Kirola v. City & County of San Francisco, The

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedSeptember 29, 2025
Docket3:07-cv-03685
StatusUnknown

This text of Kirola v. City & County of San Francisco, The (Kirola v. City & County of San Francisco, The) 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
Kirola v. City & County of San Francisco, The, (N.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 IVANA KIROLA, et al., Case No. 07-cv-03685-AMO

8 Plaintiffs, ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ 9 v. MOTION FOR SYSTEMIC INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 10 CITY & COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, THE, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 872 11 Defendants.

12 13 This is a case challenging the City and County of San Francisco’s compliance with 14 accessibility regulations in its public facilities. Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion for systemic 15 injunctive relief. Dkt. No. 872. The motion is fully briefed and suitable for decision without oral 16 argument. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 78(b); Civ. L.R. 7-1(b). Having carefully considered the parties’ 17 papers, as well as the relevant legal authority, the Court hereby GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion for 18 the following reasons. 19 I. BACKGROUND 20 Plaintiff Ivana Kirola filed this class action on July 17, 2007, alleging the City and County 21 of San Francisco, the Mayor of San Francisco, and members of the San Francisco Board of 22 Supervisors (“City”) systemically failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act 23 (“ADA”) and related regulations. Dkt. No. 1. On June 24, 2010, Kirola filed a first amended 24 complaint, alleging discrimination in violation of Title II of the ADA; Section 504 of the 25 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”); the California Disabled Persons Act, California 26 Government Code §§ 11135, et seq.; the Unruh Civil Rights Act, California Government Code 27 §§ 51, et seq.; and California Government Code §§ 54, et seq. See Dkt. No. 294. Title II of the 1 a public entity. 42 U.S.C. § 12132. “In defining accessibility, Title II’s implementing regulations 2 distinguish between newly constructed or altered facilities . . . and existing facilities . . . .” 3 Daubert v. Lindsay Unified Sch. Dist., 760 F.3d 982, 985 (9th Cir. 2014). A newly constructed or 4 altered facility is one in which the construction or alteration began after January 26, 1992. See 28 5 C.F.R. §§ 35.151(a)(1), (b)(1). Newly constructed facilities and parts of newly constructed 6 facilities “constructed by, on behalf of, or for the use of a public entity shall be designed and 7 constructed in such manner that the facility or part of the facility is readily accessible to and usable 8 by individuals with disabilities . . . .” 28 C.F.R. § 35.151(a)(1). As for the alteration of existing 9 facilities, they must be “altered in such manner that the altered portion of the facility is readily 10 accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities . . . .” 28 C.F.R. § 35.151(b)(1). “Readily 11 accessible” means “constructed in conformance with the Americans with Disabilities Act 12 Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (ADAAG), 28 C.F.R. Pt. 36, App. A, or with 13 the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), 41 C.F.R. Pt. 101-19.6, App. A.” Daubert, 14 760 F.3d at 985-86 (citing 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.151(c)(1)-(3)). Existing facilities are those constructed 15 prior to January 26, 1992, and “need not be ‘accessible to and usable by individuals with 16 disabilities,’ ” Daubert, 760 F.3d at 986, but a public entity must provide “program access” by 17 “operat[ing] each service, program, or activity so that the service, program, or activity, when 18 viewed in its entirety, is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities,” 28 19 C.F.R. § 35.150(a). 20 The Court certified a class on June 7, 2010, noting that the City did not contest “that this 21 case satisfies . . . Rule 23(b)(2), since the relief plaintiffs seek includes class-wide injunctive relief 22 as to San Francisco’s policies and practices regarding access to City facilities and programs for 23 persons with mobility disabilities.” Dkt. No. 285. A bench trial took place from April 4, 2011, to 24 May 5, 2011. See Dkt. No. 542-581. On November 26, 2014, the Court issued findings of fact 25 and conclusions of law and entered judgment in favor of the City on all claims. Dkt. No. 686. 26 On December 23, 2014, Plaintiff appealed, challenging certain of the Court’s rulings, 27 including that Kirola lacked standing, the Court’s ruling on her new construction and alterations 1 pools, and libraries), and the findings on her program access claims (as to the pedestrian right-of- 2 way, libraries, and RecPark facilities). Dkt. No. 689. On June 22, 2017, the Ninth Circuit held 3 that Kirola had standing and remanded with instructions for this Court to apply the Americans 4 with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (“ADAAG”) as the panel had interpreted it, 5 reevaluate the extent of ADAAG noncompliance, and then revisit the question of whether 6 injunctive relief should be granted. Dkt. No. 723. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the Court’s 7 conclusion that the program access claims failed for lack of proof, as Kirola had not “present[ed] 8 evidence sufficient to show that the City’s public right-of-way and RecPark programs, when 9 viewed in their entirety, were not readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.” 10 Kirola v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, 860 F.3d 1164, 1184 (9th Cir. 2017) (“Kirola I”). 11 On August 16, 2018, Defendants moved for judgment as a matter of law, Dkt. No. 751, 12 which the Court granted on March 12, 2021, Dkt. No. 776. The Court found certain ADAAG 13 violations at three facilities: the Main Library, St. Mary’s Playground, and a restroom in Golden 14 Gate Park (the “Phase I facilities”). See id. The Court concluded injunctive relief was not 15 warranted because Kirola had not satisfied her burden of demonstrating that she was actually 16 injured as a result of the ADAAG violations identified by the Court. Id. at 50. The Court further 17 found “the fact that the Court has identified some ADAAG violations at three facilities does not 18 suggest . . . that the violations are pervasive or of a systemic nature.” Id. at 51. 19 On April 5, 2021, Plaintiffs appealed anew. Dkt. No. 779. On April 10, 2023, the Ninth 20 Circuit issued a decision reversing in part and affirming in part, and remanding with instructions. 21 Kirola v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, No. 21-15621, 2023 WL 2851368, at *3 (9th Cir. Apr. 22 10, 2023) (“Kirola II”), cert denied, 144 S. Ct. 185 (2023). The Ninth Circuit held that 23 “[a]lthough the district court appropriately found that the plaintiffs’ evidence did not warrant the 24 sweeping class-wide relief that the plaintiffs sought, the district court abused its discretion in 25 denying relief for the ADAAG violations found.” Id. On remand, the Ninth Circuit charged this 26 Court “to determine injunctive relief” tailored to the ADAAG violations that this Court found at 27 the Main Library, St. Mary’s Playground, and a restroom in Golden Gate Park. Id. The Ninth 1 (“Phase II facilities”). Id. It also instructed that if the Court found additional ADAAG violations, 2 it should “revisit the question of injunctive relief that is systemwide or tailored to any additional 3 violations found.” Id.

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

Related

Missouri v. Jenkins
515 U.S. 70 (Supreme Court, 1995)
Lewis v. Casey
518 U.S. 343 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Armstrong v. Schwarzenegger
622 F.3d 1058 (Ninth Circuit, 2010)
Daubert v. Lindsay Unified School District
760 F.3d 982 (Ninth Circuit, 2014)
Ivana Kirola v. City & County of San Francisco
860 F.3d 1164 (Ninth Circuit, 2017)
Xochitl Hernandez v. Jefferson Sessions
872 F.3d 976 (Ninth Circuit, 2017)
Armstrong v. Davis
275 F.3d 849 (Ninth Circuit, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Kirola v. City & County of San Francisco, The, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kirola-v-city-county-of-san-francisco-the-cand-2025.