Movie chain discriminates vs. blind, deaf, suit claims

From: Tucson Citizen - Tucson,AZ,USA - Dec 5, 2006

The Arizona Republic

Arizona has filed suit against AMC Entertainment Inc., alleging the movie theater chain is discriminating against blind and deaf customers.

The suit, filed last week in Maricopa County Superior Court by the Attorney General's office, claims AMC is violating the Arizonans with Disabilities Act by not having enough devices and services to allow the hearing and visually impaired to enjoy its shows.

The company has at least one screen at each of its Arizona multiplexes set up with captioning devices for use by hearing impaired customers or voice description systems for the visually impaired, AMC spokeswoman Melanie Bell said. She declined further comment.

The lawsuit was prompted by complaints to the Attorney General's office, spokeswoman Andrea Esquer said.

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