AEW has made all sorts of waves in the professional wrestling world since they burst on the scene in 2019, but this time the attention they’re getting isn’t the kind they want.
Plaintiff Luigi Abreu claims that AEW violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) because the AEW Show website “is no equally accessible to blind and visually-impaired consumers.”
Luigi is a visually-impaired and legally blind person and requires a screen reading software to read websites.
AEW Facing Lawsuit For Violating the Americans With Disabilities Act
The plaintiff attempted to purchase something from AEW’s shop in April and now wants a jury trial.
The lawsuit was filed “for declaratory relief, injunctive relief and compensatory damages—including statutory and punitive damages—against defendant named herein, and alleges based upon the personal knowledge of plaintiff, the investigation of counsel, and upon information and belief.”
How this will go is anyone’s guess, but chances are AEW will fix the issue and settle out of court like the WWE did in 2020.
A plaintiff has filed a class action complaint against All Elite Wrestling, LLC for allegedly violating the Americans With Disabilities Act, claiming https://t.co/HckO1NRSoH isn't accessible to visually-impaired people. pic.twitter.com/4MYmA2CS2y
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) May 4, 2022
WWE settled a similar case
As we mentioned above, this is similar to a case the WWE settled for an undisclosed amount in 2020.
As with AEW’s current case, Josue Romero filed a lawsuit against the WWE as “Romero is a visually-impaired and legally blind person who requires screen-reading software to read website content using his computer”.
Josue was asking the WWE to change their policies and ensure the website was accessible to blind and visually-impaired consumers. He was looking to have his expensed for his attorney fees covered and wanted a trial by jury.
The WWE settled it quietly and the amount they paid out hasn’t been released.
We expect AEW to handle things much the same way and fix their website to make it accessible to everyone.
Tony Kahn is a forward thinking and open minded individual, and if his company fell short in this manner he’ll make sure it’s fixed and may even give a little extra if it’s settled out of court.
In the end, AEW could come out of this looking like a more reasonable company and that’d boost their PR and maybe even bring in new fans.
It’s important for companies to remember everyone has limitations of one type or another, and when they don’t it is good to remind them.
How do you think AEW will handle the lawsuit? Let us know in the comments below.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
