Filed Date: June 16, 2011
Closed Date: 2016
Clearinghouse coding complete
The National Association of the Deaf, Western Massachusetts Association of the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, and a deaf Massachusetts resident belonging to both organizations, brought this case under the Americans with Disabilities Act against Netflix. The plaintiffs alleged that by failing to provide closed captioned text to its on-demand movie and television streaming service known as "Watch Instantly," Netflix failed to provided full and equal access to the deaf and hard of hearing. The lawsuit was filed June 16, 2011 in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The plaintiffs, represented by the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund and private co-counsel, sought declaratory relief, an injunction requiring Netflix to provide effective communication through closed captioning and easy identification of captioned content, and attorney's fees and costs.
On November 11, 2011, the court (Judge Michael A. Ponsor) denied the defendant's Motion to Dismiss, because the FCC did not have primary jurisdiction over the case and Netflix's arguments that the there was not a ripe complaint and actual injury were not persuasive. Additionally, the court found Netflix's argument that the case be dismissed or transferred because of a similar case pending in the Northern District of California unpersuasive. 2011 WL 5519883.
On June 19, 2012, Judge Michael A. Posner denied Netflix’s motion for judgement on the pleadings. 869 F.Supp.2d 196. The court rejected Netflix’s argument that the Watch Instantly website was not a place of public accommodation covered by the ADA and agreed with the plaintiffs that the website fell within multiple ADA categories, such as “service establishment,” “place of exhibition or entertainment,” and “rental establishment.” The court also determined that the plaintiffs adequately pled that Netflix owns and operates the Watch Instantly website, the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act complemented not supplanted, the ADA, and the new FCC regulation on captioning did not render plaintiffs’ claim moot.
The parties entered into settlement negotiations and submitted a settlement to the district court for its approval on October 10, 2012. Under the settlement, Netflix agreed to provide closed captions on 100% of its streaming content within two years and to improve its interface so that subscribers could more easily identify content that was captioned. Additionally, Netflix agreed to provide training to customer service representatives on handling questions about captioning issues.
The announcement of the settlement explained that Netflix began its closed-captioning program in 2010 and increased captioning for 90% of the hours viewed. Captions were displayed on a majority of the more than 1,000 devices on which the service was available. The court maintained jurisdiction of the case for four years to assure compliance with the terms of the decree, and the plaintiffs monitored Netflix's progress. Netflix agreed to pay $795,000 for past and future attorneys fees and costs, including monitoring costs. The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Denise Heberle (10/10/2012)
Emily Kempa (2/21/2019)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4274307/parties/national-association-of-the-deaf-v-netflix-inc/
Adelstein, Jay David (Massachusetts)
Amdur, Spencer E. (Massachusetts)
Anderson, Linda (Massachusetts)
Apjohn, Nelson G. (Massachusetts)
Aronoff, Peter Max (Massachusetts)
Adelstein, Jay David (Massachusetts)
Amdur, Spencer E. (Massachusetts)
Anderson, Linda (Massachusetts)
Apjohn, Nelson G. (Massachusetts)
Aronoff, Peter Max (Massachusetts)
Attorney, Noticing INS (Massachusetts)
Auerbach, Gerald (Massachusetts)
AUSA, Christopher D (Massachusetts)
Baker, Wyn Dee (Massachusetts)
Beckerman, Laura (Massachusetts)
Bergman, Jacob Max (Massachusetts)
Bernie, Andrew Marshall (Massachusetts)
Berwick, Benjamin (Massachusetts)
Bickford, James O. (Massachusetts)
Bish, Dale Richard (Massachusetts)
Bonilla, Ricardo Joel (Massachusetts)
Bowen, Brigham J (Massachusetts)
Brown, Jane Pansing (Massachusetts)
