ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society

by John Stanton, Senior Associate, Howrey Simon Arnold & White, LLP

Ever since "The Jazz Singer" became the first "talkie" motion picture in 1927, people who are deaf or hard of hearing have been excluded from the social, cultural, and emotional experiences of movies. Without captions displaying the dialogue of the movies, individuals who are deaf cannot understand what is being said in a movie, and are forced to wait for the captioned version of the movie to come out on DVD, video, or television.

However, earlier this year, Judge Kessler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved a settlement between a class of deaf and hard-of-hearing plaintiffs and two movie theater chains. Judge Kessler's opinion approving the settlement is reported at 315 F. Supp.2d 120 (D. D.C. 2004). The lawsuit demanded that the theaters were violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing captioning accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons. In 2003, the court denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment arguing that the theaters were not required under the ADA to provide captions. That opinion is reported at 246 F. Supp.2d 17 (D. D.C.).

The settlement requires that the theaters install captioning equipment known as "Rear-Window Captioning" in twelve screens in selected theaters throughout the greater Washington, DC area. In her lenghty opinion approving the settlement, Judge Kessler determined that the proposed settlement was "fair, just, and reasonable."

The settlement marks the first time that a court has ordered movie theaters to provide captioning accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing patrons. However, it will not be the last. Last month, the New Jersey Attorney General reached a settlement with several movie theaters in the state to provide similar captioning accessibility as was ordered in the DC lawsuit. One theater chain refused to settle, and the New Jersey Attorney General filed suit against that chain in NJ state court. Recently, the New York Attorney General's Office has begun an identical investigation against movie theaters in its own state, and this could led to similar settlements. And deaf advocates nationwide have begun inquiring whether their own local theaters will likewise increase captioning accessibility to conform with the ADA's "reasonable accommodation" requirements.