Lemon Law Lawyer

McDonald`s Hit with Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit over New Soda Fountains

By on March 31, 2015
mcdonalds class action lawsuit

McDonald’s USA LLC is facing a potential nationwide discrimination class action lawsuit filed by an American with Disabilities Act (ADA) in New York federal court. The plaintiff, David Dicarlo (who is legally blind) alleges the fast food restaurant`s new beverage dispensers discriminate against customers with visual impairments as their touch-screen interfaces are not user friendly for them.

David Dicarlo who often visits McDonald`s filed the class action lawsuit on March 26. The complaint states that new fountains implement interactive displays that allow sighted consumers to independently choose from over 100 Coca-Cola product styles and create multiple flavor mixes whereas blind people are forced to ask their on-sighted companions or employees for assistance in selecting and dispensing soda. Freestyle has failed to make its dispensers accessible to legally blind and visually impaired consumers violating equal access requirements under both state and federal law.

According to the lawsuit, blind people are excluded from an emerging self-service soda choosing and mixing experience. To make a new way of consuming beverages accessible to blind and visually impaired consumers either Dicarlo suggests to implement audio interface or tactile buttons.

The plaintiffs allege McDonald`s for violating the civil rights of legally blind consumers and individuals with visual impairments by failing to provide them with the same services sighted customers are offered. They are seeking an injunction and damages under the ADA and state statutes.

Dicarlo seeks to represent himself in this class action lawsuit and a nationwide class, which would include all legally blind and visually impaired persons in the United States who ate at a McDonald`s restaurant where the new dispenser was the only way of getting a beverage. According to plaintiff, there are 14,000 McDonald`s locations in the United States and 8.1 million visually impaired consumers that could be potentially included in the class action lawsuit.

The case is David Dicarlo v. McDonald’s Corporation, case number 1:15-cv-02273, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. C.K. Lee and Anne Melissa Seelig of Lee Litigation Group PLLC represent the plaintiff.

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About Kristina Forbes

Kristina is one of our top lemon law expert writers. She does her best to talk to lemon law lawyers and dealer fraud specialist before writing informative articles or reporting the latest news. Cars are her passion. Car safety is her priority. Informing those who have been defrauded has become her passion. Consumer Law Magazine

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