Johnson v. Layers, LLC

Background

Scott Johnson brought claims under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination in places open to the public, and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. He alleged that he uses a wheelchair and has significant manual dexterity impairments. According to the complaint, he visited Patxi’s Pizza in April and June 2021 and found that its outdoor dining surfaces lacked enough knee and toe clearance for wheelchair users.

Johnson sought an order requiring accessible outdoor dining surfaces, $8,000 in statutory damages, $3,585 in attorneys’ fees, and costs. Layers, LLC and AARAV Restaurant Management, Inc. were served but did not appear or respond. The clerk entered defaults against both defendants.

Jurisdiction and Default Judgment

The court found that it had subject-matter jurisdiction over the ADA claim and supplemental jurisdiction over the related Unruh Act claim. It also found that Johnson properly served both defendants and therefore had personal jurisdiction over them.

Applying the seven factors used by courts when deciding whether to enter default judgment, the court concluded that default judgment was warranted. At this stage, well-pleaded factual allegations were treated as true, except allegations concerning damages; legal conclusions were not automatically accepted.

ADA and Unruh Act Claims

The court found that Johnson had standing because he alleged that he personally encountered the access barrier, that the barrier was traceable to the defendants’ conduct, and that damages and an injunction could redress the alleged injury. The court also found that Johnson established the elements of an ADA architectural-barrier claim: he alleged a qualifying disability, the defendants owned the public accommodation, and the lack of accessible outdoor dining surfaces denied him access because of his disability.

The court determined that Johnson had plausibly shown that removing the barrier was readily achievable, meaning easily accomplished without much difficulty or expense. Because the defendants did not appear, they did not meet their burden of showing that removal was not readily achievable. The court therefore found that Johnson established the ADA claim. Because the court treated an ADA violation as also violating the Unruh Act, it found that Johnson established the related state-law claim as well.

Relief

The court granted Johnson’s request for injunctive relief. To the extent the defendants had the legal right and ability to do so, they were ordered to provide wheelchair-accessible outdoor dining surfaces at Patxi’s Pizza at 441 Emerson Street, Palo Alto, California, in compliance with the ADA Accessibility Guidelines no later than six months after service of the injunction.

The court reduced Johnson’s requested statutory damages from $8,000 to $4,000 and held Layers and AARAV jointly and severally liable for that amount. “Jointly and severally” means the judgment imposes collective responsibility for the full amount, rather than dividing the amount between the defendants.

The court also reduced the requested attorneys’ fees. It awarded $475 per hour for Mark Potter, $350 per hour for Amanda Seabock and Isabel Masanque, $250 per hour for Tehniat Zaman, and $100 per hour for staff. It reduced the compensable staff time and stated in its conclusion that it awarded $1,807.50 in attorneys’ fees. The court awarded $633.50 in costs after reducing inadequately documented investigation expenses.

Disposition

The application for default judgment as to Layers and AARAV was granted in part. The final judgment awarded $4,000 in statutory damages, $1,807.50 in attorneys’ fees, and $633.50 in costs, totaling $6,441, for which the defendants were jointly and severally liable. The request for injunctive relief was granted.