Brunner, Helen J (Massachusetts)
Bryan, Lonnie F (Massachusetts)
Burdette, Cathy Jo (Massachusetts)
Byars, Michael James (Massachusetts)
Cargo, Shane Patrick (Massachusetts)
Carlson, Lucy G (Massachusetts)
Cha-Kim, Stephen Seungkun (Massachusetts)
Chang, Carolyn (Massachusetts)
Chang, William S.W. (Massachusetts)
Chaudhury, Arastu Kabeer (Massachusetts)
Chilakamarri, Varu (Massachusetts)
Chuang, C.J. Alice (Massachusetts)
Clopper, John Dalton (Massachusetts)
Cox, James Cox (Massachusetts)
Cox, Zac Alexander (Massachusetts)
Craft, Roger Brian (Massachusetts)
Crowley, Megan Anne (Massachusetts)
Culp, Kimberly Irene (Massachusetts)
D'Alessandro, Mark Thomas (Massachusetts)
Daughtry, Emily Ewell (Massachusetts)
Deiss, Ila Casy (Massachusetts)
DeMarchi, Virginia Kay (Massachusetts)
Demetriades, Christopher Paul (Massachusetts)
DeVito, David Michael (Massachusetts)
Doan, Jennifer Haltom (Massachusetts)
Docherty, John (Massachusetts)
Dolinger, Samuel Hilliard (Massachusetts)
Dominguez, Silvia (Massachusetts)
Donnelly, Darren Edward (Massachusetts)
Donohue, Brian G. (Massachusetts)
Dossick, Harrison J. (Massachusetts)
Drasco, Dennis J. (Massachusetts)
Durie, Daralyn J. (Massachusetts)
Durkin, Timothy Michael (Massachusetts)
Dy, Cynthia A. (Massachusetts)
Dyck, Henry Parker (Massachusetts)
Eggleton, Keith E. (Massachusetts)
Ennis, Christine Wild (Massachusetts)
Erickson-Pogorzelski, Anthony (Massachusetts)
Falk, Rebecca Ann (Massachusetts)
Farel, Lily S. (Massachusetts)
Feldman, Boris (Massachusetts)
Feldman, Michael Aaron (Massachusetts)
Findlay, Eric Hugh (Massachusetts)
FitzGerald, Ellen (Massachusetts)
Foung, Cheryl Weisbard (Massachusetts)
Francis, Victoria L. (Massachusetts)
Frank, Gerald S (Massachusetts)
Frisch, Stuart (Massachusetts)
Gardner, Allen Franklin (Massachusetts)
Garrett, Jenigh J. (Massachusetts)
Gartman, John E (Massachusetts)
Gianola, John Fulton (Massachusetts)
Gonzalez, Gregory (Massachusetts)
Gratz, Joseph C. (Massachusetts)
Griffiths, John Richard (Massachusetts)
Guzman, Gladys M. (Massachusetts)
Haack, Phillip John (Massachusetts)
Haas, Alexander Kenneth (Massachusetts)
Hadden, J David (Massachusetts)
Hadden, Joe David (Massachusetts)
Haroldson, Thomas E (Massachusetts)
Harrison, Kristyn Nicola (Massachusetts)
Harvey, Judith B. (Massachusetts)
Harvey, Judy B (Massachusetts)
Heiman, Julia Alexandra (Massachusetts)
Henry, Terry M. (Massachusetts)
Herb, Kimberly Lynn (Massachusetts)
Herman, Vincent (Massachusetts)
Hernandez, J Cole (Massachusetts)
Hoffman, Cameron Powers (Massachusetts)
Horn, Stephen M. (Massachusetts)
Howard, Roscoe Howard (Massachusetts)
Hsu, Shining J. (Massachusetts)
Hunt, Joseph H. (Massachusetts)
Ikari, Carolyn Aiko (Massachusetts)
Inactive, Michael A (Massachusetts)
Inactive, Cynthia M (Massachusetts)
Inc., Netflix, (Massachusetts)
Jacobson, Jonathan M. (Massachusetts)
Jafary-Hariri, Mitra (Massachusetts)
James, Michael (Massachusetts)
Jones, Michael E (Massachusetts)
Jr, Earl Glenn (Massachusetts)
Jr, John David (Massachusetts)
Jude, Jennifer Ann (Massachusetts)
Kabrawala, Ameet B. (Massachusetts)
Kahrs, Laurie Kathleen (Massachusetts)
Kamber, Matthias Andreas (Massachusetts)
Kao, Christopher (Massachusetts)
Keefe, Kerry Jane (Massachusetts)
Kelleher, Diane (Massachusetts)
Kent, Ryan Marshall (Massachusetts)
Khorshid, Anoiel (Massachusetts)
Kirschner, Adam D. (Massachusetts)
Klausner, Tonia Maria (Massachusetts)
Klecka, Matthew (Massachusetts)
Kneedler, Jennie L. (Massachusetts)
Konkoly, Antonia (Massachusetts)
Lantka, Peter Michael (Massachusetts)
Larsen, Christian R (Massachusetts)
Leary, Peter Decklin (Massachusetts)
Lee, Jonathan Unruh (Massachusetts)
Lerman, Lora Rachel (Massachusetts)
Lesperance, Karen Folster (Massachusetts)
Levy, Judith E. (Massachusetts)
Lieber, Sheila M. (Massachusetts)
Lievense, Andrew J. (Massachusetts)
Liss, Luke Anthony (Massachusetts)
Loesch, Salumeh R (Massachusetts)
Love, Jeffrey S (Massachusetts)
Mack, Benjamin L. (Massachusetts)
Maitra, Sonali D (Massachusetts)
Majeed, Sameena (Massachusetts)
Marentette, Pamela (Massachusetts)
Martikan, Owen Peter (Massachusetts)
Martin, Lealon LeCorte (Massachusetts)
Marton, Ryan Jared (Massachusetts)
Mathur, Gaurav (Massachusetts)
McArdle, Kevin William (Massachusetts)
