McCune v. Singh
Filing
43
ORDER and ORDER to SHOW CAUSE signed by Judge John A. Mendez on 7/18/12: Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment on his ADA, Unruh Act, and CDPA claims is GRANTED. Plaintiff is awarded $16,000 in statutory damages pursuant to the Unruh Act 's statutory damages provision. Defendant's Counsel, Morton B. Holt, Jr., is ordered to either (1) submit a statement of good cause for failing to comply with the local rules or (2) pay sanctions of $150.00 to the Clerk of Court. (Kaminski, H)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11
MICHAEL MCCUNE,
12
Plaintiff,
13
v.
14
SATNAM SINGH,
15
Defendant.
16
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Case No. 2:10-CV-02207 JAM-GGH
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S
UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR SUMMARY
JUDGMENT AND ORDER TO SHOW
CAUSE
17
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Michael McCune’s
18
19
(“Plaintiff”) Motion for Summary Judgment or Partial Summary
20
Judgment in the Alternative (Doc. ## 41-42).
21
summary judgment on his claims under the Americans With
22
Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111-12300;
23
California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act (“Unruh Act”), Cal. Civ. Code
24
§ 51, et. seq.; and the California Disabled Persons Act (“CDPA”),
25
Cal. Civ. Code § 54, et seq.
26
did not file an opposition to Plaintiff’s motion.
1
Plaintiff seeks
Defendant Satnam Singh (“Defendant”)
27
1
28
This motion was determined to be suitable for decision without
oral argument. E.D. Cal. L.R. 230(g). The hearing was scheduled
for July 11, 2012.
1
1
I.
BACKGROUND
2
A.
3
This action originated when Plaintiff filed his Complaint in
Procedural History
4
this Court on August 17, 2010 (Doc. # 1).
5
intervening decision issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,
6
Plaintiff was given leave to amend his Complaint, and he filed a
7
First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) on June 20, 2011 (Doc. # 21).
8
Chapman v. Pier 1 Imports (U.S.) Inc., 631 F.3d 939, 954 (9th Cir.
9
2011) (requiring an ADA plaintiff to indicate what barriers he or
In response to an
See
10
she encountered and how the barriers affected the plaintiff’s
11
disability such that he or she was denied full and equal access to
12
the public accommodation).
13
On November 28, 2011, the Clerk entered the default of
14
Defendant for failure to respond to the FAC (Doc. # 27).
15
subsequently obtained counsel, and the entry of default was set
16
aside based upon Defendant’s showing of good cause on January 27,
17
2012 (Doc. # 36). On February 29, 2012, the parties filed a joint
18
status report wherein Defendant indicated his desire for a
19
settlement conference and Plaintiff indicated that he intended to
20
move for summary judgment (Doc. # 39).
21
instant motion on May 24, 2012.
Defendant
Plaintiff then filed the
22
B.
23
The Court has reviewed all of the affidavits and exhibits
24
submitted in support of Plaintiff’s unopposed motion and finds that
25
the undisputed facts are as follows.
26
lawsuit arose when Plaintiff and his wife visited a shopping plaza
27
owned by Defendant located at 3950-3960 Cambridge Road, Cameron
28
Park, California (the “Plaza”).
Factual Background
The factual basis for this
The Plaza contains several small
2
1
businesses including a liquor store, hardware store, and dry
2
cleaner.
3
use of an electric wheelchair when traveling in public, found that
4
the Plaza was not accessible because of his disability.
5
Plaintiff, who is a C5-C6 quadriplegic and requires the
On May 4, 2010 Plaintiff went to the liquor and hardware
6
stores located in the Plaza.
7
accessible parking space to accommodate his wheelchair-lift
8
equipped van.
9
that was not designated as van accessible and exited the van.
Plaintiff was unable to find a van-
Plaintiff parked his van in a disabled parking space
Once
10
he exited the van, Plaintiff was unable to find an unobstructed
11
pathway to the stores he intended to visit.
12
stores was obstructed by a newspaper dispenser, a propone tank
13
cage, and parked cars that encroached into the walkway.
