Johnson v. 12 N Park Victoria LLC

Background

Scott Johnson, who uses a wheelchair because he is a C-5 quadriplegic, alleged that he encountered accessibility barriers during three visits to a Shell gas station in Milpitas, California. He alleged that the station lacked compliant wheelchair-accessible parking, a compliant sales counter, and sufficiently wide interior paths of travel. Johnson sued 12 N Park Victoria LLC and Jalal Khalilzadeh under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act.

Neither defendant appeared. The clerk entered default against both defendants. Johnson then moved for default judgment.

Jurisdiction and Service

The court found that it had federal-question jurisdiction over the ADA claim and supplemental jurisdiction over the related Unruh Act claim. It also found that it had general personal jurisdiction over both defendants based on their alleged ownership or operation of the California gas station and other evidence concerning their California contacts.

The court found service sufficient as to Khalilzadeh. The process server had attempted personal service three times, left the summons and complaint with an adult employee who was apparently in charge, informed the employee of the documents’ general nature, and mailed the documents to the station.

The court found service insufficient as to 12 N Park Victoria LLC. Although the proof showed compliance with some substitute-service requirements, Johnson had not provided the required process-server affidavit or proof that the summons included the required notice. Because improper service could not support default judgment, the court denied the motion as to the LLC without prejudice and gave Johnson an additional opportunity to establish proper service.

Default Judgment Against Khalilzadeh

Applying the factors used to decide whether default judgment is appropriate, the court concluded that six factors favored judgment: possible prejudice to Johnson, the apparent merits of the claims, the sufficiency of the complaint, the amount at stake, the lack of a likely factual dispute, and the absence of an apparent excusable reason for Khalilzadeh’s failure to appear. The policy favoring decisions on the merits weighed slightly against default judgment, but the court found that the other factors outweighed it.

The court accepted the complaint’s well-pleaded liability allegations as true for purposes of default judgment. It concluded that Johnson had adequately alleged an ADA claim by alleging that he was disabled, that Khalilzadeh owned a place of public accommodation, and that architectural barriers denied him full and equal access. The court also concluded that Johnson had adequately stated an Unruh Act claim because the state-law claim was based on the same facts and the complaint adequately alleged an ADA violation.

Relief Awarded

The court granted default judgment against Khalilzadeh on both the ADA and Unruh Act claims. It awarded $12,000 in statutory damages, based on Johnson’s three alleged visits and the statutory amount awarded for each instance of discrimination.

The court entered an injunction requiring Khalilzadeh to remedy four categories of ADA violations at the gas station: parking stalls and access aisles that were not level with each other; access aisles that were not properly marked; a sales counter that was too high and too narrow; and interior paths of travel that were less than 36 inches wide.

Johnson requested $4,640 in attorney’s fees and costs. The court approved $2,800 in attorney’s fees after reducing the requested hourly rates, and it approved $840 in litigation costs after reducing the service-related request from $80 to $40. The total award for fees and costs was therefore $3,640.

Disposition

The court granted Johnson’s motion for default judgment against Khalilzadeh. It denied Johnson’s motion for default judgment as to 12 N Park Victoria LLC with leave to amend. Johnson was directed to file proof within seven days that the May 25, 2020 service complied with the specified California service requirements. If service was proper, Johnson could file a renewed motion for default judgment by September 1, 2021; if not, the clerk would be ordered to vacate the entry of default against the LLC and Johnson would have to properly serve it.