Kindt v. Concesionaria Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAPI de CV
Filing
28
ORDER re 10 motion to dismiss. Signed by Judge James Donato on 9/18/2018. (jdlc3S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/18/2018)
1
2
3
4
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
5
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
6
7
MALINA KINDT,
Plaintiff,
8
9
10
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
12
Case No. 17-cv-04333-JD
ORDER RE MOTION TO DISMISS
v.
Re: Dkt. No. 10
CONCESIONARIA VUELA COMPANIA
DE AVIACION S.A.P.I. DE C.V.,
Defendant.
In this putative class action for damages and injunctive relief, named plaintiff Malina
13
Kindt (“Kindt”) alleges that defendant Concesionaria Vuela Compañia de Aviación S.A.P.I. de
14
C.V. (“Volaris”), a commercial airline company, violated California state law by recording
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
customer calls without notice. Volaris moves to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and for
pre-emption by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, 49 U.S.C. § 41713 (“ADA”).
BACKGROUND
This case was originally filed in the Superior Court for the County of Alameda. Volaris
removed on the basis of the Class Action Fairness Act, which is a special application of diversity
jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d); Dkt. No. 1. Kindt did not challenge the removal.
As alleged in the complaint, Volaris operates passenger airline services between the United
States, Mexico and Central America. Dkt. No. 1-1 at 1. Kindt called a toll-free customer service
number offered by Volaris to purchase airline tickets for travel to and from Mexico. Id. at 3.
Kindt alleges that Volaris recorded her call without notice. She alleges a single claim under
California Penal Code Sections 632.7 and 637.2, which provide a private right of action for
individuals whose communications have been surreptitiously recorded. Id. at 8-9. She sues on
behalf of a putative class of similarly situated California residents. Id. at 4.
DISCUSSION
1
2
I.
3
Specific personal jurisdiction over Volaris is readily found. Volaris operates regular
4
passenger airline services and flights in and out of the Oakland and San Jose international airports,
5
both of which are located in this district. Volaris provides toll-free numbers for customers within
6
the district to call about its airline services. These undisputed facts amply establish specific
7
personal jurisdiction in this Court. See Schwarzenegger v. Fred Martin Motor Co., 374 F.3d 797,
8
800-03 (9th Cir. 2004); Erickson v. Nebraska Mach. Co., No. 15-CV-01147-JD, 2015 WL
9
4089849, at *2-*3 (N.D. Cal. July 6, 2015) (citing Walden v. Fiore, 571 U.S. 277 (2014)).
Personal Jurisdiction
II.
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
The question of pre-emption under the ADA is more nuanced. The ADA expressly pre-
Pre-Emption
12
empts any state law “related to a price, route or service of an air carrier.” 49 U.S.C. §
13
41713(b)(1). Volaris’s pre-emption argument is premised mainly on the contention that “service”
14
includes the communications between the airline and its customers that are the basis of the
15
allegations in the complaint. See Dkt. No. 10-1 at 9-10.
16
Rather curiously, Volaris’s opening brief made no mention of our circuit’s discussion of
17
the scope of “service” in National Federation of the Blind v. United Airlines Inc., 813 F.3d 718
18
(9th Cir. 2016), which is a highly relevant decision. The plaintiffs in that case were blind
19
passengers who sued United over the ticketing kiosks it provided in airports. The kiosks allowed
20
passengers to access travel information, check in for flights, print boarding passes and perform
21
similar travel-related tasks. Id. at 723. The kiosk interfaces and prompts were all visual, which
22
made them inaccessible to blind passengers. Id. United could have used audio interfaces and
23
tactile keyboards, but did not. Id. The plaintiffs sued under California anti-discrimination laws
24
for equal access accommodations.
25
Our circuit rejected United’s claim that the kiosks were “services” within the meaning of
26
the ADA’s pre-emption clause. “‘Congress used ‘service’ in [§ 41713(b)(1)] in the public utility
27
sense -- i.e., the provision of air transportation to and from various markets at various times,’ and
28
did not mean to broadly reach the various amenities provided by airlines” such as “‘personal
2
1
assistance to passengers.’” Id. at 726 (quoting Charas v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 160 F.3d
2
1259, 1261 (9th Cir. 1998) (en banc) (brackets in original)). United kiosks provided an amenity
3
and a convenience for passengers that facilitated their travel, but not a “service” in the pubic utility
4
sense. Id. Consequently, the California state law claims were not pre-empted. Id. at 729.
5
So too, here. Volaris’s toll-free customer service lines offer many of the same amenities as
6
United’s kiosks. Customers use them to check on information and manage their travel plans. The
7
toll-free lines do not affect Volaris’s control of its prices, routes, flights, and other transportation
8
services any more than the kiosks did for United. For the same reasons, then, Kindt’s California
9
Penal Code claims are not subject to pre-emption.
10
Volaris makes no effort to distinguish National Federation of the Blind. In addition to
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
omitting the case entirely from its opening brief, it made only a passing reference to it in the reply
12
brief, even though it was the centerpiece of Kindt’s argument in opposition to pre-emption. See
13
Dkt. No. 17 at 7 (reply brief). Instead, Volaris relies heavily on cases from outside the circuit that
14
express a broader view of “service” in Section 41713(b)(1). See Dkt. No. 10-1 at 10-11. But our
15
circuit has acknowledged that it has adopted a narrower construction than other courts, Nat’l
16
Fed’n of the Blind, 813 F.3d at 727-28, and so those cases are of no moment here. Volaris’s
17
emphasis on People ex rel. Harris v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 247 Cal. App. 4th 884 (Cal. Ct. App.
18
2016), a California intermediate appellate decision, is also misplaced. That court declined to
19
follow National Federation of the Blind primarily on the basis of older Supreme Court cases that
20
National Federation of the Blind expressly considered and found to be no impediment to rejecting
21
pre-emption. Compare id. at 901-04 & n.13, with Nat’l Fed’n of the Blind, 813 F.3d at 728-29.
22
Delta Air Lines also relied on the same type of out-of-circuit cases that Volaris cites for a broader
23
approach to “service” than our circuit follows. See, e.g., Delta Air Lines, Inc., 247 Cal. App. 4th
24
at 905-06.
25
26
27
28
3
CONCLUSION
1
2
Volaris’s motions to dismiss are denied.
3
IT IS SO ORDERED.
4
5
Dated: September 18, 2018
6
7
JAMES DONATO
United States District Judge
8
9
10
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
4
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?