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Zelvin v. H Heritage Inc.

Legally Blind Plaintiff Has Standing to Sue Website for Lack of Accessibility

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OPINION AND ORDER Lynn Zelvin, who is visually impaired and legally blind, attempted on three different occasions to buy a wallet on H Heritage’s website. However, Zelvin was unable to purchase any goods due to the website’s lack of accessibility for users who are visually impaired. Zelvin brought this action against H Heritage, claiming that its website violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, New York State Human Rights Law, and New York City Human Rights Law. H Heritage now moves to dismiss this action, claiming that Zelvin lacks standing to sue H Heritage and has failed to establish that this Court has personal jurisdiction over H Heritage. The Court disagrees. Instead, the Court finds that Zelvin has plausibly alleged he suffered a concrete injury sufficient to support standing and orders the parties to engage in limited jurisdictional discovery to determine whether H Heritage has conducted business within New York state. Accordingly, Defendant’s motion to dismiss is DENIED. BACKGROUND The following facts are, unless otherwise noted, taken from the First Amended Complaint and presumed to be true for the purposes of this motion. See LaFaro v. N.Y. Cardiothoracic Grp., PLLC, 570 F.3d 471, 475 (2d Cir. 2009). Defendant H Heritage, Inc. (“Defendant”), the owner and operator of “Holtzleather.com” (the “Website”), is an Alabama corporation with its principal place of business in Alabama. ECF No. 12 (“FAC”)

14, 17. Plaintiff Lynn Zelvin (“Plaintiff”) is an individual who is visually impaired and legally blind and who requires screen reading software to read website content using his computer. FAC at

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