ADA Mootness

The last couple of weeks brought a variety of decisions, most falling in to one of the familiar patterns for ADA and FHA litigation, but one or two presenting novel defenses and interesting judicial reactions.

A very interesting question of standing.

Johnson v. Castro et al, 2:16-CV-00658-MCE-DB, 2018 WL 2329249, at *3 (E.D. Cal. May 23, 2018) makes a very interesting point about standing, one related to some of the standing questions raised by other recent cases dealing with the plaintiff’s ability to take advantage of the goods and services of a public accommodation.** In Johnson the plaintiff suffered from cerebral palsy and made various claims concerning entrances and access to the restrooms. In response to the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment the defendants provided evidence that the restroom issues had been remediated and challenging the existence of a problem with the doors. They added that the plaintiff’s disability was so severe he could not eat or drink without assistance from the restaurant owner, who cut up his food and fed him at the table. The owners argued that the plaintiff was incapable of taking advantage of the restaurant without help they were not obligated to provide and therefore could not prove any accessibility had caused him harm. The Court found this at least raised an issue of fact:

“Consequently, Defendants raise a question of fact as to whether Plaintiff legitimately could have eaten at the Restaurant without assistance going well beyond any accessibility requirements mandated by either the ADA. . .”

It has been an eventful three weeks in the world of ADA and FHA litigation. Rather than picking and choosing among the various cases that deserve attention we’ve provided some quick analysis of the cases with immediate relevance to most businesses.

Ford v. H Unit Five, Inc., 2017 WL 4271433 (D. Utah Sept. 25, 2017) illustrates just how low plaintiffs and their counsel will sink to make money on ADA claims, and how courts can eliminate such claims. The plaintiff, a serial filer whose lawsuits were all identical, seems to have cheated when measuring ramp slopes by measuring the “wing” of the ramp rather than the ramp itself. She claimed to be disabled, but the disabling conditions were not obvious and perhaps non-existent. Faced with a defense motion for summary judgment and the risk of perjury she elected not to provide any evidence of her disability or any evidence of alleged accessibility violations beyond pictures taken by her lawyer. The Court had no trouble dismissing her claims. The takeaways for business:

You can win a dubious ADA lawsuit on summary judgment if you are willing to incur the expense of fighting to that point.
Some courts will limit ADA surveys to the allegations in the complaint. This thwarts plaintiffs who try to expand their lawsuit after it is filed, but is not common, especially in the Ninth Circuit, where broad standing has just about destroyed the restrictions on discovery in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Fair Housing Justice Center v. Allure Rehabilitation Services, LLC et al, 2017 WL 4297237, (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 26, 2017) should remind nursing homes and senior communities of all kinds that reasonable accommodation policies for dealing with the deaf must be flexible. The defendants got in trouble because, in response to telephone testing, they said they would not provide American Sign Language interpreters. An outright refusal to provide an auxiliary aid or service in response to a reasonable accommodation request under the ADA or FHA is almost always a mistake. The rules don’t have hard boundaries, but when responding to inquiries about facilities for the deaf the basic policy should be:

When the need for an interpreter involves medical care and there is time a request to provide an ALS interpreter should be granted at the expense of the business.
A business that regularly deals with medical problems for deaf clients or residents should invest in video and other alternate means of providing ALS interpreters on short notice.
If the need for an interpreter is not medical you must balance the complexity of the interaction, the notice given and the cost. If there is sufficient notice, providing at least video ALS is the safest choice.
MOST IMPORTANT – when you get a phone call about services for the disabled, never say never. The appropriate response is always that you follow HUD guidelines and deal with requests on a case by case basis. Then you can sit back and make a decision on what to do.

Burrell v. Twin Goose, LLC, 2017 WL 4230499 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 25, 2017) is the rare case in which a plaintiff was denied a default judgment based on a failure to plead his ADA case with sufficient specificity. Businesses may rejoice when they see this kind of case, but the denial was without prejudice and it is clear the pleading defects can be corrected. We’ve discussed defaulting as a strategy to save attorneys’ fees (Surrender as a strategy in ADA litigation) but it is worth remembering that the assumption must be the business will end up remediating everything the plaintiff alleges with sufficient specificity. Where a readily achievable defense exists and remediation will be unduly expensive default is a bad strategy.

