DALLAS More than two dozen credit unions have agreed separately over the past two months to settle civil suit related to the Americans With Disabilities Act and access for the blind to their ATMs, as the latest flurry of ATM suits continues to accelerate.
Though the terms of every one of the suits remain confidential, sources indicate that each of the credit unions has agreed to upgrade their ATMs with voice-activated technology and Braille keypads, among other things, to make them accessible to the sight-impaired, and to appoint an employee to ensure the ATMs remain accessible under the terms of the ADA. The settlements also give the plaintiffs in each of the suits or their designee the right to examine some of all of the credit unions’ ATMs for compliance for a 12-month period.
“The Credit Union will provide to Counsel for Plaintiff a letter stating that all ATMs under the direct control of the Credit Union are fully compliant with applicable law as of the date of the letter as set forth in the Settlement agreement,” the terms of the confidential settlements state.
Each of the credit unions has also agreed to pay legal fees for the plaintiffs.
Among the credit unions agreeing to settle ADA suits in recent weeks are: Premier America CU, Member Source CU, First Community CU, Houston FCU, Members Choice CU, JSC FCU, Coastal Community CU, Security One FCU, Fort Worth Community CU, Frick TriCounty FCU, Freedom United FCU, West AirComm FCU, Washington Community FCU and American Heritage FCU.
All of the suits—from Houston-to Philadelphia-to Delaware—were brought by a Pittsburgh attorney, R. Bruce Carlson on behalf of legally blind ATM users, some of them in conjunction with Blind Ambitions, a blind advocacy group out of Wilmington, Del. Carlson’s clients, who have filed almost 100 ADA suits over the past six months, still have more than two dozen ADA suits pending against credit unions and banks.
