Federal Appeals Court Victory for Blind Movie Goers

[quote from=”Ninth Circuit Opinion in State of Arizona v. Harkins”]We disagree with Harkins that captioning and descriptive narration fall outside the ADA as a matter of law. As stated previously Plaintiffs are seeking an auxiliary aid, which is specifically mandated by the ADA to prevent discrimination of the disabled.[/quote]Great news for visually impaired movie goers! On April 30, 2010 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that audio description is “clearly” an “auxiliary aid and service” under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This ruling revives an Arizona lawsuit against the Harkins movie theater chain that had been thrown out of court in 2008. The plaintiffs can now continue their case against the Harkins chain for the company’s failure to provide audio description at its theaters. The case can also go forward on claims brought by deaf and hearing impaired theater-goers for captioning. Read more… Federal Appeals Court Victory for Blind Movie Goers