Kayla Reed v. CVS Pharm., Inc., 2017 WL 4457508 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 3, 2017) is a web accessibility case with a few important points for businesses operating in the Ninth Circuit, as well as other observations of interest to any business

Use of “store locator” service, which is almost universal, is sufficient to create the required nexus between the website and a physical location. Because the case was decided on a motion to dismiss the Court does not address the question of whether fixing the store locator would be enough even if the rest of the website remained inaccessible.
The court rejected the idea that it was a violation of due process to require accessibility when there are no regulations defining accessibility. The specifics of the required remediation were, according to the court, a matter of remedy properly taken up at the end of the case. It distinguished Robles v. Dominos Pizza LLC, 2017 WL 1330216 (C.D. Cal. March 20, 2017)* on the ground that it was decided when the court was trying to fashion a remedy, at which point it was important to know just what the law required. Now that DOJ has abandoned its regulatory efforts** courts will be forced to grapple with how to define the remedy for inaccessible websites. Most will certainly take the easy way out and simply require WCAG 2.0 success level AA.

Guadalupe Adams v. Rohnam Wichita, LLC 2017 WL 4338398, (D. Kan. Sept. 29, 2017) is a default judgment case illustrating why, in some rare circumstances, default may be a good strategy. It is notable that the Court’s judgment does not include specific injunctive relief. The defendant is simply ordered to “alter the motel to make it readily accessible to and useable by individuals with disabilities to the extent required by the ADA.” Figuring out what it means to comply with the ADA usually involves considerable time and expense, which in this case the plaintiff must incur if it is enforce its judgment. It also seems unlikely that this judgment is enforceable by contempt because it is so vague. My suspicion is that after collecting attorneys’ fees the plaintiff will simply move on and the judgment will become a meaningless piece of paper.

Haynes v. Brinker Int’l, Inc. 2017 WL 4347204, (S.D. Fla. Sept. 29, 2017) is one of a series of recent decisions from Florida holding that if a defendant enters into a consent decree or settlement requiring website remediation subsequent claims under the ADA will be moot. When and how non-physical changes moot claims under the ADA is complicated, and these cases seem to reflect a recognition by federal courts that unless mootness is applied with some liberality there will be not end to copy-cat website accessibility lawsuits filed for fun and profit. Our earlier blogs on the risks of settlement discuss some cases that took a different approach.***

Shelton v. Cafe Rio, Inc. 2017 WL 4402425 (D. Utah Oct. 2, 2017) proves our motto, “Fix First, then Fight.” The Court had no trouble dismissing as moot a claim based on defects in accessible parking that were fully remediated. The plaintiff got no relief and no attorneys fees. Between the time a suit is filed and the Rule 16 conference that kicks off discovery the defendant has an ideal opportunity to remediate and make the plaintiff’s claims moot because the plaintiff is limited to what they pleaded, not what they may find later. A legal battle begun before remediation is a sure way to both waste money and lose in the end.

Carol Cutting v. Down East Orthopedic Associates, P.A. 2017 WL 4386963, (D. Me. Sept. 30, 2017) is a cautionary tale about how a single mistake can lead to a long legal battle. The ADA discrimination that occurred involved discriminatory remarks made by a surgeon followed by a single arguably discriminatory decision made during surgery. The defendants argued that the circumstances were sufficiently unique that they would never likely recur, and the plaintiff therefore lacked standing. Applying the usual liberal standards for a motion to dismiss at the pleading stage the Court found the pleadings were adequate to state a claim. Businesses should remember that it only takes a minute of bad conduct to lead to months or years of litigation and, as we’ve seen in highly publicized cases of CEO misconduct, the boss is not immune. Every employee, from the top down, needs to understand the ADA.

*See our blog Victory and confusion in ADA internet litigation – what next? for a discussion of this and other recent cases.

** ADA and the Internet Update – DOJ sends its regulations to Hanger 51

*** Beware the ADA settlement that buys a big bag of nothing, Starbucks and the ADA – more perilous settlements and temporary victories, The yin and yang of ADA defense. Perilous settlements and temporary victories

ADA Mootness

Quick Hits – the ADA and FHA Memorial Day edition

A very interesting question of standing.

Quick Hits – All the news for April 2018

Quick Hits – ADA news of note

Mootness and the ADA – Fighting may not be the best way to win.