J. B. v. G6 Hospitality, LLC

Background

J.B. alleged that Craigslist violated section 1595 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act by facilitating advertisements connected to her commercial sex trafficking. She also brought federal and state claims against several hotels and common-law claims against defendants identified in the opinion as the Defendant Hotels, along with claims against Kairos Unlimited Counseling Services.

Craigslist moved to dismiss J.B.’s federal trafficking claim, arguing that section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protected it from liability as an interactive computer service provider. The court’s earlier order held that section 230(e)(5)(A), as amended by the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, removes that immunity from a civil section 1595 claim only when the defendant’s conduct amounts to a violation of section 1591, the criminal trafficking provision. The court concluded that J.B. had not adequately alleged that Craigslist violated section 1591 and dismissed the claim with leave to amend.

Separate trial

The court applied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(b), which permits separate trials for convenience, to avoid prejudice, or to speed and simplify the case. It found that the Craigslist claim involved a novel legal issue and that an appeal could take months or years, while the claims against the hotels and Kairos were ready to proceed. The court also found no substantial prejudice or meaningful risk of inconsistent judgments from handling the claims separately.

The court therefore BIFURCATES the Craigslist claim from J.B.’s claims against the Defendant Hotels and Kairos. In this context, bifurcation means separating the claims for separate proceedings; it did not resolve the merits of the remaining claims.

Interlocutory appeal

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b), a district court may certify a nonfinal order for an interlocutory appeal when the order involves a controlling legal question, there are substantial grounds for disagreement about that question, and immediate review may materially advance the litigation.

The court found all three requirements met. It determined that the dispute over how FOSTA-SESTA affects section 230 immunity was a controlling legal question that could materially affect J.B.’s Craigslist claim and could be resolved without factual inquiry. It also found substantial grounds for disagreement because district courts had reached conflicting conclusions and, to the court’s knowledge, no court of appeals had ruled on the issue. Finally, it found that immediate review could prevent the parties from litigating under a legal standard that might later change.

The court therefore GRANTS J.B.’s motion to certify the earlier Craigslist order for interlocutory appeal under section 1292(b). It also STAYS only the Craigslist claim while J.B. applies for interlocutory review and, if the Ninth Circuit grants review, during the appeal. The claims against the Defendant Hotels and Kairos were not stayed. Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. also set a case-management conference for January 18, 2022, concerning those remaining claims.