Gomez v. Miersch

Background

Andres Gomez alleged that Matthew Paul Miersch violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because Miersch’s website, Napahomes.Com, which advertises real estate in Northern California, was not accessible to visually impaired people. The opinion states that Gomez is legally blind and a resident of Florida.

Prior ruling

Miersch moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. On April 28, 2022, the court granted that motion after finding that Gomez lacked standing, meaning he had not shown the kind of concrete injury required to invoke the court’s authority. The court explained that Gomez had not specifically alleged that a physical place of public accommodation was associated with the website, that he intended to visit that place, or that the website’s barriers prevented him from visiting it. The court also stated that an ADA website-accessibility claim requires a connection, or “nexus,” between the alleged website barriers and a physical place of public accommodation.

The court granted Gomez leave to amend. It also ordered that any amended complaint be supported by sworn declarations from Gomez and his counsel because, according to the opinion, serious questions had been raised about the truthfulness of jurisdictional allegations in complaints filed by the law firm.

Current order and disposition

On May 19, Gomez filed a statement saying that he stood by his complaint and did not intend to file an amended complaint. The court therefore dismissed the case with prejudice. The order’s disposition was based on the court’s standing and jurisdiction ruling rather than a decision on the underlying accessibility allegations.