Toro v. Moac Mall Holdings, LLC

Background

Luis Toro alleged that he is visually impaired and that a website maintained by MOAC Mall Holdings, LLC was not accessible to him. The letter states that he brought claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, New York State Human Rights Law, and New York City Human Rights Law.

MOAC asked the court to stay, or pause, all discovery until the court decided its anticipated motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2). Personal jurisdiction is the court’s authority to exercise power over a particular defendant. In the alternative, MOAC asked the court to postpone the parties’ deadline to submit a proposed case-management and scheduling order. Toro consented to the requested relief.

MOAC argued that its anticipated jurisdictional motion could dispose of the entire case. The letter described MOAC as a Delaware corporation headquartered in Minnesota and stated that it did not offer products for sale to New York residents through its website. The parties had not yet served discovery requests, but MOAC argued that discovery could require document requests, interrogatories, requests for admission, depositions, and expert review of its website.

Ruling

The court marked the request “DENIED.” It ordered the parties to file a revised proposed case-management plan by December 14, 2022, as described in the court’s earlier filing. The order did not rule on MOAC’s anticipated motion to dismiss, personal jurisdiction, the accessibility allegations, or the underlying legal claims.

Classification

This is a procedural order because it addressed discovery and case-management timing rather than deciding the merits of Toro’s claims or MOAC’s anticipated jurisdictional motion.