Cruz v. Exclusive Furniture, L.P.

Background

Shael Cruz sued Exclusive Furniture, L.P., individually and on behalf of others described in the complaint as similarly situated. The court had scheduled a May 20, 2022 hearing concerning a default judgment. The opinion states that Exclusive Furniture appeared and answered the complaint.

Court’s Order

The court adjourned the scheduled default-judgment hearing until May 25, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. It directed counsel for all parties to call the listed telephone number and access code at that time. Because Exclusive Furniture had appeared and answered, the court ordered that the May 25 appearance would serve as an initial case-management conference.

The court directed counsel to be prepared to discuss whether the complaint alleged a valid cause of action under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court cited decisions addressing whether websites are places of public accommodation under that statute, but it did not decide whether Cruz’s complaint stated a valid claim.

Required Submissions and Discussions

Before the conference, counsel had to confer about settlement and the other subjects to be considered at the initial pretrial conference. No later than seven days before the conference, the parties had to submit a joint letter of no more than five pages addressing the nature of the action and defenses, jurisdiction and venue, pending motions or requests to file motions, completed and needed discovery, prior settlement discussions, estimated trial length, and other information that might assist the court. The parties also had to submit a proposed case-management plan and scheduling order.

Disposition

The court entered a scheduling and case-management order. It did not enter default judgment, decide the Americans with Disabilities Act issue, or resolve the merits of the case.