The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has dismissed the appeal brought by the plaintiff in a lawsuit against Aurora Policemen Credit Union. Oral argument was presented to the appellate court on February 21, 2019, and the decision was issued on July 15, 2019.
The case originated in late 2017 when a complaint was filed by Matthew Carello against Aurora Policemen Credit Union (APCU) in federal court in Chicago. The credit union was accused of maintaining a website that is not accessible by blind persons, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
On August 7, 2018, federal trial court Judge Thomas M. Durkin entered a judgment in favor of APCU. In his Opinion and Order, Judge Durkin drew upon the standing argument presented by APCU, the Illinois Credit Union League (ICUL) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). In his opinion, he noted credit unions are membership organizations that serve specific groups of individuals and the plaintiff was not eligible to be a member of APCU. Given the plaintiff's membership ineligibility, the Judge held the plaintiff had no standing to bring an ADA claim, because he suffered no injury by not having access to the website. The 7th Circuit affirmed this decision. In its ruling, the 7th Circuit emphasized a plaintiff who is legally barred from using a credit union's services due to membership ineligibility cannot demonstrate an injury that satisfies the standing requirement.
To support APCU in its defense against the plaintiff's claim, ICUL and CUNA jointly intervened in the case at the trial court level, by filing an amicus “friend of the court” brief. In the appeal to the 7th Circuit, the Wisconsin Credit Union League also joined with ICUL and CUNA in the filing of an additional amicus brief. “The court’s decision to dismiss the recent lawsuit against the Aurora Policemen Credit Union is a great victory,” stated ICUL President and CEO Tom Kane. “It’s a tremendous example of collaboration within our industry that the League and CUNA could help support the credit union in its courageous act of fighting this frivolous lawsuit.”
With the victory at the appellate court level, this case establishes an important standard that protects credit unions amid the confusion of whether ADA applies to websites.