Strojnik v. Hotel Circle GL Holdings, LLC

District Court, E.D. California·Decided July 28, 2020·No. 1:19-cv-01194·Unknown

Opinion

PETER STROJNIK, SR., No. 1:19-cv-01194-DAD-EPG Plaintiff, v. ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS IN PART (Doc. No. 29) Defendant.

This matter is before the court on defendant Hotel Circle GL Holdings, LLC’s motion to dismiss the first amended complaint (“FAC”) of pro se plaintiff Peter Strojnik, Sr. (Doc. No. 29.) Pursuant to Local Rule 230(g), the court deemed the matter suitable for decision on the papers. (Doc. No. 34.) The court has considered the parties’ briefs and, for the reasons set forth below, will grant defendant’s motion to dismiss in part. Plaintiff’s FAC alleges as follows. Plaintiff is a person with physical disabilities, including “severe right-sided neural foraminal stenosis with symptoms of femoral neuropathy, prostate cancer and renal cancer, [and a] degenerative right knee . . ..” (Doc. No. 26 at 1–2.) These disabilities “substantially limit[] [plaintiff’s] major life activities,” including “sleeping, walking, standing, sitting, reaching, lifting and bending.” (Id. at 4.) Defendant owns, operates, or leases a hotel located at 300 S. Court Street, Visalia, CA 93291 (the “Hotel”). (Id. at 2.) On June 8, 2019, plaintiff visited the Hotel and encountered barriers to accessibility. (Id. at 8, 11.) The barriers that plaintiff allegedly encountered on June 8, 2019 “deprive[d] him of the full and equal enjoyment of the [Hotel].” (Id. at 11.) “Plaintiff intends to visit Defendant’s Hotel at a specific time when the Defendant’s noncompliant Facility becomes fully compliant with [the Americans with Disabilities Act’s (“ADA”) Accessibility Guidelines (“the ADAAG”)] . . ..” (Id. at 9.) Plaintiff has included with his FAC a chart consisting of photographs of the barriers to accessibility that he allegedly encountered at the Hotel, as well as a corresponding “reference” column which purportedly describes how each photographed barrier violates the ADAAG. (See id. at 14–21.) In his FAC, plaintiff asserts claims under the ADA, the California Unruh Civil Rights Act (“Unruh Act”), and the California Disabled Persons Act (“DPA”) and a negligence claim against defendant. (Doc. No. 26 at 1.) On January 7, 2020, defendant moved to dismiss the FAC pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and (6), arguing that: (1) plaintiff lacks standing to assert his ADA and Unruh Act claims, and (2) plaintiff has failed to state a cognizable negligence claim. (Doc. No. 29-1.) On January 14, 2020, plaintiff filed his opposition to the pending motion, and on February 11, defendant filed its reply thereto. (Doc. Nos. 31, 33.) “Rule 12(b)(1) permits a defendant to seek dismissal of a complaint for lack of subject- matter jurisdiction,” and “[a] defendant may bring a Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss based on a lack of standing.” Borden v. Horwitz, No. 2:10-cv-00141-JHN-PLAx, 2010 WL 11459325, at *2 (C.D. Cal. May 18, 2010) (citing Young v. Crofts, 64 F. App’x 24, 25 (9th Cir. 2003)1); see also White v. Lee, 227 F.3d 1214, 1242 (9th Cir. 2000) (“Because standing and mootness both pertain to a federal court’s subject-matter jurisdiction under Article III, they are properly raised in a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), not Rule 12(b)(6).”). ///// 1 Citation to this unpublished Ninth Circuit opinion is appropriate pursuant to Ninth Circuit Rule “A Rule 12(b)(1) jurisdictional attack may be facial or factual. In a facial attack, the challenger asserts that the allegations contained in a complaint are insufficient on their face to invoke federal jurisdiction.” Safe Air for Everyone v. Meyer, 373 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9th Cir. 2004) (citing White, 227 F.3d at 1242). “The district court resolves a facial attack as it would a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6): [a]ccepting the plaintiff’s allegations as true and drawing all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff’s favor, the court determines whether the allegations are sufficient as a legal matter to invoke the court’s jurisdiction.” Leite v. Crane Co., 749 F.3d 1117, 1121 (9th Cir. 2014). As is true in evaluating a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court need not assume the truth of legal conclusions cast in the form of factual allegations. Warren v. Fox Family Worldwide, Inc., 328 F.3d 1136, 1139 (9th Cir. 2003). “By contrast, in a factual attack, the challenger disputes the truth of the allegations that, by themselves, would otherwise invoke federal jurisdiction.” Safe Air for Everyone, 373 F.3d at 1039.2 Defendant asserts a facial challenge to this court’s jurisdiction over this action. (Doc. No. 29-1 at 10.) Defendant contends that, even assuming all of plaintiff’s allegations are true and all reasonable inferences are drawn in plaintiff’s favor, the FAC fails to adequately allege that: (1) plaintiff has suffered an injury-in-fact, and (2) he has standing to pursue injunctive relief. (Doc. No. 29-1 at 10–20.) The court addresses each argument below. A. Plaintiff Fails to Allege Article III Standing Because its jurisdiction is limited, “[a] federal court is presumed to lack jurisdiction in a particular case unless the contrary affirmatively appears.” Stock W., Inc. v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, 873 F.2d 1221, 1225 (9th Cir. 1989) (citing Cal. ex rel. Younger v. Andrus, 608 F.2d 1247, 1249 (9th Cir. 1979)). “[T]hose who seek to invoke the jurisdiction of the federal courts must satisfy the threshold requirement imposed by Article III of the Constitution by alleging an actual case or controversy.” City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 2 As discussed in this order, the court concludes that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiff’s sole federal claim, and the court therefore cannot exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiff’s remaining state law claims. Accordingly, the court need not address plaintiff’s 95, 101 (1983). To satisfy the case or controversy requirement, a plaintiff must allege facts showing that he has suffered an injury-in-fact that is concrete and particularized, that the injury is traceable to the challenged action of the defendant, and that the injury is likely to be redressed by a favorable decision. See Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560–61 (1992); Fortyune v. Am. Multi-Cinema, Inc., 364 F.3d 1075, 1081 (9th Cir. 2004). “In addition, to establish standing to pursue injunctive relief, which is the only relief available to private plaintiffs under the ADA, [a plaintiff] must demonstrate a ‘real and immediate threat of repeated injury’ in the future.” Chapman v. Pier 1 Imports (U.S.) Inc., 631 F.3d 939, 946 (9th Cir. 2011) (footnote and citation omitted). “[A]n ADA plaintiff can establish standing to sue for injunctive relief either by demonstrating deterrence, or by demonstrating injury-in-fact coupled with an intent to return to a noncompliant facility.” Id. at 944. 1. Plaintiff Fails to Allege an Injury-in-Fact In moving to dismiss, defendant argues that the FAC does not plausibly allege an injury- in-fact. (Doc. No. 29-1 at 11.) Specifically, defendant contends that the FAC does not sufficiently allege that plaintiff is disabled, nor does

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