BERKELEY, CALIF. (AP) - Deaf moviegoers are suing Cinemark, claiming the movie theater chain is denying them access to films by refusing to install closed captioning devices.
Berkeley, Calif.-based Disability Rights Advocates filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court on behalf of two plaintiffs and the Association of Late-Deafened Adults. It seeks class-action status.
Kevin Knestrick, an attorney for the plaintiffs, says Cinemark Holdings Inc. is the only one of the nation’s three largest movie chains not to offer closed-captioning equipment. Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc. provide captioning, though not at all hours and in all theaters.
The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages and an order requiring Plano, Texas-based company to install the captioning devices.
A call to Cinemark was not immediately returned.
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