Whitaker v. TJ Technology LLC

Background

Brian Whitaker filed the case in December 2021 against TJ Technology LLC. He alleged that TJ Technology violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act by failing to provide a wheelchair-accessible sales counter at a cell phone repair shop.

ADA Claim

Whitaker conceded that his request for injunctive relief under the ADA was moot, meaning the requested court order was no longer a live issue. The opinion states that injunctive relief was the only remedy available to him for the ADA claim. The court therefore dismissed the ADA claim with prejudice.

Unruh Act Claim and Jurisdiction

The court stated that the ADA claim was the only source of subject-matter jurisdiction. It explained that both parties were citizens of California and that the amount in controversy did not exceed $75,000, so diversity jurisdiction did not apply. After dismissing the only federal claim, the court had only the state-law Unruh Act claim remaining.

The court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction, which is the court’s discretionary authority to hear related state-law claims after federal claims are dismissed. The Unruh Act claim was dismissed without prejudice to refiling in state court.

Disposition

The case was dismissed. The ADA claim was dismissed with prejudice, and the Unruh Act claim was dismissed without prejudice to refiling in state court. Judge William H. Orrick entered the order on July 22, 2022.