Washington Residents Sue Theater Chains Over Closed Captioning

EDMONDS, WA - Two hearing-impaired people from Bellevue and Edmonds are part of a class-action lawsuit against three major movie theater chains over closed captioning, according to court records. The suit claims that Fathom Events, a venture of three large national theater chains, does not offer closed-captioning, making it nearly impossible for the hearing impaired to watch Fathom Events programming.

Both local plaintiffs have tried to attend recent Fathom Events programs only to discover when they arrived at the theater that captioning was unvailable. The theaters offer captioning for regular new release movies, the suit claims. Fathom Events brings opera and Broadway special performances to movie theaters around the country and is a joint venture of Regal Entertainment, AMC Entertainment, and Cinemark Holdings.

Plaintiff Dean Olson, of Edmonds, went to a Seattle theater to see a showing of "Winter's Tale" when he discovered captioning wasn't available.

"Olson wanted to see the Fathom presentation of 'Winter’s Tale' from the National Theatre in London with Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench at the Sundance Theatre in Seattle (now owned by AMC), but learned that it was not captioned, and did not attend. He would attend other Fathom events if they were accessible to him," the suit says

Olson and Bellevue plaintiff Kate Johnson are both deaf, but wear cochlear implants for some hearing ability.

The suit claims that the three theater chains have said they are not required to provide captioning services for Fathom Events performances. The suit claims that the theaters are places of public accommodation, and thus have to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The suit was filed Jan. 4 in federal court in Seattle on behalf of anyone with hearing loss who has tried to attend a Fathom Events program.

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