14
returned to the parking lot and traveled behind parked cars to
15
enter the liquor store.
16
The walkway to the
Plaintiff
The Plaza’s parking lot is divided into a Northern section and
17
a Southern section by an area filled with pallets of gardening
18
supplies.
19
Northern section was constructed in 1988.
20
travel through the parking lot, travelling around the pallet area,
21
in order to reach the walkway in the North side of the parking lot
22
after leaving the liquor store located in the South side.
23
Plaintiff reached the North side walkway, he discovered that the
24
walkway on that side of the plaza was also obstructed, and he was
25
forced to travel to the hardware store entrance through the North
26
side parking lot.
27
28
The Southern section was constructed in 1979, and the
Plaintiff was forced to
Once
On May 17 and 27, 2010, Plaintiff returned to the Plaza to
visit the dry cleaning business located in the South side of the
3
1
Plaza.
2
encountered on his May 4 visit and opted to remain in the car
3
rather than navigate the obstacles to enter the dry cleaner’s
4
store.
5
to visit the hardware store on the North side of the Plaza,
6
encountering the same access difficulties that he experienced on
7
the May 4 visit.
When Plaintiff returned, he observed the same obstacles he
Finally, Plaintiff returned to the Plaza on August 19, 2010
8
Plaintiff’s characterization of the access issues he
9
encountered are verified by two reports attached as exhibits to
10
declarations submitted by Plaintiff in support of his motion.
11
First, Plaintiff’s expert Joe Card provided a declaration supported
12
by a detailed report of accessibility issues at the Plaza.
13
Card has over 30 years of experience in the construction business
14
and significant training specific to ADA compliance.
15
also found to be a qualified expert witness in at least five
16
federal lawsuits.
17
Defendant’s request by Ronald P. Armstrong, the CEO of CASP
18
Masters, LLC.
19
Mr.
Mr. Card was
Plaintiff also submitted a report prepared at
The Court finds that Mr. Card, by virtue of his extensive
20
personal experience with ADA compliance and specialized knowledge
21
related to ADA compliance, to be a qualified expert pursuant to
22
Federal Rule of Evidence 702(a) for the purposes of this motion.
23
Mr. Armstrong’s credentials are not presently before the Court, so
24
he is not an expert.
25
Mr. Card’s, so there is no dispute as to the physical condition of
26
the Plaza as it relates to Plaintiff’s access.
27
on the evidence before the Court, the Court finds the following
28
related to the physical condition of the Plaza when Plaintiff
Mr. Armstrong’s report, however, corroborates
4
Accordingly, based
1
visited:
2
3
1.
The tow away signage posted in the parking lot did not
contain information about where to retrieve a towed vehicle;
4
2.
Tow away signage was posted at the entrances to the
5
parking lot such that an exiting vehicle could block it from the
6
view of entering vehicles;
7
8
3.
The disabled parking spaces were not designated with
accessible signage;
9
4.
10
accessible;
11
5.
12
6.
The access aisles had slopes and cross slopes that
exceeded 2.0% grade;
15
16
The disabled parking spaces had slopes and cross slopes
exceeding 2.0% grade;
13
14
There were no parking spaces designated as van
7.
There were no level landings at the entrances to the
stores within the Plaza;
17
8.
None of the parking spaces had wheel stops preventing
18
parking cars from encroaching onto the walkways in front of the
19
Plaza and reducing the passable route to less than 36 inches in
20
width;
21
22
9.
The sidewalks throughout the Plaza had slopes and cross
slopes that exceeded 2.0% grade; and
23
10.
The accessible routes from the disabled parking spaces to
24
the store entrances were blocked at multiple points and
25
inaccessible to Plaintiff’s wheelchair.
26
///
27
///
28
///
5
1
II.
OPINION
2
A.
3
Summary judgment is proper “if the pleadings, depositions,
Legal Standard for Summary Judgment
4
answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with
5
affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material
6
fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter
7
of law.”
8
“is to isolate and dispose of factually unsupported claims or
9
defenses.”
