Braille Monitor August/September 2007
From the Editor: In accordance
with court instruction, we publish the following notice of interest to all legally
blind users or would-be users of automatic teller machines (ATMs):
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
CIVIL ACTION NO. 03-11206-MEL
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
E*TRADE ACCESS, INC., et al.,
Defendants
NOTICE OF CLASS DETERMINATIONS, PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND
HEARING TO BE HELD ON DECEMBER 4, 2007
TO ALL BLIND PATRONS OF AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINES (“ATMs”) OWNED OR OPERATED
BY EITHER CARDTRONICS, INC., OR CARDTRONICS, LP (collectively, “Cardtronics”)
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the National Federation of the Blind (“NFB”),
and several individual blind persons have brought claims against Cardtronics
in the class action lawsuit Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al. v. E*TRADE
Access, Inc., et al., No. CV-03-11206 (the “Lawsuit”), pending before the United
States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (the “Court”). The lawsuit
concerns, among other things, the accessibility of ATMs owned or operated by
Cardtronics to blind patrons under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”)
and Massachusetts state laws.
The Court has certified a nationwide class in this lawsuit that consists of
patrons of ATMs owned or operated by Cardtronics who have total blindness or
central vision acuity not to exceed 20/200 in the better eye, with corrective
lenses, as measured by the Snellen test, or visual acuity greater than 20/200,
but with a limitation in the field of vision such that the widest diameter of
the visual field subtends an angle of not greater than 20 degrees (the “Class
Members”).
CARDTRONICS HAS AGREED TO A SETTLEMENT THAT WILL PROVIDE BENEFITS TO ALL MEMBERS
OF THE SETTLING CLASS DESCRIBED BELOW, IF THE SETTLEMENT IS APPROVED BY THE
COURT. THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WILL ALSO RELEASE ALL CLASS MEMBERS’ CLAIMS
FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF RELATING TO THE ACCESSIBILITY OF CARDTRONICS’ ATMS TO
BLIND PEOPLE AS WELL AS ALL CLASS MEMBER CLAIMS AGAINST E*TRADE BANK FOR REASONABLE
ACCOMMODATIONS.
Cardtronics, without admitting any liability, has agreed to settle the lawsuit
by, among other actions, ensuring that most ATMs owned by Cardtronics will offer
voice guidance through a standard headphone jack located on the face of the
ATM by no later than December 31, 2007. Cardtronics will also sell or otherwise
make available to merchants or other third parties who own ATMs currently serviced
by Cardtronics ATMs that are voice-guided and provide audible instructions to
ATM patrons through a standard headphone jack located on the face of the ATM.
Finally, Cardtronics has committed that, by July 1, 2010, at least 90 percent
(90%) of all transactions at covered ATMs shall occur on ATMs that are voice-guided
or otherwise accessible to blind people. A full copy of the settlement agreement
is available on Cardtronics’ Web site: <www.cardtronics.net/news/nfb_settlement.asp>.
The locations of the existing ATMs covered by the settlement agreement can be
obtained through Cardtronics’ ATM locator feature, available at <www.cardtronics.net/about/atmlocator.asp>.
Cardtronics has agreed to make a contribution of $100,000 to the Attorney General’s
local consumer aid fund of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and, subject to
Court approval, to pay the amount of $900,000 in attorneys’ fees to the attorneys
representing the class. These amounts will not detract from Cardtronics’s duties
to provide accessible ATMs to the class. The Court will conduct a hearing on
the motion of class counsel for their attorneys’ fees at the date and time set
forth in the following paragraph.
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
and an Order of the Court dated July 26, 2007, and as thereafter amended, that
a Final Approval Hearing will be held on December 4, 2007, at 11:00 a.m., before
that Court in the United States Courthouse, One Courthouse Way, Boston, Massachusetts
02210. The purpose of this Final Approval Hearing is to determine whether the
proposed settlement of the lawsuit should be approved by the Court as fair,
reasonable, and adequate, whether the application for awards of attorneys’ fees,
contribution to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s local consumer aid fund,
and reimbursement for expenses should be approved, and whether this action should
be dismissed on the merits and with prejudice.
Class Members who wish to object to the proposed settlement must provide notice
of and explanation of their objection in writing to the Court at the address
above, with copies to Counsel at the addresses provided below, no later than
October 31, 2007. Only Class Members filing timely objections may request to
present their objections at the Final Approval Hearing.
Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General Attn: Patricia Correa
Assistant Attorney General
100 Cambridge Street, 11th floor
Boston, MA 02108
Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP Attn: Daniel F. Goldstein, Esq. 120 E. Baltimore
Street
Suite 1700
Baltimore, MD 21202
Douglas P. Lobel
Cooley Godward Kronish LLP
One Freedom Square
Reston Town Center
11951 Freedom Drive
Reston, VA 20190
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION VISIT <www.cardtronics.net/news/nfb_settlement.asp>.
OR CONTACT COUNSEL FOR THE PLAINTIFFS:
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of Attorney General, Disability Rights
Project, (617) 727-2200, www.ago.state.ma.us/sp.cfm?pageid=1195
OR
Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, (410) 962-1030, <www.browngold.com>
EXCEPT AS INSTRUCTED IN THE NOTICE, PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT.
Dated: July 26, 2007 By Order of the
United States District Court
For the District of Massachusetts