaintiff still faces an uphill battle, CUNA and NAFCU believe.
Separately, The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has accepted another amicus brief submitted by NAFCU in support of another credit union's motion to dismiss a complaint filed against it in federal district court under the ADA.
NAFCU has submitted four briefs as amicus curiae; all four have been accepted. The plaintiffs in these cases are not members of the credit unions and do not clearly fall within the credit unions' fields of membership, NAFCU said.