Case: [Out of court: Illinois Attorney General settlement with AMC Theatres]

Not applicable | No Court

Filed Date: 2012

Clearinghouse coding complete

Case Summary

In 2012, AMC Theaters operated 41 theaters in Illinois, with a total of 460 movie theater screens, few if any of which were fully accessible to patrons who were blind, visually impaired, deaf, or hard-of-hearing because they lacked captioning and visual description technology. At the time, AMC was in the process of converting all but three of the auditoriums to feature digital projectors. On April 4, 2012, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced a Settlement Agreement between the Illin…

In 2012, AMC Theaters operated 41 theaters in Illinois, with a total of 460 movie theater screens, few if any of which were fully accessible to patrons who were blind, visually impaired, deaf, or hard-of-hearing because they lacked captioning and visual description technology. At the time, AMC was in the process of converting all but three of the auditoriums to feature digital projectors.

On April 4, 2012, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced a Settlement Agreement between the Illinois Attorney General and AMC Theaters. In the settlement, AMC did not admit to any liability. The Agreement was the result of a Complaint that disability rights organization Equip for Equality filed with the Disability Rights Bureau of the Office of the Attorney General on behalf of numerous individuals with disabilities, as well as the Hearing Loss Association of America, the Illinois Association of the Deaf, and the Illinois Council of the Blind. Under the Agreement, by April 1, 2014, AMC agreed it would furnish each of the auditoriums it had equipped or would equip with digital projectors with new captioning and audio description technology. AMC agreed to equip all digital auditoriums in any future newly constructed or acquired theaters with the technology as well.

The captioning and audio description systems depend on the presence of corresponding data in the digital file that comprise the movie. AMC agreed that whenever a movie included this data, it would make the captioning and audio description services available to theatergoers. Individual theatergoers requiring the captioning or descriptive technology would each be provided with a device which would present this content to them personally, so that the technology would not disrupt the enjoyment of other patrons.

The settlement excluded any IMAX screens until such time that appropriate technology was made available for them.

AMC agreed to train its employees on the use of the captioning and audio description technology, and to advertise the availability of the technology at specific show times.

Summary Authors

Alex Colbert-Taylor (6/14/2013)

People


Attorney for Plaintiff

Madigan, Lisa (Illinois)

Attorney for Plaintiff

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document

Settlement Agreement

[Not applicable]

March 29, 2012

March 29, 2012

Settlement Agreement

Madigan Announces Settlement with AMC Theatres

[Not applicable]

April 4, 2012

April 4, 2012

Press Release

AMC Theatres "Access" Agreement Reached in Illinois as a Result of Complaint Filed by Equip for Equality

[Not applicable]

April 4, 2012

April 4, 2012

Press Release

Docket

Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:34 p.m.

Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.

Case Details

State / Territory: Illinois

Case Type(s):

Disability Rights

Key Dates

Filing Date: 2012

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, in response to a complaint from disability rights organization Equip for Equality.

Plaintiff Type(s):

State Plaintiff

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

AMC Theatres, Private Entity/Person

Defendant Type(s):

Movie Theater or Other Entertainment facility

Case Details

Causes of Action:

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq.

Special Case Type(s):

Out-of-court

Available Documents:

Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff

Nature of Relief:

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Source of Relief:

Settlement

Form of Settlement:

Private Settlement Agreement

Order Duration: 2012 - 2014

Content of Injunction:

Reasonable Accommodation

Develop anti-discrimination policy

Comply with advertising/recruiting requirements

Provide antidiscrimination training

Reporting

Recordkeeping

Goals (e.g., for hiring, admissions)

Issues

General:

Access to public accommodations - privately owned

TTY/Close Captioning/Videophone/etc.

Disability and Disability Rights:

Reasonable Accommodations

Reasonable Modifications

Screen readers and similar accessibility devices

Hearing impairment

Visual impairment

Discrimination-area:

Disparate Impact

Discrimination-basis:

Disability (inc. reasonable accommodations)