Love v. Shirtique, Inc.

Background

Samuel Love, who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair for mobility, visited Shirtique in December 2019. He alleged that the store lacked an accessible sales counter. The counter was 49 inches high, while the relevant accessibility standard requires an accessible portion of a sales counter to be no higher than 36 inches.

Love initially sued the wrong owner. After discovering that The Undefeated Apparel Incorporated owned Shirtique, he amended the complaint and served Undefeated in November 2020. Undefeated did not respond or otherwise participate. The clerk entered default against Undefeated on February 18, 2021. Love then moved for default judgment under Rule 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Love asserted claims under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. He requested an injunction, $4,000 in statutory damages, and $4,055 in attorney’s fees and costs.

Court’s analysis

The court first found that it had authority to hear the case. The ADA claim supplied federal-question jurisdiction, and the related Unruh Act claim fell within supplemental jurisdiction. The court also found personal jurisdiction over Undefeated because Love properly served the company and because Undefeated was identified as a California corporation owning a California retail store.

The court then applied the seven factors used to decide whether to enter default judgment. It found that Love would have no remedy if judgment were denied, that the complaint adequately stated viable claims, that the amount sought was proportionate, that Undefeated’s silence made a factual dispute unlikely, that its default was unlikely to result from excusable neglect, and that deciding the case on the merits was not reasonably possible because Undefeated had not participated.

For the ADA claim, the court found that Love had standing because he personally encountered the counter, was deterred from returning, and sought relief that could address the alleged injury. The court found that Love was disabled under the ADA, that the store was a public accommodation, and that the counter denied him access to the store’s goods and services because of his disability. The court also found that the counter violated the applicable ADA standard and held that lowering it could be done without undue difficulty or expense.

The court concluded that the ADA violation also established a violation of the Unruh Act. It explained that the Unruh Act permits statutory damages of $4,000 per violation even without proof of actual damages.

Relief

The court granted default judgment. It granted Love $4,000 in statutory damages, $2,100 in attorney’s fees, and $875 in costs, totaling $6,975. The court reduced the requested attorney’s fees after applying lower hourly rates and deducting 0.3 hours for review of routine docket entries. It granted the requested injunctive relief and ordered Undefeated, to the extent it had the legal right and ability to do so, to provide a wheelchair-accessible sales counter at Shirtique’s location. The order stated that service by a process server was required for the court’s contempt power to be available.