Johnson v. Bourbeau, et al.

Filing 31

ORDER signed by District Judge John A. Mendez on 9/27/2017 ORDERING 29 Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is GRANTED. (Reader, L)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

8

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

9
10

SCOTT JOHNSON,

11

2:14-cv-01730-JAM-EFB

Plaintiff,

12
13

No.

v.

14

JOHN PAUL BOURBEAU;
TAQUERIA YVETTE, INC., a
California Corporation,

15

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY
JUDGMENT

Defendants.

16
17

Plaintiff Scott Johnson (“Plaintiff”) sued Defendants John

18

Paul Bourbeau and Taqueria Yvette, Inc. (“Defendants”), alleging

19

that two businesses, Taqueria Yvette and the Rusty Hook, did not

20

comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and

21

California law.

22

summary judgment.

23

Plaintiff’s motion. For the reasons set forth below, the Court

24

GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion. 1

25

///

26

1

27

Compl., ECF No. 1.
Mot., ECF No. 29.

Plaintiff moved for partial
Defendants did not oppose

This motion was determined to be suitable for decision without
oral argument. E.D. Cal. L.R. 230(g). The hearing was
scheduled for September 19, 2017.

28
1

1
2

I.

OPINION

Plaintiff, a quadriplegic, visited Taqueria Yvette several

3

times between May 2012 and February 2014 and found that the

4

restaurant did not have a van accessible parking spot.

5

Decl. ¶¶ 2, 4-6, ECF No. 29-5.

6

difficulty with opening the door of the Taqueria, seeing over the

7

top of the transaction counter, and accessing the restroom.

8

¶¶ 7–9.

9

mirror because it was placed too high and he worried about

Johnson

Plaintiff also encountered

Id.

Inside the restroom, Plaintiff was unable to use the

10

burning his legs on an unwrapped hot water pipe below the sink.

11

Id. ¶¶ 10–11.

12

Plaintiff visited the Rusty Hook at least three times in

13

February and March 2014.

Id. ¶ 16.

Similar to the Taqueria,

14

Plaintiff found that the bar did not have a van accessible

15

parking spot and he struggled with the door handle because of his

16

manual dexterity impairments.

17

Hook’s bathroom, Plaintiff was unable to utilize the mirror

18

because of its high placement, struggled with the sink’s

19

hardware, and could not reach the paper towel dispenser.

20

¶¶ 20–22.

21

water pipes below the sink.

Id. ¶¶ 17–19.

Within the Rusty

Id.

Again, he feared burning his legs on the unwrapped hot
Id. ¶ 21.

22

Plaintiff regularly visits businesses in the area, but was

23

deterred from patronizing either the Taqueria or the Rusty Hook

24

because of the businesses’ barriers to access.

25

Id. ¶¶ 25–26.

Plaintiff seeks statutory damages of $8,000: $4,000 for his

26

first visit and $4,000 “for all the many times he was deterred

27

from visiting.”

28

Mot. at 14–15.

The Eastern District has held that the same Plaintiff was
2

1

entitled to statutory damages for one encounter and a separate

2

award for deterrence.

Johnson v. Guedoir, 218 F. Supp. 3d 1096,

3

1100 (E.D. Cal. 2016).

There is no genuine dispute of material

4

fact that Defendants’ businesses did not comply with the ADA and

5

Unruh Act, that Plaintiff visited both businesses on several

6

occasions, and that Plaintiff was deterred from patronizing the

7

businesses thereafter.

8

judgment and $8,000 in statutory damages.

Plaintiff is entitled to partial summary

9
10
11
12
13
14

II.

ORDER

For the reasons set forth above, the Court GRANTS
Plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

September 27, 2017

15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
3