Hernandez v. Hassett Hardware dba Hassett Ace Hardware
- Susan Van Keulen
- 5:25-cv-05066
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 5
Counsel of record per CourtListener. Firm names are approximate.
In Gerardo Hernandez v. Hassett Hardware, Judge van Keulen ordered disclosures, mediation, and $3,773 in sanctions for violating ADA-case procedures.
Gerardo Hernandez and the defendants—Hassett Hardware dba Hassett Ace Hardware, Penelope F. Hassett as trustee of the Hassett 1993 Revocable Trust dated July 9, 1993, and Larry R. Hassett as trustee of that trust. The sanctions are payable to Moore Law Firm, P.C.
What happened
Gerardo Hernandez v. Hassett Hardware dba Hassett Ace Hardware, et al. concerns Hernandez’s request to enforce procedures for certain Americans with Disabilities Act cases. He said the defendants had not provided required initial disclosures or completed steps needed for mediation, despite an earlier court order.
The court ordered the defendants to provide initial disclosures, ordered the parties to file a notice seeking mediation that day, and required completion of the mediation process within the period stated in the order. The court also ordered the defendants to pay $3,773 in sanctions to Moore Law Firm, P.C.
Judge Susan van Keulen issued the order on September 22, 2026, and warned that continued violations could lead to additional sanctions, including terminating sanctions.
The detailed version
- Hernandez v. Hassett Hardware dba Hassett Ace Hardware · No. 5:25-cv-05066
- Susan Van Keulen
- Sept. 22, 2026
Background
The opinion text consists primarily of Hernandez’s second motion for administrative relief and an attached proposed order. Hernandez’s case includes a claim under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Northern District of California’s General Order 56 governs procedures for such cases.
Hernandez stated that the parties completed the required joint site inspection on August 19, 2025. He also stated that the court had previously ordered the defendants to provide initial disclosures by September 19, 2025, but that the defendants still had not provided them. According to Hernandez, the parties also had not completed the notice and certification needed to obtain referral to mediation. He said his efforts to meet and confer had not produced meaningful responses.
Hernandez asked the court to require the defendants to provide the initial disclosures, participate in mediation, and pay $3,773 in attorney’s fees as sanctions. He also asked the court to warn that continued noncompliance could result in terminating sanctions.
Ruling
After considering the motion and the parties’ arguments at the September 22, 2026 hearing, Judge Susan van Keulen ordered the defendants to provide initial disclosures. The deadline language for that requirement is partially corrupted in the supplied opinion text, although it appears to refer to a seven-calendar-day period. The court also ordered the parties to file a notice of need for mediation that day and required the mediation-related process to be completed within the period stated in the order; the supplied text indicates a 90-day period, but portions of that provision are corrupted.
The court ordered the defendants to pay $3,773 in sanctions to Moore Law Firm, P.C., within 10 calendar days of the order. The court further admonished the defendants that continued failure to cooperate with the General Order 56 process or additional violations of court orders could result in sanctions up to and including terminating sanctions.
Effect
The order addresses discovery-related disclosures, mediation procedures, and sanctions. It does not decide the underlying merits of Hernandez’s Americans with Disabilities Act claims.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.