De La Rosa v. Aspenly Co. LLC

Background

Pure Green NYC 8th Street Corp. moved to dismiss Dedra De La Rosa’s claims alleging disability discrimination in a place of public accommodation. The federal claim arose under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Pure Green argued that the federal claim was moot because it had permanently closed the juice bar involved in the lawsuit. It also argued that, because the federal claim was the only claim within the court’s original jurisdiction, the court could not continue hearing the related state-law claims. De La Rosa did not oppose dismissal of the ADA claim and took no position on dismissal of the state-law claims.

Court’s Analysis

The court explained that Title III of the ADA permits a private plaintiff to obtain only injunctive relief, not damages. Because the juice bar had permanently closed, the court concluded that injunctive relief was no longer possible and that De La Rosa’s ADA claim was moot. A moot claim does not present a live controversy for the court to decide, so the court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over that claim.

The court then addressed the state-law claims. It noted that federal law ordinarily allows a district court to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over related state-law claims after federal claims are dismissed. But the Second Circuit had held that when all federal claims are dismissed for lack of jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), the court cannot exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the related state-law claims. Although Judge Alison J. Nathan expressed concern that this rule might not fit a case in which the federal claim became moot shortly before trial, she concluded that the Second Circuit’s rule was controlling.

Disposition

The court granted Pure Green’s motion to dismiss the action for lack of jurisdiction and dismissed all claims without prejudice. The clerk was directed to close the case. The order did not decide whether the alleged discrimination occurred or whether the state-law claims had merit.

Classification

This is a procedural order because the court dismissed the claims for lack of jurisdiction after finding the federal claim moot, without deciding the underlying discrimination question.