Love v. Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMarch 29, 2021
Docket3:20-cv-07523
StatusUnknown

This text of Love v. Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc. (Love v. Marriott Ownership Resorts, 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
Love v. Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc., (N.D. Cal. 2021).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 7 8 SAMUEL LOVE, Case No. 20-cv-07523-CRB

9 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO 10 v. DISMISS 11 12 MARRIOTT OWNERSHIP RESORTS,

13 INC., et al., 14 Defendants.

15 Plaintiff Samuel Love has sued Defendants Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc. and Marriott 16 Resorts Hospitality Corporation, respective owner and operator of the Marriott Vacation Club 17 Pulse (“Hotel”), for violations of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 18 California Unruh Civil Rights Act. Defendants have moved to dismiss both claims for lack of 19 subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim for which relief may be granted. Because 20 the Court agrees that Love has failed to state a claim, the Court grants Defendants’ motion to 21 dismiss in full. 22 I. BACKGROUND 23 A. Plaintiff Samuel Love 24 Plaintiff Samuel Love is a California resident with physical disabilities who relies on a 25 wheelchair for mobility. FAC (dkt. 20) ¶ 1. Love’s disability has left him “unable to, or seriously 26 challenged in his ability to, stand, ambulate, reach objects mounted at heights above his shoulders, 27 transfer from his chair to other equipment, and maneuver around fixed objects.” Id. ¶ 12. As 1 so that he can book a room with confidence that it will suit his needs. Id. ¶ 13. Love works as an 2 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) tester, which means that he “frequents businesses to 3 determine if they have complied with the anti-discrimination mandates of the ADA.” Id. ¶ 35. 4 B. Love’s Interaction with the Hotel 5 On September 24, 2020, Love visited the Hotel’s website to book an accessible room for a 6 February 2021 trip to the San Francisco area. Id. ¶¶ 14–15.1 Defendant Marriott Ownership 7 Resorts, Inc. owns the Hotel, which is located at 2620 Jones St., San Francisco, CA. Id. ¶ 2. 8 Defendant Marriott Resorts Hospitality Corporation operates the Hotel. Id. The website “is the 9 official online reservation system for this hotel.” Id. ¶ 16. Love alleges that the Hotel website’s 10 accessibility information is deficient in numerous ways that prevented him from booking a room. 11 Id. ¶¶ 17–23. 12 1. Accessible Areas and General Features 13 First, Love alleges that the Hotel website provides no more than conclusory descriptions of 14 the Hotel’s accessible spaces and features. Id. ¶¶ 17, 23. Love alleges that, for example, on a tab 15 titled “Accessible Areas with Accessible Routes from Public Entrance,” the Hotel website 16 provides a list that includes: “Business Center,” “Fitness Center,” “Public entrance alternative,” 17 “Registration Desk Pathway,” and “Registration desk,” without specifying what makes these 18 features accessible. Id. ¶¶ 17–18. 19 Similarly, Love alleges that on the “Accessible Hotel Features” tab, the Hotel website 20 provides the following information about its features: “Self-parking facility, van-accessible 21 spaces;” “Self-parking, accessible spaces;” “Service animals are welcome;” “Valet parking for 22 vehicles outfitted for drivers in wheelchairs;” and “Elevators.” Id. ¶ 18. Again, Love alleges that 23 the “hotel simply slaps the label ‘accessible’ on the elevator and parking without providing a 24 single bit of data.” Id. ¶ 19. 25 26

27 1 Love alleges that the Hotel’s reservation website can be found at: 1 2. Guest Room Descriptions 2 Love alleges that the descriptions of guest room accessibility are slightly more detailed but 3 still lack necessary information. Id. ¶ 19–20. Love alleges that on the tab titled “Guest Room 4 Accessibility,” the Hotel website provides the following general information: 5 • Accessible guest rooms with 32” wide doorways 6 • Accessible route from public entrance to accessible guest rooms 7 • Alarm clock telephone ringers 8 • Bathroom grab bars 9 • Bathtub grab bars 10 • Bathtub seat 11 • Electrical outlets, lowered 12 • Flashing door knockers 13 • Hearing accessible rooms and/or kits 14 • No transfer showers available 15 • Roll-in shower 16 • Shower wand, adjustable 17 • Toilet seat at wheelchair height 18 • Vanities, accessible 19 Id. ¶ 19. The website provides guests a phone number to call for detailed information about the 20 physical features of various rooms and for special services relating to specific disabilities. RFN 1 21 (dkt. 22-2) Ex. A. 22 3. The Booking Process 23 The website also offers information on accessible rooms during the booking process. In 24 order to book an accessible room, guests first select the type of room they would like to reserve 25 (i.e. the size of the room, layout, and number and type of beds). Id. Ex. B. After guests select a 26 room type, they are directed to a page that lists specific details regarding the accessibility features 27 of the room. Id. Ex. C. For example, the website might provide that the specific room is a 1 guests that “[a]ccessible rooms are guaranteed only if inventory is available at time of booking— 2 otherwise it is upon request only.” Id. 3 C. Inadequacy of Information 4 Love alleges that this information is insufficient as it prevented him from independently 5 determining whether the accommodations would suit his accessibility needs. FAC ¶ 22. Love 6 alleges that “accessible” is just a conclusory label. Id. ¶ 23. In order to independently assess 7 whether a given accommodation will fit his needs, Love alleges that he needs “actual data, not 8 adjectives.” Id. ¶ 25. Love provides a list of the information he would need to independently 9 assess the accessibility of the accommodations, including the height of vanity mirrors in the 10 bathroom; the depth, width, and height of the area under the lavatory sink for knee clearance; and 11 whether exposed pipe under the sink is insulated. Id. ¶ 28. Love alleges that the lack of 12 accessibility information caused him “difficulty and discomfort” that prevented him from booking 13 a room at the Hotel. Id. ¶ 34. 14 D. Future Visits 15 Love alleges that he plans to return to the Hotel website to make a reservation for a future 16 stay once the Hotel represents to him that the website is accessible. Id. ¶ 37. In particular, Love 17 alleges that he plans to make another trip to the San Francisco area in May or June 2021. Id. ¶ 36. 18 Love alleges that his “reasons and motivations” for this subsequent visit “are to assess these 19 policies and facilities for compliance with the ADA and to see his lawsuit through to successful 20 conclusion.” Id. ¶ 39. “As a veteran ADA tester,” Love alleges that he “routinely revisits and 21 uses the facilities and accommodations of places he has sued to confirm compliance and to enjoy 22 standing to effectuate the relief promised by the ADA.” Id. ¶¶ 37, 40. 23 E. Procedural History 24 On October 27, 2020, Love filed an initial complaint against Defendants, see generally 25 Compl. (dkt. 1), which Defendants moved to dismiss on December 28, 2020, see generally MTD 26 Compl. (dkt. 18-1). On January 18, 2021, Love filed an amended complaint. See generally FAC. 27 Both the complaint and the amended complaint allege that the accessibility information on the 1 See generally id. Love seeks injunctive relief under the ADA and statutory damages under the 2 Unruh Act. See generally id. The Court has federal question jurisdiction over Love’s ADA claim, 3 see 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and can exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the related state law claim, 4 see 28 U.S.C. § 1367. Defendants have moved to dismiss both claims. See generally MTD FAC 5 (dkt. 22-1).2 6 II. LEGAL STANDARD 7 Under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

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Bluebook (online)
Love v. Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/love-v-marriott-ownership-resorts-inc-cand-2021.