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Plaintiff alleges beverage company denies access due to inaccessible website

COOK COUNTY RECORD

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Plaintiff alleges beverage company denies access due to inaccessible website

Federal Court
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U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois | Official website

A visually-impaired individual has filed a class action lawsuit against a company for allegedly failing to make its website accessible to blind and visually-impaired users. On February 24, 2025, Tammy Hampton lodged the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Nuun & Company, Inc., accusing them of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Tammy Hampton, who is legally blind and relies on screen-reading software to navigate websites, claims that Nuun & Company's website, nuunlife.com, is not accessible to individuals with visual impairments. The lawsuit highlights several accessibility barriers that prevent blind users from fully utilizing the site. According to Hampton, these barriers include inaccurate landmark structures, inadequate focus order, ambiguous link texts, and the requirement for mouse-only navigation which is not feasible for blind users relying on keyboard navigation. As a result of these issues, Hampton was unable to complete an online purchase of hydration and electrolyte supplements from Nuun's website.

The complaint asserts that despite the availability of accessible technology and established guidelines like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Nuun & Company has chosen not to implement these standards on their website. This decision allegedly excludes blind and visually-impaired individuals from participating in online commerce independently. The plaintiff argues that this exclusion violates Title III of the ADA by denying equal access to goods and services provided by public accommodations.

Hampton seeks a permanent injunction requiring Nuun & Company to modify its website policies and practices to ensure accessibility for blind consumers. Additionally, she requests compensatory damages for unlawful discrimination experienced by herself and other class members. The lawsuit also demands declaratory relief acknowledging that Nuunlife.com discriminates against visually impaired users by failing to provide necessary accommodations.

Representing Tammy Hampton in this case is attorney David B. Reyes from Equal Access Law Group PLLC. The case ID is 1:25-cv-01896.

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