Johnson v. Mediterranean Grill House, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedAugust 30, 2022
Docket5:21-cv-05815
StatusUnknown

This text of Johnson v. Mediterranean Grill House, Inc. (Johnson v. Mediterranean Grill House, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Mediterranean Grill House, Inc., (N.D. Cal. 2022).

Opinion

1 2 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 SAN JOSE DIVISION 6 7 SCOTT JOHNSON, Case No. 21-cv-05815-BLF

8 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING IN PART 9 v. MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT

10 MEDITERRANEAN GRILL HOUSE, [Re: ECF No. 20] INC., 11 Defendant. 12 13 In this action, Plaintiff Scott Johnson asserts claims under Title III of the Americans with 14 Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq. (“ADA”), and the California Unruh Civil 15 Rights Act, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 51–52 (“Unruh Act”). See ECF No. 1. Johnson seeks injunctive 16 relief, statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs of suit. Id. Defendant Mediterranean Grill 17 House, Inc. (“Med. Grill”) has failed to appear in this matter. At Johnson’s request, the Clerk of 18 Court has entered default against the Defendant. See ECF No. 15. 19 Now before the Court is Johnson’s motion for default judgment. ECF No. 20 (“Mot.”). 20 Johnson has provided a proof of service showing that he served the motion on the Defendant, see 21 ECF No. 11, although there is no notice requirement for either the entry of default or Johnson’s 22 motion. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a), (b)(2). The Court found this motion suitable for determination 23 without oral argument and the motion was submitted on August 18, 2022. See Civ. L.R. 7-1(b). 24 For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS IN PART the motion for default judgment. 25 I. BACKGROUND 26 According to the Complaint, Johnson is a level C-5 quadriplegic who cannot walk and has 27 significant manual dexterity impairments. ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”) ¶ 1. He uses a wheelchair for 1 Mediterranean Grill House restaurant at 650 Castro St. in Mountain View, California. Id. ¶ 2. 2 Johnson allegedly went to the restaurant in April and May 2021, but he found that Defendant 3 failed to provide wheelchair-accessible outside dining surfaces in conformance with the ADA 4 Standards. Id. ¶¶ 2, 10. The tables, according to Johnson, lack sufficient knee or toe clearance for 5 wheelchair users. Id. ¶ 12. Johnson says that he intends to return to the Mediterranean Grill 6 House restaurant but is currently deterred from doing so because he knows of the lack of 7 accessible dining surfaces. Id. ¶ 20. Johnson brings claims under the ADA and Unruh Act and 8 seeks injunctive relief, statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs. 9 II. LEGAL STANDARD 10 Default may be entered against a party who fails to plead or otherwise defend an action, 11 who is neither a minor nor an incompetent person, and against whom a judgment for affirmative 12 relief is sought. Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a). After an entry of default, a court may, in its discretion, 13 enter default judgment. Id. R. 55(b)(2); Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089, 1092 (9th Cir. 1980). 14 In deciding whether to enter default judgment, a court may consider the following factors: (1) the 15 possibility of prejudice to the plaintiff; (2) the merits of the plaintiff’s substantive claims; (3) the 16 sufficiency of the complaint; (4) the sum of money at stake in the action; (5) the possibility of a 17 dispute concerning material facts; (6) whether the default was due to excusable neglect; and (7) 18 the strong policy underlying the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure favoring decisions on the merits. 19 Eitel v. McCool, 782 F.2d 1470, 1471–72 (9th Cir. 1986). In considering these factors, all factual 20 allegations in the plaintiff’s complaint are taken as true, except those related to damages. 21 TeleVideo Sys., Inc. v. Heidenthal, 826 F.2d 915, 917–18 (9th Cir. 1987). When the damages 22 claimed are not readily ascertainable from the pleadings and the record, the court may either 23 conduct an evidentiary hearing or proceed on documentary evidence submitted by the plaintiff. 24 See Johnson v. Garlic Farm Truck Ctr. LLC, 2021 WL 2457154, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Jun. 16, 2021). 25 III. DISCUSSION 26 “When entry of judgment is sought against a party who has failed to plead or otherwise 27 defend, a district court has an affirmative duty to look into its jurisdiction over both the subject 1 jurisdiction, service of process, the Eitel factors, and Johnson’s requested relief. 2 A. Service of Process 3 When a plaintiff requests default judgment, the court must assess whether the defendant 4 was properly served with notice of the action. See, e.g., Solis v. Cardiografix, No. 12-cv-01485, 5 2012 WL 3638548, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 22, 2012). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4 provides 6 that service may be effected in accordance with state law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(e)(1), (h)(1)(A). 7 Under California law, a corporation or limited liability company can be served by delivering the 8 summons and complaint to one of an enumerated list of individuals, including the designated 9 agent for service of process or the general manager of the entity. See Cal. Civ. P. Code 416.10; 10 Vasic v. Pat. Health, L.L.C., No. 13CV849 AJB (MDD), 2013 WL 12076475, at *2 (S.D. Cal. 11 Nov. 26, 2013). In lieu of personal service on such individual, substitute service may be effected 12 “by leaving a copy of the summons and complaint during usual office hours in his or her office . . . 13 with the person who is apparently in charge thereof, and by thereafter mailing a copy of the 14 summons and complaint by first-class mail, postage prepaid to the person to be served at the place 15 where a copy of the summons and complaint were left.” Cal. Civ. P. Code § 415.20(a). A sworn 16 proof of service constitutes “prima facie evidence of valid service which can be overcome only by 17 strong and convincing evidence.” G&G Closed Cir. Events, LLC v. Macias, 2021 WL 2037955, at 18 *2 (N.D. Cal. May 21, 2021) (quoting Securities & Exchg. Comm’n v. Internet Solns. for Business, 19 Inc., 509 F.3d 1161, 1166 (9th Cir. 2007)). 20 Johnson has filed a proof of service indicating that the summons and complaint were 21 served on Med. Grill’s agent for service of process by substitute service pursuant to Cal. Civ. 22 Proc. Code § 415.20. See ECF No. 11. The summons and complaint were left at Med. Grill’s 23 business address at 650 Castro Street, Mountain View, California 94041 on September 7, 2022, 24 with a person apparently in charge. See id. The summons and complaint were thereafter mailed to 25 the same address on September 8, 2022. See id. The Court therefore finds that Med. Grill was 26 properly served with process. 27 A. Jurisdiction 1 exists based on Johnson’s federal ADA claim, 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and the Court can exercise 2 supplemental jurisdiction over his California Unruh Act, id. § 1367. The Court also has personal 3 jurisdiction over Med. Grill. Johnson has submitted public records indicating that Med. Grill is a 4 California corporation. See Mot., Ex. 5. It thus appears that Med. Grill is subject to this Court’s 5 general jurisdiction. See Daimler AG v. Baumann, 571 U.S.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Johnson v. Mediterranean Grill House, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-mediterranean-grill-house-inc-cand-2022.