Mitchell v. Bmi Fed. Credit Union
Mitchell v. Bmi Fed. Credit Union
Opinion of the Court
OPINION & ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on Defendant BMI Federal Credit Union's Motions to Dismiss. (ECF Nos. 5, 14). Plaintiff Walter Mitchell filed his Complaint on February 20, 2018, and Defendant BMI Federal Credit Union filed its first Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 5 ). Mr. Mitchell then filed an Amended Complaint on May 29, 2018 (ECF No. 12 ), which BMI again moved to dismiss (ECF No. 14 ). Plaintiff Walter Mitchell filed a Response in Opposition to BMI's second Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 17 ), and BMI Federal Credit Union Replied. (ECF No. 20 ). The Credit Union League and the Credit Union National Association filed a brief as *666amici curiae in support of BMI's Motions to Dismiss (ECF Nos. 8, 15). Mr. Mitchell and BMI each submitted three notices of supplemental authorities, and Mr. Mitchell submitted two Responses to BMI Federal Credit Union's Notices of Supplemental Authority. For the following reasons, BMI Federal Credit Union's first Motion to Dismiss is DENIED as MOOT and BMI's second Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED.
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiff Walter Mitchell is a blind resident of Ohio. He uses a screen reader to access websites. Mr. Mitchell alleges that he has attempted to access BMI Federal Credit Union's website but that the website is not properly accessible to blind individuals. (ECF No. 12 at ¶ 16 ). Mr. Mitchell has sued BMI under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), alleging that BMI is denying blind and visually impaired individuals equal access to BMI's website.
Defendant BMI is a credit union that limits membership to individuals "who live, work, worship, or attend school in Franklin, Pickaway, Fairfield, Licking, Delaware, Morrow, Union, or Madison counties; ... immediate family members of a current BMI member; and ... anyone sharing household expenses of a current BMI member." (ECF No. 14 at 3 ). Mr. Mitchell is not a member of BMI, and BMI alleges that he cannot become a member of BMI. Mr. Mitchell alleges that he is eligible for membership in BMI because he publishes the National Foundation for the Blind Newsletter which has subscribers in BMI's membership-eligible counties. Mr. Mitchell also travels to these counties to interact with his subscribers. (ECF No. 12 at ¶ 4 ).
In addition to his newsletter, Mr. Mitchell is connected to BMI through his membership in Kemba Credit Union. Kemba and BMI are both members of the Co-Op Shared Branch network. When credit unions belong to the co-op, the members of the credit union may also access branches and ATMs of other co-op member credit unions. (ECF No. 12 at ¶ 7 ; No. 14 at 11 ). Mr. Mitchell argues that he is a "tester" maintaining several similar suits against credit unions in the state of Ohio. (ECF No. 17 at 8 ).
Mr. Mitchell alleges that he visited BMI's website several times. (ECF No. 12 at ¶ 18 ). He alleges the following deficiencies in BMI's website: "(1) [e]mpty or missing form labels ...; (2) [e]mpty links that contain no text causing the function or purpose of the link to not be presented to the user ...; (3) [r]edundant [l]inks where adjacent links go to the same URL address ...; and (4) [m]issing alternative text." (ECF No. 12 at ¶ 16 ). Mr. Mitchell alleges that these deficiencies "denied [him] full and equal access, and deterred [him] on a regular basis from accessing Defendant's website." (ECF No. 12 at ¶ 18 ). Mr. Mitchell also alleges that because of the issues with BMI's website, he "was deterred from visiting Defendant's physical locations that [he] would have located and visited by using bmifcu.org." (Id. at ¶ 18). Mr. Mitchell has asked for injunctive relief requiring BMI to make its website equally accessible for blind and visually impaired individuals and for attorney fees and expenses, litigation costs, and any other relief this Court might find appropriate. BMI moved to dismiss Mr. Mitchell's suit under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Before a court may determine whether a plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, it must first decide whether it has subject *667matter jurisdiction. City of Heath, Ohio v. Ashland Oil, Inc. ,
A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted "is a test of the plaintiff's cause of action as stated in the complaint, not a challenge to the plaintiff's factual allegations." Golden v. City of Columbus ,
Complaints must state "more than a bare assertion of legal conclusions to survive a motion to dismiss." Horn v. Husqvarna Consumer Outdoor Products N.A., Inc. , No. 12-CV-567,
III. ANALYSIS
BMI has argued that Mr. Mitchell does not have standing to bring his claim because he is not eligible to join BMI, and because his claim is moot. Alternatively, BMI argues that Mr. Mitchell has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. BMI relies on Parker v. Metro. Life Ins. Co. ,
The issue of whether Title III of the ADA applies to websites is not new to the federal courts. Indeed, some courts have faced the exact issue of whether Mr. Mitchell can bring a claim under Title III
*668of the ADA against a credit union to which he does not belong for the accessibility of the credit union's website. See, e.g. , Mitchell v. Toledo Metro Credit Union , No. 3:18CV784,
A. Standing
BMI argues that Mr. Mitchell does not have standing to bring the claim because he is not, and cannot become, a member of BMI. (ECF No. 14 at 9 ). BMI additionally argues that Mr. Mitchell's right to access credit unions, including BMI, through his membership in Kemba Credit Union does not give him standing because he is only allowed to access branches, not online banking services. (Id. at 11-12). Lastly, BMI argues that Mr. Mitchell cannot show future harm because its website is currently accessible. (Id. at 12-13).
Standing is an Article III principle: without standing, a federal court cannot exercise jurisdiction because there is no case or controversy. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife ,
Mr. Mitchell requests injunctive relief. When a party requests injunctive relief, standing depends on whether the plaintiff is likely to be injured by the same allegedly offending conduct in the future.
*669City of Los Angeles v. Lyons ,
Mr. Mitchell argues that his complaint does allege the possibility of future harm, but his allegations fall short of those constitutionally required to show standing. Mr. Mitchell alleges that "[i]f bmifcu.org had been accessible, Plaintiff would have independently and privately investigated Defendant's services, privileges, advantages, and accommodations and amenities, and found the location to visit via Defendant's website as sighted individuals can and do." (ECF No. 12 at ¶ 17 ). This allegation merely elaborates on the past harm that Mr. Mitchell experienced. That a plaintiff would have been able to do something differently had he not experienced discrimination only shows the injury of past discrimination, not the possibility of future harm.
Similarly, Mr. Mitchell alleges that he has attempted to use bmifcu.org several times "in recent months," that the website's accessibility barriers "deterred Plaintiff on a regular basis from accessing Defendant's website," and that the website issues in turn "deterred [him] from visiting Defendant's physical locations." (ECF No. 12 at P18). This too falls short of the requirement to allege future harm. Deterrence may indeed be a sufficient injury, see, e.g. , Betancourt v. Ingram Park Mall, L.P. ,
Mr. Mitchell therefore lacks standing to bring this suit. BMI's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED. BMI also filed a Motion to Dismiss Mr. Mitchell's first complaint. When Mr. Mitchell filed the First Amended Complaint, the "amended complaint replace[d] the original." Florida Dep't of State v. Treasure Salvors, Inc. ,
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, BMI's first Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 5 ) is DENIED as MOOT. BMI's second Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 14 ) is GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED .
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Walter MITCHELL v. BMI FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
- Cited By
- 19 cases
- Status
- Published