Be advised of the preliminary approval of the settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by Juan Alcazar and Pamela Williams (the “Named Plaintiffs”) against Miele, Incorporated (“Miele”). The Named Plaintiffs, individually and on behalf of all members of the Settlement Class, as defined below, allege that, as individuals with visual impairments, they were denied equal access to or enjoyment of Miele's websites, www.miele.com, and www.mieleusa.com (the “Website”). Miele denies the Named Plaintiff's allegations and denies any fault or wrongdoing whatsoever.
Under the proposed settlement, Miele will make certain changes to the Website and Mobile Applications (as set forth in the Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release) in exchange for the Settlement Classes releasing claims regarding the accessibility of the Website and Mobile Applications as it exists at the time of this settlement, or as it may be modified in accordance with the Settlement Agreement. A Final Approval and Fairness Hearing on the proposed settlement is scheduled for December 15, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., in the courtroom of Judge Vince Chhabria, for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Courtroom 4 – 17th Floor, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102.
The Court has preliminarily approved the following Settlement Class: all individuals who (a) have a visual disability, as that term is defined under the ADA and similar state and local disability laws, (b) have accessed the Website and/or Mobile Applications and (c) have been denied equal access as a result of their disability.
Under the Settlement Agreement, Miele has agreed to make certain accessibility modifications to the Website and Mobile Applications. Those changes include:
Modifying the Website and Mobile Applications to improve accessibility and to provide individuals with disabilities full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations offered through the Website and Mobile Applications by having the Website and Mobile Applications substantially usable by screen reader software for website and mobile applications users in the future. Miele shall use WCAG 2.0 Level AA as a guideline in making such improvements. Miele can link to third-party websites and/or include third-party content on the Website and Mobile Applications (e.g., any web content that is dictated or generated by a third party and is not owned, coded, managed, and/or operated by the Released Parties (including, but not limited to, plug-ins, forms, PDF files, social media and YouTube© videos)), without being required to undertake, to complete remediation for, or to be responsible or liable for any form of third-party content that is incorporated into the Website and Mobile Applications.
For more information regarding your legal rights and options you may obtain a copy of the complete Settlement Agreement and other case documents under the Court documents section of this page. Additionally, information and case documents. You may also contact the Claims Administrator at 1-800-866-602-5907 or at Alcazar v. Miele Inc. Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 26170, Santa Ana, CA 92799.