Zhang v. The Embassy, Inc.

Background

Andrew Zhang brought the action individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated against The Embassy, Inc. The order refers to a website at issue in the action and to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal law concerning access for people with disabilities.

Settlement and issues for discussion

The court ordered the parties, within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint on The Embassy, Inc., to meet and confer for at least one hour in a good-faith effort to settle the action. The parties must consider whether Zhang has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning a sufficient personal connection to bring the case. They must also consider whether the website is a “standalone website”—defined in the order as a business website without a physical location—and whether such a website is a “place of public accommodation” under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The order noted that some decisions in the Southern District of New York have held that a standalone website is not a place of public accommodation.

If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must discuss whether further settlement efforts through the court’s mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive at that time.

Required joint letter and response deadline

Within 15 additional days, or 45 days after service of the summons and complaint, the parties must submit a joint letter stating whether they settled. If they did not settle, the letter must ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or to a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, while stating a preference between those options, or to proceed with an initial status conference. The letter must also state whether The Embassy, Inc. intends to answer the complaint or move to dismiss it. If it plans to move to dismiss, the letter must briefly describe the anticipated basis in no more than one paragraph.

The court stayed the deadline for The Embassy, Inc. to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint until the joint letter is submitted. After the letter is filed, the court will set either a deadline for the answer or a briefing schedule for a motion to dismiss.

Other directive and effect of the order

Counsel who had entered appearances when the order issued must promptly serve the order and the judge’s Individual Rules and Practices on counsel who had not appeared, or on the party personally if the recipient’s counsel is unknown, and must file proof of that notice.

This order did not decide whether Zhang has standing, whether the website is a place of public accommodation, or whether any motion to dismiss would succeed. It is a case-management and settlement order by Judge Margaret M. Garnett.