Legal Niches

Disabled Gamer?s Suit Against Sony Tossed

By pete_gallagher

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a disabled gamer against Sony Corporation of America, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sony Online Entertainment which alleged that the defendants denied access to their services for people with disabilities.

The suit was originally filed by plaintiff Alexander Stern in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California last October. The dismissal notice (PDF) was handed down on February 8 of this year.

Stern had argued that, 'his visual processing impairments prevent him from fully enjoying the video games manufactured by Sony, some of which are played on gaming systems with internet connections through which players in different locations can communicate and play with or against one another.'

The court noted that, 'According to the Ninth Circuit, to prevail on an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Title III discrimination claim, 'the plaintiff must show that (1) she is disabled within the meaning of the ADA; (2) the defendant is a private entity that owns, leases, or operates a place of public accommodation; and (3) the plaintiff was denied public accommodations by the defendant because of her disability.'

In its ruling, the court stated, in reference to point number 2 above, that Sony is not a 'place of public accommodation' and was 'therefore not liable for violating Title III of the ADA.'

|Via The Hollywood Reporter|

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on February 26, 2010 (boomark / email).