Love v. Concord Hotel LLC

Background

Samuel Love asserted a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and a derivative claim under California law. He alleged that Concord Hotel LLC failed to comply with federal regulations requiring hotels to provide accessibility information on their websites.

The relevant regulation requires hotels to identify and describe accessible features in their hotels and guest rooms in enough detail to allow people with disabilities to independently assess whether a hotel or room meets their accessibility needs. The court said it generally must defer to Department of Justice guidance interpreting that regulation.

Court’s Analysis

The guidance does not provide a complete list of every detail that a hotel must include online. It says hotels should consider providing basic information such as the room type, size and number of beds, accessible bathing facilities, and communication features. The guidance also recognizes that a hotel website is not meant to be a complete accessibility survey and that people with disabilities may contact the hotel for more detailed information.

The court explained that basic information might not be enough when a room has an unusual feature that could create problems for a person with a disability. In that situation, the hotel would need to describe the problematic feature online. The court also discussed how the analysis may differ when a guest reserves a class of rooms rather than a particular room.

Concord Hotel’s website stated that its rooms were accessible and provided the basic information described in the guidance. Love did not allege that anything unusual about Concord Hotel’s rooms made additional information necessary. The court therefore concluded that his claims should be dismissed. The court also stated that Love likely could not state a claim because he did not allege that he actually checked in to the hotel, which the court viewed as likely necessary for him to discover a room feature that the ADA required the hotel to disclose.

Ruling and Case Status

Judge Vince Chhabria granted Concord Hotel’s motion to dismiss Love’s ADA and derivative California-law claim with leave to amend. Any amended complaint was due within 14 days. The court stated that if Love did not file an amended complaint, the dismissal would be with prejudice. The court granted Concord Hotel’s request for judicial notice and vacated the July 21 case-management conference.