Case: 5:18-cv BYP Doc #: 6 Filed: 03/06/18 1 of 5. PageID #: 327 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

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1 Case: 5:18-cv BYP Doc #: 6 Filed: 03/06/18 1 of 5. PageID #: 327 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION WALTER MITCHELL, : : Plaintiff, : Case No. 18-CV BYP : v. : Judge Benita Y. Pearson : DOVER-PHILA FEDERAL CREDIT : UNION, : : Defendant. : THE OHIO CREDIT UNION LEAGUE AND THE CREDIT UNION NATIONAL ASSOCIATION S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF AS AMICI CURIAE SUPPORTING DEFENDANT DOVERPHILA FEDERAL CREDIT UNION S MOTION TO DISMISS THE COMPLAINT Now come The Ohio Credit Union League ( OCUL ) and The Credit Union National Association ( CUNA ), through the undersigned counsel, and hereby moves this Honorable Court for an Order permitting them to file an amicus brief on behalf of, and supporting, Defendant Dover-Phila Federal Credit Union, in this litigation. The Ohio Credit Union League ( OCUL ) is the only state trade association for Ohio s credit unions. OCUL and its affiliates serves nearly all of Ohio s 282 credit unions and their 2,900,000 members and also advocates for the rights and interests of all credit unions in Ohio, DMS/ v.1

2 Case: 5:18-cv BYP Doc #: 6 Filed: 03/06/18 2 of 5. PageID #: 328 regardless of membership. Defendant Dover-Phila Federal Credit Union is a member of OCUL. Credit unions are not-for-profit, tax-exempt organizations that are owned and operated by their members. OCUL engages in political and regulatory advocacy for its members and provides information on legal compliance, educational and professional development opportunities, benchmarking information, media relations, and outreach solutions for its members. The Credit Union National Association ( CUNA ) is the largest trade association in the United States serving America s credit unions. With its network of affiliated state credit union associations, CUNA serves nearly 6,000 credit unions, which are owned by 110 million members collectively. Defendant Dover-Phila Federal Credit Union is a member of CUNA. This case arises from a recent spike in lawsuits and demand letters unfairly targeted at credit unions and other entities due to unclear website accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA ), 42 U.S.C et seq. The Complaint is one of a litany of almost identical federal civil actions brought against numerous credit unions across Ohio and the rest of the United States by Plaintiff and/or Plaintiff s counsel within the past few months. OCUL and CUNA and their member credit unions recognize the importance of the ADA and fully support the ability of all Americans to have access to a broad array of financial services, including credit unions. Yet the ADA and the Department of Justice ( DOJ ) s regulations are silent on website accessibility standards. For numerous years, DOJ gathered information on standards for website accessibility and even issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking intended to consider the feasibility of adopting formal accessibility standards. Unfortunately, however, the DOJ has yet to promulgate any website accessibility standards. Plaintiff and Plaintiff s counsel are capitalizing on this regulatory vacuum with this action, along DMS/ v.1

3 Case: 5:18-cv BYP Doc #: 6 Filed: 03/06/18 3 of 5. PageID #: 329 with wholesale issuances of demand letters and identical threats of litigation to numerous other credit unions across Ohio and in at least fourteen other states. The consequence of this meritless and costly lawsuit, and others like it, is that real dollars are being taken out of the hands of credit union member-owners across Ohio, but little is actually being accomplished for the disabled. As not-for-profit, community-based cooperative financial institutions, credit unions are uniquely focused on the needs of their members, especially those with disabilities, and support the protections of the ADA. However, this action is part of a growing and troublesome trend of lawsuits against community-focused credit unions, such as Defendant, which could result in OCUL s and CUNA s member credit unions being forced to curtail online services due to unreasonable litigation risk to the detriment of their member-owners. Given the number of these suits and threatened suits, their geographic range, and the resources credit unions are expending to defend them resources that could otherwise be used to serve their members OCUL and CUNA have a substantial interest in this case. There is considerable danger that case-by-case litigation will result in disparate access requirements, resulting in one credit union being subject to one set of standards and another credit union subject to another standard, or even the same credit union being subject to repeated lawsuits based on ever-evolving private sector technological developments. OCUL s and CUNA s credit union members operate within this district and are targets and potential targets of similar litigation; therefore, the Court s ruling is important to OCUL s and CUNA s membership. Amici OCUL and CUNA, therefore, have a substantial interest in the Court s resolution of this case. Consequently, this Motion should be granted, and OCUL and CUNA should be 3

4 Case: 5:18-cv BYP Doc #: 6 Filed: 03/06/18 4 of 5. PageID #: 330 added as amici curiae parties to this litigation and permitted to file the attached Brief as Amici Curiae. /s/ Jamie A. LaPlante Jamie A. LaPlante ( ) Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, LLP 41 S. High Street, Suite 3100 Columbus, Ohio Telephone: Fax: jlaplante@porterwright.com Counsel for Amici Curiae The Ohio Credit Union League and The Credit Union National Association Of Counsel: Jonathan Sandler (CA State Bar No ) (Pro Hac Vice pending) Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP 2049 Century Park East, Suite 3550 Los Angeles, CA Telephone: Fax: jsandler@bhfs.com Counsel for Amicus Curiae The Credit Union National Association 4

5 Case: 5:18-cv BYP Doc #: 6 Filed: 03/06/18 5 of 5. PageID #: 331 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned hereby certifies that on March 6, 2018, a copy of the foregoing was filed with the Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system. Notice of this filing will be sent by operation of the Court s electronic filing system to all parties registered to receive electronic notice. /s/ Jamie A. LaPlante Jamie A. LaPlante 5

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