Lawsuit filed against theater chain over captions for deaf

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) - A southwestern Michigan man and a civil rights group are suing a theater company, saying it does not provide captions at a Benton Harbor venue.

Graham Forsey of St. Joseph and the National Association of the Deaf say the discrimination suit was filed last week against Loeks Theater, Inc.

They say that without captions, deaf and hard of hearing patrons can't understand movie dialogues and soundtracks. Forsey is deaf.

Loeks operates Celebration! Cinema in Benton Harbor, southwest of Grand Rapids.

Celebration! Cinema Vice President of Marketing Steve VanWagoner says in a statement that updated standards for supporting the deaf community are being reviewed by the Justice Department.

He says theaters in "Benton Harbor and other locations will receive captioning equipment in the coming months upon the adoption of the new standards."

Published: Wed, Aug 24, 2016