Pappion v. R-Ranch Property Owners Ass'n

110 F. Supp. 3d 1017, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66808, 2015 WL 2452826
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedMay 21, 2015
DocketNo. 2:13-cv-01146-TLN-CMK
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 110 F. Supp. 3d 1017 (Pappion v. R-Ranch Property Owners Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pappion v. R-Ranch Property Owners Ass'n, 110 F. Supp. 3d 1017, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66808, 2015 WL 2452826 (E.D. Cal. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER

TROY L. NUNLEY, District Judge.

Plaintiff Chante C. Pappion (“Plaintiff’) is a wheelchair-bound partial owner at the R-Ranch recreational facility in Siskiyou County. Plaintiff filed the instant action against Defendants R-Ranch Property Owners Association (“POA”), a California Non-Profit Corporation, as well as individual members of the POA Board, Hal Glover, Mark Grenbemer, John Crosby, Rob Bucher, Mark Perry, Michael Horne, and Rick Wever (collectively “Defendants”) under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12182 and California state law, including the Un-ruh Act, Cal. Civ.Code § 51-53, and the California Disabled Persons Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 54-54.8. Plaintiffs Complaint alleges that she has been denied full and equal access to the R-Ranch facilities. The parties’ have filed cross-motions for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs Partial Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 23-1) is DENIED and Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 24-1) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff initiated this case on June 7, 2013, to challenge Defendants’ alleged violations of the ADA, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the California Disabled Persons Act. (Compl., ECF No. 1.) In her Complaint, Plaintiff specifically states that Defendants operate a place of public accommodation and violated the ADA by failing to remove architectural barriers. (ECF No. 1 at ¶¶ 21, 23.)

R-Ranch is a five-thousand acre recreational property owned by approximately 1700 individual owners. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 2, 4; Boudek Deck, ECF No. 24-3 at ¶¶2-3.) Each owner has an undivided interest (“Share”) in the real property which they can access using owner key-cards and identification cards. (Defs.’ Statement of Undisputed Facts (“SUF”), ECF No. 24-2 at ¶24; ECF No. 24-3 at ¶4.) The R-Ranch POA is controlled by seven elected owners (the “Board”) who are tasked with operating and maintaining the premises. (ECF No. 24-2 at ¶ 10.)

The R-Ranch facility encompasses a central building referred to as “Ranch Headquarters.” (PL’s SUF, ECF No. 23-2 at ¶ 3; ECF No. 24-2 at ¶ 15.) Ranch Headquarters serves as the principal office of Defendants and is typically staffed by at least one employee. (ECF No. 23-2 at ¶ 5; 24-2 at ¶ 17.) Ranch Headquarters is used to store official documents including employee personnel files, financial documents, owner files, contracts, election materials, and other POA records. (ECF No. 24-2 at ¶ 18.) R-Ranch owners utilize Ranch Headquarters for regular owner business such as paying assessments, paying fines, paying fees, or copying records. [1020]*1020(ECF No. 23-2 at ¶ 10; ECF No. 24-2 at ¶ 19.)

R-Ranch financially operates largely as a result of the revenue collected from owner-based assessments and fees. (ECF No. 24-2 at ¶ 25.) When an owner neglects to pay their assessment, Defendant R-Ranch POA is authorized to either foreclose on the real property interest or accept a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure from the owner. (ECF No. 24-2 at ¶ 27.) As a result of foreclosures in recent years, Defendant R-Raneh POA has acquired ownership of approximately 455 R-Ranch Shares. (ECF No. 24-2 at ¶ 28.)

Defendants have attempted to sell the remaining shares of R-Ranch by occasionally attending tradeshows and inviting potential buyers to register as guests and tour the R-Ranch property. (ECF No. 23-2 at ¶¶ 6, 8; ECF No. 24-2 at ¶¶ 30-31.) Defendants use Ranch Headquarters to conduct business and real estate transactions with registered guests who are interested in purchasing Shares. (ECF No. 23-2 at ¶ 9.)

Plaintiff purchased a 1/2500 Share in R-Ranch in 2007. (ECF No. 23-2 at ¶ 2; ECF No. 24-2 at ¶¶ 4-5.) She routinely visits Ranch Headquarters to conduct owner business such as paying assessments, paying bills, registering guests, and purchasing souvenirs. (ECF No. 23-2 at ¶ 10; ECF No. 24-2 at ¶ 34.) Plaintiff is disabled within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).1 (Defs.’ Answer Compl. ECF No. 12 at ¶ 1; ECF No. 23-2 at ¶ 1.)

There are no handicap parking spaces at Ranch Headquarters. (ECF No. 12 at ¶ 9; ECF No. 23-2 at ¶¶ 11-12.) Further, the path of travel from the parking area to the restroom facility located near Ranch Headquarters requires navigating over at least one un-ramped step. (ECF No. 12 at ¶ 12; ECF No. 23-2 at ¶ 16.)

The present dispute stems from Plaintiffs allegations that Defendant R-Ranch POA fails to comply with the ADA guidelines and has denied Plaintiff full and equal access to the R-Ranch premises. On November 20, 2014, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment asking the Court to enter partial summary judgment against Defendants as to her ADA cause of action. (Mot. For Partial Summ. J., ECF No. 23-1 at 5.)

On November 20, 2014, Defendants filed a Motion for Summary Judgment requesting that the Court enter summary judgment against Plaintiff. (ECF No. 24.) Defendants argue in their Motion as follows: (1) Ranch Headquarters is a private establishment and not a place of public accommodation; (2) Pappion is not an individual with respect to her use of Ranch Headquarters; and (3) Pappion does not have standing under federal or California law. (ECF No. 24 at 2.)

II. STANDARD OF LAW

Summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party demonstrates no genuine issue as to any material fact exists, and therefore, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). Under summary judgment practice, the moving party always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis of its motion, and identifying those portions of “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file together with the affidavits, if any,” which it [1021]*1021believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). “[W]here the nonmoving party will bear the burden of proof at trial on a dispositive issue, a summary judgment motion may properly be made in reliance solely on the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file.” Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (internal quotations omitted). Indeed, summary judgment should be entered against a party who does not make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. Id. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

If the moving party meets its initial responsibility, the burden then shifts to the opposing party to establish that a genuine issue as to any material fact actually does exist. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v.

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Bluebook (online)
110 F. Supp. 3d 1017, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66808, 2015 WL 2452826, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pappion-v-r-ranch-property-owners-assn-caed-2015.