Valentine v. Washington Nationals Baseball Club LLC

District Court, District of Columbia·Decided January 20, 2023·No. Civil Action No. 2022-1299·Published

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

THOMAS VALENTINE, Plaintiff,

v. Civil Action No. 22-1299 (TJK)

WASHINGTON NATIONALS BASEBALL CLUB, LLC, et al.,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER In May 2021, the Washington Nationals ejected Thomas Valentine from Nationals Park for not wearing a face mask in compliance with the Nationals’ COVID-19 policies. Valentine claims he has a disability that prevented him from wearing one, and so he sued Defendants for violating the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (“DCHRA”). Defendants move to dismiss all counts for failure to state a claim. For the reasons discussed, the Court will grant the motion as to the former claims but deny it as to the latter. I. Background According to the operative complaint, Defendants Washington Nationals Baseball Club, LLC and Washington Nationals Stadium, LLC operate Nationals Park. ECF No. 9 (“Compl.”) ¶¶ 8–9. On May 5, 2021, Valentine visited the park to attend a game. Id. ¶ 11. At that time, to comply with District of Columbia Mayor’s Order 2020-080 related to COVID-19, Defendants en- forced a mask mandate on all attendees. Id. ¶ 13. One exemption in the Mayor’s Order, however,

provides: “Wearing a mask is not required when . . . [a] person is unable to wear a mask due to a medical condition or disability.” Id. ¶ 15 (quoting Mayor’s Order 2020-080).

Valentine did not wear a mask at the game because, he alleges, he “is a person with a disability within the meaning of the ADA and DCHRA” and is “unable to wear a mask due to his disability.” Compl. ¶ 14. But Nationals Park personnel allegedly “demanded” he wear one several times. Id. ¶¶ 17–19. During each confrontation, he responded that he had a medical condition and, because of it, could not wear a mask. Id. Valentine declined to disclose the nature of his medical condition when asked. Id. ¶ 18. The Nationals’ Vice President of Safety and Security eventually told Valentine that, unless he wore a face mask or face shield, he would be ejected. Id. ¶¶ 19–20. Valentine alleges the Vice President “did not offer any reasonable accommodation.” Id. ¶ 20. Ultimately, Defendants ejected Valentine. Id. ¶ 23.

Valentine alleges that afterward, he felt “embarrassment and humiliation” for being “treated like a criminal and kicked out of a baseball game because of his disability.” Compl. ¶ 24. He tried to resolve his grievances without resorting to a lawsuit. Id. ¶ 25. Defendants responded by inviting Valentine to come back to Nationals Park for “a game of [his] choosing” at “any time” during the 2021 regular season and assured him that his experience on May was “a one-time oc- currence.” Id. Valentine also alleges that “there is currently no mask mandate in place at Nationals Park.” Id. ¶¶ 30, 35, 41.

Evidently, the Nationals’ proposed resolution proved unsatisfactory and so Valentine, rep-

resenting himself, sued Defendants for three counts under the ADA and one under the DCHRA. Under the ADA, he alleges violations for (1) denial of access under 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(i); (2) unequal treatment under 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(ii); and (3) failure to modify policies under 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(ii). Compl. ¶¶ 26–41. And he alleges Defendants violated the

DCHRA for denying him, a person with a purported disability, with “full and equal enjoyment” of Nationals Park’s goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations. Id. ¶¶ 42–48. Valentine seeks a declaration that Defendants violated the ADA and DCHRA. Id. ¶ 49(a). He also seeks an injunction requiring Defendants modify their policies, practices, and procedures, including those about face masks, to comply with the ADA and DCHRA. Id. ¶ 49(b). And he seeks compensatory and punitive damages along with his costs and attorneys’ fees. Id. ¶ 49(c)–(d).

Defendants move to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). ECF No. 19.

They raise three main arguments. First, they argue Valentine’s ADA claims must be dismissed both because the ADA does not permit money damages and because his claims for injunctive relief are moot. ECF No. 19-2 at 6–8. Second, they say that all his claims are barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Id. at 3–4. Third, they contend that Valentine has failed to allege facts sufficient to show he suffers a “disability” as defined by the ADA and DCHRA. Id. at 5–6. II. Legal Standards Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, so it is “presumed that a cause lies outside this limited jurisdiction.” Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994).1 And courts “have an affirmative obligation ‘to consider whether the constitutional and statutory authority exist for us to hear each dispute.’” James Madison Ltd. by Hecht v. Ludwig, 82 F.3d 1085, 1092 (D.C.

1 Defendants’ mootness argument should have been brought under Rule 12(b)(1) instead of Rule 12(b)(6) “because mootness itself deprives the court of jurisdiction.” Indian River Cnty. v. Rogoff, 254 F. Supp. 3d 15, 18 (D.D.C. 2017). And although Defendants do not “dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), the Court may analyze subject-matter jurisdiction sua sponte.” Bell v. U.S. Dep’t of Health & Hum. Servs., 67 F. Supp. 3d 320, 323 (D.D.C. 2014). Thus, the Court treats Defendants’ mootness argument under Rule 12(b)(1).

Cir. 1996) (quoting Herbert v. Nat’l Acad. of Scis., 974 F.2d 192, 196 (D.C. Cir. 1992)). Thus, to avoid dismissal under Rule 12(b)(1), “the plaintiff bears the burden of proving that the Court has subject matter jurisdiction.” United States ex rel. Bid Solve, Inc. v. CWS Mktg. Grp., Inc., No. 19- cv-1861 (TNM), 2021 WL 4819899, at *2 (D.D.C. Oct. 15, 2021). In considering its subject- matter jurisdiction, a court is not limited to the allegations in the complaint and may consider materials outside the pleadings, but the court must “accept all of the factual allegations in [the] complaint as true.” Jerome Stevens Pharm., Inc. v. FDA, 402 F.3d 1249, 1253 (D.C. Cir. 2005) (alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Gaubert, 499 U.S. 315, 327 (1991)).

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) tests the legal suffi-

ciency of a plaintiff’s complaint. Herron v. Fannie Mae, 861 F.3d 160, 173 (D.C. Cir. 2017). To survive such a motion, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a plausible claim to relief on its face. Wash. All. of Tech. Workers v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 892 F.3d 332, 343 (D.C. Cir. 2018). In evaluating a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the Court must construe the complaint in the plaintiff’s favor and grant the plaintiff the benefit of all reasonable inferences. See Hettinga v. United States, 677 F.3d 471, 476 (D.C. Cir. 2012). But mere conclusory statements of misconduct, even from a pro se plaintiff, are not enough to make out a cause of action against a defendant. Kretchmar v. FBI, 32 F. Supp. 3d 49, 54 (D.D.C. 2014).

Additionally, when, as here, a plaintiff proceeds pro se, the complaint is “held to less strin-

gent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quoting Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976)). In practice, that means “courts assess a pro se complaint ‘in light of all filings, including filings responsive to a motion to dismiss.’” Gallo v. District of Columbia, No. 21-cv-03298 (TNM), 2022 WL 2208934, at *3 (D.D.C. June 21, 2022) (quotation omitted); Brown v. Whole Foods Mkt. Grp., Inc., 789 F.3d 146, 152 (D.C.

Cir. 2015) (“[The defendant] will suffer no prejudice by allowing [the pro se plaintiff] to, in effect, supplement his complaint with the allegations included in his opposition.”). III. Analysis Valentine raises claims under two statutory provisions—the ADA and DCHRA. And De-

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