A visually-impaired individual has taken legal action against a major online ticket retailer, claiming the company's website is inaccessible to blind users. Tammy Hampton filed a class-action complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on February 24, 2025, against Ticketsales.com, LLC. The lawsuit alleges that the company’s website is not designed to be fully accessible to individuals who rely on screen-reading software, thereby violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Hampton, who represents herself and others similarly affected, asserts that Ticketsales.com has failed to implement necessary web accessibility standards that would allow blind and visually-impaired individuals to navigate and use their site independently. "Ticketsales.com contains significant access barriers," Hampton claims in her filing, which include inadequate focus order, ambiguous link texts, inaccessible drop-down menus, and other issues that make it impossible for visually impaired users to complete transactions without assistance. According to Hampton's complaint, these barriers prevent her from purchasing tickets online—a service readily available to sighted customers—thereby excluding her from participating in the growing Internet economy.
The lawsuit points out that there are established guidelines for making websites accessible, such as those provided by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. Despite these resources being readily available and widely adopted by other businesses and government agencies, Ticketsales.com allegedly continues to operate an exclusively visual interface that discriminates against blind users. Hampton emphasizes that this failure violates both state and federal laws designed to ensure equal access for individuals with disabilities.
In seeking redress from the court, Hampton requests a permanent injunction requiring Ticketsales.com to modify its website policies and practices so they comply with ADA standards. She also seeks compensatory damages for herself and other class members who have experienced discrimination due to these accessibility barriers. Additionally, Hampton asks for punitive damages and any further relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Representing Tammy Hampton is attorney David B. Reyes of Equal Access Law Group PLLC based in Flushing, New York. The case has been assigned Case No.: 1:25-cv-1900 in front of the Northern District of Illinois court.