A visually-impaired individual has taken legal action against a major online fragrance retailer, alleging discrimination due to website inaccessibility. Erika Randolph filed a class-action complaint on November 11, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against BB Beauty LLC, operating as Fragrance USA. The lawsuit highlights significant barriers faced by blind and visually-impaired users attempting to access the company’s website.
Erika Randolph, who is legally blind and requires screen-reading software to navigate websites, claims that BB Beauty’s website, Fragranceusa.com, is not designed to be accessible for individuals with visual impairments. According to the complaint, this failure violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which mandates equal access to public accommodations for people with disabilities. The lawsuit emphasizes that despite existing technologies that can make websites accessible—such as alternative text for images and keyboard navigation options—BB Beauty has not implemented these features on its site.
The complaint details several accessibility issues encountered by Randolph while attempting to purchase perfume from Fragranceusa.com. These include inadequate focus order on interactive elements, missing “skip to content” links, non-descriptive alternative text for images, and reliance on mouse navigation rather than keyboard commands. Such barriers effectively prevent blind users from completing transactions independently and force them to rely on sighted assistance or resort to physical stores—a significant inconvenience given their mobility challenges.
Randolph seeks a permanent injunction requiring BB Beauty to modify its website policies and practices to ensure compliance with ADA standards. She also requests compensatory damages for herself and other affected class members who have been denied equal access due to these barriers. The lawsuit argues that making the necessary changes would not impose an undue burden on BB Beauty but would instead align its operations with established web accessibility guidelines like those from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
The case is being handled by attorney Uri Horowitz of Horowitz Law PLLC. It is filed under Case No.: 1:25-cv-13815 in front of judges at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Source: 125cv13815_Erika_Randolph_v_BB_Beuty_Complaint_Northern_District_of_Illinois.pdf
