Class action lawsuit filed over DVD claims of closed captions.Repeat that, please. A Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (ləg  `nə), city (1990 pop. 23,170), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast; founded 1887, inc. 1927. resident who claims he is hard of hearing has filed
two lawsuits on behalf of more than 3 million California residents who
purchased a DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. that was advertised as having closed captioning but lacked that element on the movie's special features. In one suit, filed against Universal Pictures and two of its subsidiaries, Russ Boltz claims that at least two of the studio's movies, "The Bourne Bourne, town (1990 pop. 16,064), Barnstable co., SE Mass., crossed by Cape Cod Canal; settled 1627, inc. 1884. Bourne Bridge (1935), across the canal, made the town an entry point to Cape Cod and a resort and commercial center. Supremacy" and "Seabiscuit," were marked with grids that said, "Captions: English," but did not include captioning in special features, such as actor interviews, outtakes and director comments. Most of the DVDs had closed captioning for the main feature, however. He said other DVD makers have issued a disclaimer on their packages: "Bonus Materials Not Rated or Captioned." Boltz filed a similar suit against Sony Pictures Entertainment and several of its subsidiaries, including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. In that case, he claims that the DVD packages for "SpiderMan," "xXx," "Die Another Day", "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde" and "Barbershop" are labeled with a "CC," a "Q" or the phrase, "closed captioning for the hard of hearing" but do not provide that service on their special features. Boltz said the "inability to understand uncaptioned features creates feelings of frustration and anger among people who are hard of hearing and isolates them from their friends and family without hearing loss when they watch DVDs together," according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the suit. Both suits were filed in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court, where Boltz has a year-old suit alleging similar claims against Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. and its subsidiaries, including Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures and Harry Shulman, a lawyer for Boltz at Mills Law Firm in San Rafael San Rafael (săn rəfĕl`), residential city (1990 pop. 48,404), seat of Marin co., W Calif., a suburb of San Francisco on the northern shore of San Francisco Bay; inc. 1913. , declined to comment. A call to Universal Pictures, a division of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal, was not returned. Staff reporter Amanda Bronstad can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 225, or at abronstad@labusinessjournal.com. |
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