10
Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c).
The purpose of summary judgment
Celotex v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-324 (1986).
The moving party bears the initial burden of demonstrating the
11
absence of a genuine issue of material fact for trial.
12
Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248-49 (1986).
13
party meets its burden, the burden of production then shifts so
14
that “the non-moving party must set forth, by affidavit or as
15
otherwise provided in Rule 56, ‘specific facts showing that there
16
is a genuine issue for trial.’”
17
Pacific Electric Contractors Ass’n, 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir.
18
1987) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)).
19
facts and draw inferences in the manner most favorable to the non-
20
moving party.
21
(1962). “[M]ere disagreement or bald assertion that a genuine issue
22
of material fact exists will not preclude the grant of summary
23
judgment”. Harper v. Wallingford, 877 F. 2d 728, 731 (9th Cir.
24
1987).
25
Anderson v.
If the moving
T.W. Electrical Services, Inc. v.
The Court must view the
United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655
The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of
26
the non-moving party’s position is insufficient: “There must be
27
evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for [the non-
28
moving party].”
Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252.
6
This Court thus
1
applies to either a defendant’s or plaintiff’s motion for summary
2
judgment the same standard as for a motion for directed verdict,
3
which is “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement
4
to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that
5
one party must prevail as a matter of law.”
Id.
6
B.
7
For the purposes of the present motion, Defendant does not
Discussion
8
oppose summary judgment and thus does not attempt to create a
9
genuine issue of material fact.
Plaintiff, therefore, must only
10
meet his burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue of
11
material fact.
12
the Court in the preceding section support an entry of judgment as
13
a matter of law, then Plaintiff is entitled to judgment.
14
15
1.
Accordingly, if the undisputed facts as found by
ADA Claim
In order to prevail on an ADA discrimination claim, a
16
plaintiff must show: (1) he is disabled within the meaning of the
17
ADA; (2) the defendant is a private entity that owns, leases, or
18
operates a place of public accommodation; and (3) he was denied
19
public accommodations by the defendant because of his disability.
20
Molski v. M.J. Cable, Inc., 481 F.3d 724, 730 (9th Cir. 2007).
21
22
a.
Disabled Within the Meaning of the ADA
Plaintiff is a C5-C6 quadriplegic, which meets the definition
23
of disabled for purposes of the ADA.
24
Molski, 481 F.3d at 732 (holding that a paraplegic person is
25
disabled under the ADA).
26
27
28
b.
42 U.S.C. § 12102; see
Defendant Owns, Leases, or Operates a Public
Accommodation
Defendant is the current owner of the Plaza, and the Plaza as
7
1
a shopping center is a public accommodation for purposes of the
2
ADA.
3
reasonable dispute.
42 USCA § 12181(7)(e).
4
c.
5
6
This element is not subject to
Plaintiff Was Denied Access Because of His
Disability
The Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines
7
(the “ADAAG”) provides guidelines for compliance with the ADA.
8
Since the ADAAG “establishes the technical standards required for
9
full and equal enjoyment, if a barrier violating these standards
10
relates to a plaintiff's disability, it will impair the plaintiff's
11
full and equal access, which constitutes discrimination under the
12
ADA.”
13
(9th Cir. 2011) (internal quotations omitted).
14
plaintiff to have standing to bring suit, a violation of the ADAAG
15
must relate to the plaintiff’s actual disability such that his
16
access would be limited.
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Chapman v. Pier 1 Imports (U.S.) Inc., 631 F.3d 939, 947
In order for a
Id.
In this case, the evidence shows that Plaintiff encountered
the following conditions:
1.
The disabled parking spaces were not designated with
accessible signage in violation of ADAAG § 4.6.4;
2.
There were no parking spaces designated as van accessible
in violation of ADAAG § 4.1.2(5)(b);
3.
None of the parking spaces had wheel stops preventing
24
parking cars from encroaching onto the walkways in front of the
25
Plaza and reducing the passable route to less than 36 inches in
26
width in violation of ADAAG §§ 4.3.3, 4.6.3, 4.7.2;
27
28
4.
The sidewalks throughout the Plaza had slopes and cross
slopes that exceeded 2.0% grade in violation of ADAAG § 4.3.7;
8
1
5.
The disabled parking spaces in the Plaza’s parking lot
2
had slopes and cross slopes exceeding 2.0% in violation of ADAAG
3
§ 4.6.3; and
4
6.
The accessible routes from the disabled parking spaces to
5
the store entrances were blocked at multiple points and
6
inaccessible to Plaintiff’s wheelchair in violation of ADAAG
7
§ 4.3.2; and
8
7.
9
10
There were no level landings at the entrances to the
stores within the Plaza in violation of ADAAG § 4.13.6.
Plaintiff also declared that the above conditions all relate
11
to his disability because they make it difficult or impossible for
12
him to safely navigate the plaza in his electric wheelchair.
13
McCune Decl. ¶¶ 9, 14, 19, 26.
14
Based on the uncontroverted evidence of multiple violations of
15
the ADAAG at the Plaza, owned and operated by Defendants, that
16
specifically relate to Plaintiff’s disability, the Court finds that
17
entry of judgment on Plaintiff’s ADA claim is appropriate.
18
Plaintiff’s motion on this claim is therefore granted.
19
Plaintiff does not specify what type of relief he seeks in his
20
motion.
21
and attorney’s fees.
22
presented with sufficient information to issue an injunction or
23
award attorney’s fees.
24
declaratory judgment at this time in Plaintiff’s favor on the ADA
25
claim.
26
27
28
His FAC mentions declaratory relief, injunctive relief,
FAC § 10.
The Court, however, is not
Accordingly, the Court only enters a
28 U.S.C. § 2201.
2.
Unruh Act AND CDPA Claims
Pursuant to Cal. Civil Code §§ 51(f) and 54(c), a violation of
the ADA is also a violation of the Unruh Act and the CDPA.
9
Moeller
1
v. Taco Bell Corp., 220 F.R.D. 604, 606–607 (N.D. Cal. 2004).
2
Unruh Act provides for statutory minimum damages of $4,000 for each
3
instance of discrimination.
4
1126, 1133 (C.D. Cal. 2005).
5
of $1,000 per instance of discrimination.
6
§ 54.3(a).
7
stores and encountered barriers to access each time in violation of
8
the ADA, and he is therefore entitled to $16,000 in damages under
9
the Unruh Act, $4,000 for each visit.
The
Grove v. De La Cruz, 407 F.Supp.2d
The CDPA provides for minimum damages
Cal. Civil Code
Plaintiff visited the Plaza four times to patronize its
Judgment is accordingly
10
entered in Plaintiff’s favor on the Unruh Act and CDPA claims, and
11
he is awarded $16,000 in damages.
12
13
14
III.
DEFENDANT’S NON-OPPOSITION
Defendant did not file an opposition or statement of non-
15
opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment.
16
230(c) requires a non-moving party to file either an opposition to
17
the motion or a statement of non-opposition no less than fourteen
18
(14) days preceding the noticed hearing date.
19
authorizes the Court to impose sanctions for “failure of counsel or
20
of a party to comply with these Rules.”
21
sanction Defendant’s counsel, Moton B. Holt, Jr., $150.00 unless he
22
shows good cause for his failure to comply with the Local Rules.
Local Rule
Local Rule 110
Therefore, the Court will
23
24
25
26
27
28
IV.
ORDER
For the reasons stated above, the Court issues the following
order:
1.
Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment on his ADA, Unruh
Act, and CDPA claims is GRANTED;
10
1
2
3
2.
Plaintiff is awarded $16,000 in statutory damages
pursuant to the Unruh Act’s statutory damages provision; and
3.
Defendant’s Counsel, Morton B. Holt, Jr., is ordered to
4
either (1) submit a statement of good cause for failing to comply
5
with the local rules or (2) pay sanctions of $150.00 to the Clerk
6
of Court.
7
8
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
July 18, 2012
____________________________
JOHN A. MENDEZ,
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
11
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?