Hammond v. City of Red Bluff

Filing 10

ORDER signed by District Judge Troy L. Nunley on 11/18/2014 ORDERING 5 that Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Complaint is DENIED. (Reader, L)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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RICHARD HAMMOND,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:14-cv-01136-TLN-CMK

v.

ORDER

CITY OF RED BLUFF and DOES 1-10,

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Defendants.

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This matter is before the Court pursuant to Defendant City of Red Bluff’s (“Defendant”)

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motion to dismiss Plaintiff Richard Hammond’s (“Plaintiff”) complaint. (ECF Nos. 1, 5.) For

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the reasons discussed below, the motion to dismiss is DENIED.
I.

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Facts

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Plaintiff is a resident of Red Bluff, California. He is disabled and uses a wheelchair for

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mobility. Plaintiff frequently travels to historic downtown Red Bluff, which is serviced by on-

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street parking in the vicinity.1 This on-street parking does not include “designated accessible

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parking stalls” (ECF No 1 ¶ 15) and therefore cannot accommodate his modified van. Plaintiff

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must park further away from his intended locations and is made to feel unwelcome in Red Bluff,

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Specific streets are listed in the complaint. (ECF No. 1 ¶ 11.) It appears – but it is unclear – that the lack of
handicap accessible parking is due to Defendant’s failure to remove certain physical barriers (ECF No. 1 ¶ 1); it also
appears that the parking stalls at issue are angled stalls (ECF No. 1 ¶ 11).

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among other difficulties. (See ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 11–21.)
II.

Procedural History

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Plaintiff filed the instant complaint on May 8, 2014, alleging violations of the Americans

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with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq.; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

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(“RA”), 29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq.; and California’s Disabled Persons Act (“DPA”), Cal. Civ. Code

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§ 54 et seq. (ECF No. 1.) Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on June 19, 2014.

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(ECF No. 5.) Plaintiff filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss on July 29, 2014. Defendant

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filed a reply on August 7, 2014. (ECF No. 8.)

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III.

Standard of Review
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) requires that a pleading contain “a short and plain

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statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” On a motion to dismiss, the

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Court assumes all factual allegations are true. Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319, 322 (1972). A court is

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bound to give plaintiff the benefit of every reasonable inference that can be drawn from the well-

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pleaded allegations of the complaint. Retail Clerks Int’l Ass’n v. Schermerhorn, 373 U.S. 746,

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753 n.6 (1963). While a plaintiff need not allege “‘specific facts’ beyond those necessary to state

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his claim and the grounds showing entitlement to relief,” Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544,

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570 (2007) (citing Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 508), “a claim has facial

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plausibility when the pleaded factual content allows the court to draw the reasonable inference

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that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79

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(2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556).

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Nevertheless, a court “need not assume the truth of legal conclusions cast in the form of

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factual allegations.” United States ex rel. Chunie v. Ringrose, 788 F.2d 638, 643 n2 (9th Cir.

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1986). While Rule 8(a) does not require detailed factual allegations, “it demands more than an

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unadorned, the defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.’ Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. A pleading

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is insufficient if it offers mere “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements

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of a cause of action.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555; see also Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (“Threadbare

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recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not

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suffice.”) Additionally, it is inappropriate to assume that the plaintiff “can prove facts that it has
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not alleged or that the defendants have violated the … laws in ways that have not been alleged.”

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Associated Gen. Contractors of Cal., Inc. v. Cal. State Council of Carpenters, 459 U.S. 519, 526

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(1983).
Ultimately, a court may not dismiss a complaint in which the plaintiff has alleged “enough

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facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting

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Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). While the plausibility requirement is not akin to a probability

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requirement, it demands more than “a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.”

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Id. at 678. This plausibility inquiry is “a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to

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draw on its judicial experience and common sense.” Id. at 679.

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IV.

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A. Americans with Disabilities Act

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Statutory Framework

Congress enacted the ADA in 1990 to “remedy widespread discrimination against

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disabled individuals.” PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin, 532 U.S. 661, 674 (2001). The ADA aims to

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provide a “clear and comprehensive national mandate” and “strong, consistent, [and] enforceable

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standards” in eliminating discrimination. 42 U.S.C. § 12101(b). The ADA addresses both the

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“outright intentional exclusion” of disabled individuals, as well as the failure to make

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modifications to existing facilities and practices. PGA Tour, 532 U.S. at 675 (citing 42 U.S.C. §

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1201(a)(5)).

