Opinion ID: 2798929
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Gomez Tests an ATM

Text: Andres Gomez suffers from macular degeneration and is legally blind, as noted above. He lives less than a mile from an ATM operated by the defendant (the “Subject ATM”). Dade has a total of thirty-six machines in its network. Titles II and III, 18 Tex. J. C.L. & C.R. 235, 257−59 (2012) (describing Justice Department’s limited enforcement role). Thus the qui tam or private attorney general suit is the most common form of enforcement under the ADA, but the only remedies there are injunctions, fees, and costs. See 42 U.S.C. § 12188(a)(1) (incorporating by reference 42 U.S.C. § 2000a-3). 5 Case: 14-11539 Date Filed: 05/06/2015 Page: 6 of 15 In February 2012, technicians from Diebold Inc. upgraded the Subject ATM to comply with the Attorney General’s 2010 Standards. About a year after the upgrades, Dade employee Trayon Gaskins inspected the Subject ATM for ADA compliance. He used “headphones and a debit card to access the voice guidance system,” and completed a transaction. He also filled out a checklist indicating the status of various parts of the machine, including the audio jack, the Braille plaque, and the audio instructions. Gaskins said, in a sworn statement, that he “encountered no difficulties or problems with the voice guidance system” when testing the Subject ATM. Then, on July 21, 2013, Gomez visited the Subject ATM and attempted a transaction. He plugged in his headphones, which were “compatible with ATM voice guidance technology,” but the voice guidance system did not work. As a result, Gomez was unable to complete a transaction. Gomez also said an investigation was performed on his behalf, which indicated that other ATMs in the network were out of compliance. Gomez never said who the investigator was or which ATMs had misfired. Later that October, Dade branch manager Stephanie Miles again tested the Subject ATM. She followed the same checklist that Gaskins had used in April, and she found the voice guidance system was fully operational. 6 Case: 14-11539 Date Filed: 05/06/2015 Page: 7 of 15