McDowell, David F. (California)
McElvain, Joel (Massachusetts)
McNabnay, Neil J (Massachusetts)
McNutt, Scott H. (Massachusetts)
Mercado-Santana, Victor M. (Massachusetts)
Metzger, Emily B. (Massachusetts)
Mick, Stephen R (Massachusetts)
Miller, Laura Elizabeth (Massachusetts)
Moore, Tamra T. (Massachusetts)
Morrison, Ross Eric (Massachusetts)
Morte, Tara Marie (Massachusetts)
Munn, Janet T. (Massachusetts)
Nestler, Emily (Massachusetts)
Neuharth, Christine M. (Massachusetts)
O'Connor, Kevin J. (Massachusetts)
O'Neill, Julie G. (District of Columbia)
Pasahow, Lynn Harold (Massachusetts)
Patrick, Jack B (Massachusetts)
Patton, Rodney (Massachusetts)
Pauwels, Andrew M. (Massachusetts)
Pelletier, Paul E (Massachusetts)
Perez-Daple, Brian (Massachusetts)
Phillips, Frederick S. (Massachusetts)
Porsia, Sara Christi (Massachusetts)
Powell, Amy Elizabeth (Massachusetts)
Prillaman, Debra Jean (Massachusetts)
Prose, Susan Begesse (Massachusetts)
Purcell, Celine Georges (Massachusetts)
Qureshi, Wasif H (Massachusetts)
Rachal, Doreen M. (Massachusetts)
Ray, Jeffrey P. (Massachusetts)
Repicky, Heather B. (Massachusetts)
Reza, Syed Mohsin (Massachusetts)
Ribera, Hector Julian (Massachusetts)
Roberts, Clement S. (Massachusetts)
Robinson, Kimberly Anne (Massachusetts)
Roeser, Jeffrey Randall (Massachusetts)
Rosenberg, Brad Prescott (Massachusetts)
Sandberg, Justin M. (Massachusetts)
Saunders, Michael Craig (Massachusetts)
Scharf, James A. (Massachusetts)
Schools, Scott (Massachusetts)
Schwartz, Rachel (Massachusetts)
Shapiro, Elizabeth (Massachusetts)
Sheffield, Carlton Frederick (Massachusetts)
Sherman, Steve A (Massachusetts)
Shockey, Charles Ray (Massachusetts)
Shvodian, Daniel T (Massachusetts)
Singer, Samuel M. (Massachusetts)
Singer, Benjamin D. (Massachusetts)
Smart, Adam Ryan (Massachusetts)
Smith, Jeffrey Michael (Massachusetts)
Smith, Alexandra F. (Massachusetts)
Snead, Jacqueline E. (Massachusetts)
Sneed, Sekret Tamara (Massachusetts)
Soskin, Eric Joseph (Massachusetts)
Sowles, Marcia K. (Massachusetts)
Spooner, Sandra P (Massachusetts)
Stark, John J. (Massachusetts)
Stegeby, Erik Kenneth (Massachusetts)
Stellmach, William (Massachusetts)
Stewart, James E. (Massachusetts)
Strickland, Rodney Grant (Massachusetts)
Swope, Richard S (Massachusetts)
Tayloe, Benjamin O (Massachusetts)
Thornburgh, John W (Massachusetts)
Tinio, Rebecca Sol (Massachusetts)
Torrance, Benjamin Henry (Massachusetts)
Tseng, Neill Tai (Massachusetts)
Tsuei, James Shrin (Massachusetts)
Tulis, Elizabeth (Massachusetts)
Ulrich, Tamara (Massachusetts)
VanNorman, Brent Lee (Massachusetts)
Wall, Robin Michael (Massachusetts)
Walsh, Thomas P. (Massachusetts)
Walsh, Sara Ciarelli (Massachusetts)
Waterman, Brandon Matthew (Massachusetts)
Weiss, Daniel Herman (Massachusetts)
Westwater, Gisela A (Massachusetts)
Whittemore, Lauren Estelle (Massachusetts)
Whittlesey, Brent A (Massachusetts)
Woo, Darryl M. (Massachusetts)
Austin, Daniel G (Massachusetts)
Hill, Eve L. (District of Columbia)
Jacobs, Gretchen E. (District of Columbia)
Lafferty, Martha Michele (Massachusetts)
Maisels, Amanda (District of Columbia)
Neiman, Kenneth P. (Massachusetts)
Nichol, Allison (District of Columbia)
Ortiz, Carmen M. (Massachusetts)
Perez, Thomas E. (District of Columbia)
Rosenblum, Howard A (Massachusetts)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4274307/national-association-of-the-deaf-v-netflix-inc/
Last updated March 19, 2024, 3:09 a.m.
State / Territory: Massachusetts
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: June 16, 2011
Closing Date: 2016
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Advocacy groups for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Attorney Organizations:
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Netflix, Inc., Private Entity/Person
Defendant Type(s):
Movie Theater or Other Entertainment facility
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq.
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Content of Injunction:
Amount Defendant Pays: $755,000
Order Duration: 2012 - 2016
Issues
General/Misc.:
Access to public accommodations - privately owned
Disability and Disability Rights:
TTY/Close Captioning/Videophone/etc.
Discrimination Basis: