Coppi v. City of Dana Point

88 F. Supp. 3d 1122, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21452, 2015 WL 757241
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedFebruary 23, 2015
DocketCase No. SACV 11-1813 JGB (RNBx)
StatusPublished

This text of 88 F. Supp. 3d 1122 (Coppi v. City of Dana Point) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coppi v. City of Dana Point, 88 F. Supp. 3d 1122, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21452, 2015 WL 757241 (C.D. Cal. 2015).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

JESUS G. BERNAL, District Judge.

This case was tried to the Court without a jury on May 20, 21, and 22, 2014. In lieu of oral closing arguments, the Court requested closing arguments by brief. Plaintiff Therese Coppi (“Coppi”) filed her closing brief (“Pl. Br.”) on June 14, 2014.1 (Doc. No. 143.) Defendant County of Orange (“Orange County” or “County”) filed its closing brief (“OC Br.”) on June 20, 2014. (Doc. No. 144.) The same day, Defendant City of Dana Point (“Dana Point” or “the City”) filed its closing brief (“DP Br.”).2 (Doc. No. 145.) Coppi filed a rebuttal brief (“PI. Reb.”) on June 24, 2014. (Doc. No. 146.)

On December 1, 2014, the Court held a hearing with the parties concerning these findings of fact and conclusions of law. (Doc. No. 150.) In a tentative opinion the Court distributed to the parties, the Court [1125]*1125stated its intention to issue an injunction against Dana Point and award Coppi statutory damages. After discussing these issues with the parties, the Court ordered Dana Point to submit a brief concerning the issuance of an injunction, and ordered Coppi to submit a brief concerning damages. The parties filed those briefs on December 15, 2014 (“P’s PT Br.”) (Doc. No. 150); (“DP’s PT Br.”) (Doc. No. 151). On December 22, 2014, the parties filed their responses to those briefs (“P’s PT Resp.”) (Doc. No. 154); (“DP PT Resp.”) (Doc. No. 153).

The Court, having considered all the evidence presented by the parties, the written submissions from both sides, and the argument of counsel, issues the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.3 The Court also addresses the additional issues raised at the December 1, 2014 hearing.

I.FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiff Therese Coppi has Freidreich’s ataxia, a progressive genetic disorder which requires her to use a wheelchair for mobility. All parties agree that she is disabled within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.) and the California Disabled Persons Act (“CDPA”) (Cal. Civ.Code § 54).4 (See Pretrial Conference Order (“PTC”) (Doc. No. 110) at 2.)

2.Coppi lives in the city of San Juan Capistrano, located a few miles from Strand Beach. To the immediate north of Strand Beach is Salt Creek Beach; both Strand Beach and Salt Creek Beach are part of the same strip of beach, separated by a rocky point. (See Ex. 48.) Salt Creek Beach and Strand Beach are both part of Salt Creek Beach Park. (May 20 Test. 56:23-25.) Salt Creek Beach has a program whereby persons in wheelchairs can be driven down to the sand and dropped off (Ex. 223); the County also provides special wheelchairs designed to traverse sand at that portion of the beach. Coppi has used the drop-off and the beach wheelchairs at Salt Creek Beach. (May 20 Test. 55:13-21.) At Strand Beach, however, Coppi has not been able to access the sand, nor has she been able to access a trail that runs parallel to the ocean shore itself. (May 20 Test. 49:18-50:23.) Coppi desires to use this trail because it would allow her to independently access an area close to the beach without having to be dropped off by car and then transferred to a beach wheelchair. (May 20 Test. 51:3-6.)

3.Strand Beach is located in the City of Dana Point and within the County of Orange. Both Dana Point and Orange County are public entities. (PTC at 2.) Above Strand Beach is the Dana Point Headlands, which is partially comprised of a sheer ocean bluff and steep cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. (Id.) As relevant to this case, when the California Coastal Commission allowed the Headlands area to be commercially developed, Strand Beach was dedicated to Orange County.5 (Id.) Orange County owns Salt Creek Beach and Strand Beach. (Ex. 43.) As part of the development project, Dana Point created the “Headlands Biological [1126]*1126Open Space Parks and Trail System,” a system of public trails. This public trail system includes the Nature Interpretive Center, which serves as a trailhead, as well as the Veteran’s Memorial, Strand Vista Park, Hilltop Park, Harbor Point Park, a nature preserve, and other support facilities, such as stairways, restrooms, and parking lots, all of which were built or modified sometime after 2004. (See May 20 Test. 75:11-161:3.)

4. ’Orange County also owns the Selva Road parking lot, which is located on the bluffs above Strand Beach. (Ex. 42.)

5. Patrons to Strand Beach can get from the bluffs to the area below from a number of access points in the Headlands area, including the mid Strand, central Strand, and southern switchback trails, as well as by two methods from the Selva Road parking lot: (1) via the North Strand stairs, a long, wheelchair inaccessible staircase owned by Orange County, or (2) via the Funicular, which runs parallel to the North Strand stairs and is owned and. operated by Dana Point.

6. The Funicular is a sloped train that transports patrons from the Upper Funicular Station adjacent to the Selva Road parking lot (Ex. 7), to the Lower Funicular Station, which is part of the lower landing area where the North Strand stairs end (Ex. 10). Though the Funicular itself is wheelchair accessible, it does not travel all the way down to the beach, but instead ends at the Lower Funicular Station which is in a lower landing area, located about 80 percent of the way down the bluffs from the Selva Road parking lot. In the summer months from Memorial Day to Labor Day the Funicular operates from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily; in the non-summer months outside those months it operates from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays only. (Ex. 5; May 20 Test. 199:4-6.) The Funicular requires an operator to .function, and must be turned off and on.

7. The lower landing area has restrooms, a shower, benches, and a water fountain, all of which were built to be ADA-compliant. (Exs. 11-14.) Aside from the Funicular building, which is owned by Dana Point, all other aspects of the lower landing are owned by Orange County. (May 20 Test. 215:8-13.) From this area, beach patrons are required to traverse a paved slope down to the beach; this slope is also owned by Orange County. (Exs. 16-18, 246.)

8. The paved slope is an emergency access road (the “northern emergency access road”), which has existed since before the Headlands development project. (May 20 Test. 78:3-5, 122:23-123:4.) At the top of the northern emergency access road, slightly above the lower landing, is a closed gate which marks the end of the County’s property and the beginning of the private, gated community of Niguel Shores. (May 20 Test. 116:24-117:25; 212:12-213:9.) The northern emergency access road is not ADA-compliant; Coppi testified that she would not risk traversing the slope in her wheelchair. (May 20 Test. 48:10-19.)

9. At the bottom of the northern emergency access road, patrons can reach the beach or may continue across a wooden structure that allows passage over a rocky area to a concrete trail, known as the-Revetment Trail, which is private property with a public access easement on top owned by Dana Point. (May 20 Test. 89:19-90:1.) This is the trail that Coppi would like to access.

10.

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88 F. Supp. 3d 1122, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21452, 2015 WL 757241, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coppi-v-city-of-dana-point-cacd-2015.