Suit says BarBri violates ADA; online study materials aren't fully accessible to blind law grads
Three law students have filed a federal lawsuit against BarBri Inc. contending that the company’s online bar-exam preparation materials aren’t fully accessible to the blind.
The suit, filed Monday in Dallas, alleges that BarBri violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing appropriate accommodations, Texas Lawbook reports in an article reprinted in the Dallas Morning News.
The plaintiffs are seeking class action status, a court order requiring BarBri to provide such accommodations and compensation for those who have suffered without them.
Derek Manners, Claire Stanley and Christopher Stewart are the named plaintiffs. Manners is to graduate from Harvard Law School soon; Stanley graduated last year from the University of California Irvine School of Law; and Stewart will soon earn his law degree from the University of Kentucky. All plan to take a bar exam in July.
They are represented by the nonprofit Texas Civil Rights Project. Legal director Wayne Krause Yang said “BarBri’s refusal to make simple accommodations to give blind law students equivalent services doesn’t just set Claire, Derek and Chris back in their attempt to pass the bar; it sets back every blind person who wants to be a lawyer out there.”
A BarBri representative said the company hasn’t yet seen the suit and hence declined to comment.