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Title II of the ADA prohibits public entities, such as state and local governments, from

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denying disabled individuals the benefits of or participation in “services, programs, and

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activities.” 42 U.S.C. § 12132. The specific obligations of public entities under the ADA, and

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the standards for determining an ADA violation, are delineated in part under 28 C.F.R. § 35.150

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and § 35.151. See 28 U.S.C. § 35.149; Pierce v. County of Orange, 526 F.3d 1190, 1214 (9th

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Circuit 2008). Sections 35.150 and 35.151, in turn, reference the Uniform Federal Accessibility

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Standards (“UFAS”), the 1991 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (“1991 Standards”), and

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the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (“2010 Standards”), for design specifications for

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handicap-accessible buildings, structures, pedestrian routes, etc. Defendant is a public entity, and

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thus is subject to Title II of the ADA and its implementing regulations.
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B. The Rehabilitation Act

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The RA, on which the ADA is based, was enacted to empower disabled individuals to

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“maximize employment, economic self-sufficiency, independence, and inclusion and integration

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into society.” 29 U.S.C. § 701(b). “There is no significant difference in analysis of the rights and

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obligations created by the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.” Zukle v. Regents of Univ. of

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California, 166 F.3d 1041, 1045 n.11 (9th Cir. 1999). See 42 U.S.C. § 12133 (“The remedies,

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procedures, and rights set forth in [the RA] shall be the remedies, procedures, and rights

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[applicable to ADA claims]”); Bragdon v. Abbott, 524 U.S. 624, 631 (1998) (stating that courts

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are required to “construe the ADA to grant at least as much protection as provided by the

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regulations implementing the Rehabilitation Act”). The Court thus applies its analysis of

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Plaintiff’s ADA claim to his RA claim.
C. California’s Disabled Persons Act

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The California DPA provides that individuals with disabilities or medical conditions have

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the “same right as the general public to the full and free use of streets, highways, sidewalks,

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walkways…public facilities, and other public places.” Cal. Civ. Code § 54(a). A violation of the

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right of any individual under the ADA constitutes a violation of the DPA. Id. § 54(c). The Court

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thus applies its analysis of Plaintiff’s ADA claim to Plaintiff’s DPA claim.

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V.

Analysis
Defendant’s argument for dismissal is that the statutory schemes referenced by Plaintiff

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(ADA, RA, and DPA), the relevant implementing regulations (e.g. 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.150–51), and

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the design guidelines referenced in the implementing regulations (e.g. UFAS, or the 2009 or 210

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standards) do not explicitly require handicapped accessible on-street parking. Defendant argues

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that absent this requirement, there is no cognizable claim. (ECF No. 5-1.) The Court finds that

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the decision in Fortyune v. City of Lomita 766 F.3d 1098 (9th Cir. 2014) forecloses this

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argument.2

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In Fortyune, plaintiff was also a physically disabled individual making use of a

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The decision in Fortyune was filed on Sept. 5, 2014, after all briefing on the instant motion to dismiss had been
filed.

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wheelchair for mobility. Plaintiff filed suit against the City of Lomita under the ADA and

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California’s DPA, alleging that he experienced difficulty, discomfort, and fear for his safety when

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frequenting facilities in Lomita, because none of Lomita’s public on-street parking was accessible

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to people with disabilities. The City of Lomita moved to dismiss, arguing that absent ADA

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implementing regulations specifically targeted at on-street parking, it was not required to provide

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accessible on-street parking. Id. at 1100-1. The district court denied the motion to dismiss, and

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the Ninth Circuit affirmed.

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The Ninth Circuit reasoned, first, that a lack of specific regulations do not eliminate a
statutory obligation. Id. (citing Reich v. Mont. Sulphur & Chem. Co., 32 F.3d 440, 444–45 (9th

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Cir. 1994) (asserting that regulations are meant to “amplify and augment” statutory obligations)).

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Second, the Ninth Circuit held that “existing regulations do require accessible on-street parking.”

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Id. at 1102. Those regulations are 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.150 and 35.151. Under § 35.150, public

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entities must “operate each service, program, or activity so that the service, program, or activity,

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when viewed in its entirety, is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.”

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28 C.F.R. § 35.150(a). On street parking is a “facility” within the meaning of the regulation.

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Fortyune, 766 F.3d at 1102, n. 3. While public entities have some flexibility in handling existing

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inaccessible facilities, “at bottom, the regulation mandates program accessibility for all normal

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governmental functions, including the provision of on-street public parking.” Id. at 1103. The

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other regulation, 28 C.F.R. § 35.151, governs only facilities that were constructed or modified

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after the ADA’s effective date (June 26, 1992), which is the allegation here. (ECF No. 1 ¶ 14.)

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Section 35.151 requires that newly constructed or altered facilities meet the technical standards

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set forth in the UFAS, the 1991 standards, or the 2010 standards. While none of these standards

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address on-street parking, “nothing in 28 C.F.R. § 35.151 suggests that when technical

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specifications do not exist for a particular type of facility, public entities have no accessibility

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obligations.” Id. at 1103. Further, interpreting the regulation otherwise would be inconsistent

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with the broad mandate contained in subsections (a)(1) and (b)(1), that “each” newly constructed

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or altered facility be readily accessible. Id. at 1103.

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In the instant motion to dismiss, the Court finds no dispositive difference between the
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allegations in Fortyune and the instant claims. Therefore, for the reasons discussed in Fortyune

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and outlined above, Defendant’s motion to dismiss (ECF No. 5) is DENIED.

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Dated: November 18, 2014

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Troy L. Nunley
United States District Judge

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