Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_14-cv-00116/USCOURTS-casd-3_14-cv-00116-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 446
Nature of Suit: Americans with Disabilities Act - Other
Cause of Action: Americans with Disabilities Act

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SCOTT SCHUTZA,

Plaintiff,

CASE NO. 14cv116-LAB (WVG)

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR

LEAVE TO AMEND; AND

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE RE:

DISMISSAL

vs.

ROBERT ZULKOSKI, et al.,

Defendants.

Plaintiff Scott Schutza, proceeding through counsel, filed his complaint in this case,

bringing Americans with Disabilities Act claims and supplemental state claims. Defendants

answered. Pursuant to the parties’ joint motion, all Defendants except County Motor Parts

Co., Inc. were dismissed. Schutza then filed a motion for leave to amend his complaint. The

motion acknowledges that the original complaint alleged that County Motor Parts did not

have wheelchair-accessible transaction counters that Schutza could use, but he has now

discovered that there are such counters. The motion said his new claim would be based on

the fact that “the policies and procedures of the business made it unavailable or accessible

to him.” Because it was unclear what this meant, the Court required Schutza to file a copy

of his proposed amended complaint as an exhibit.

The ADA claim is the only federal claim, and forms the basis for this Court’s exercise

of jurisdiction. The Court is under a continuing obligation to confirm its own jurisdiction, sua

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sponte if necessary. See United Investors Life Ins. Co. v. Waddell & Reed Inc., 360 F.3d

960, 966 (9th Cir. 2004). Injunctive relief is the only form of relief available under Title III of

the ADA. Wander v. Kaus, 304 F.3d 856, 858 (9th Cir. 2002). If Schutza no longer needs

that relief, the Court would lack authority to grant meaningful relief and the ADA claim is

moot. See Center for Bio. Diversity v. Lohn, 511 F.3d 960, 963 (9th Cir. 2007).

Ordinarily, leave to amend is freely granted. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15. But leave may

be denied if amendment would be futile or the amended complaint would not withstand a

motion to dismiss. See Steckman v. Hart Brewing, Inc., 143 F.3d 1293, 1298 (9th Cir. 1998). 

When determining whether a complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim, the

Court accepts all allegations of material fact in the complaint as true and construes them in

the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Cedars–Sinai Medical Center v. National

League of Postmasters of U.S., 497 F.3d 972, 975 (9th Cir.2007) (citation omitted). But the

Court is “not required to accept as true conclusory allegations which are contradicted by

documents referred to in the complaint,” and does “not . . . necessarily assume the truth of

legal conclusions merely because they are cast in the form of factual allegations.” Warren

v. Fox Family Worldwide, Inc., 328 F.3d 1136, 1139 (9th Cir.2003) (citations and quotation

marks omitted). 

Schutza’s proposed amended complaint (Docket no. 24, Ex. 1 (Propd Am. Compl.))

says he has a “regular history of shopping at this store” and that he plans to continue

shopping there. (Id., ¶ 16.) On the day in question, he says he looked for a wheelchairaccessible transaction counter but saw none. (Id., ¶ 11.) He asked a store employee who

was at the counter whether there was a lowered transaction counter he could use, but the

employee “was unable or unwilling to identify a lowered transaction counter where the

plaintiff could be serviced.” (Id.) On this basis, he alleges the business has “failed to 

/ / /

/ / /

/ / /

/ / /

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implement and carry out a policy and practice of handling transactions with wheelchair users

at a lowered, accessible counter.” (Id., ¶ 13.)1

Although the brief in chief clearly says that the County Motor Parts has handicappedaccessible counters, the proposed amended complaint expresses uncertainty about whether

there was or is one there at all: 

[T]here was no wheelchair accessible transaction counter on the dates of his

visits either because one does not exist on the property or because it was

not made available for use. 

(Propd Am. Compl., ¶ 12.) 

Installing a wheelchair accessible counter and implementing a policy of

keeping the wheelchair transaction counter in use is easily accomplished and

carried out without much difficulty or expense. If a wheelchair counter existed,

the implementation of a policy to maintain it in useable condition for

wheelchair users costs almost nothing. If a wheelchair counter did not exist,

the installation of a lowered section of counter is an inexpensive and

common construction task, not even requiring building permits.

(Id., ¶ 15.)

[T]he plaintiff will continue to patronize the store and continue to suffer the

discrimination alleged above until the defendants install an accessible

counter . . . .

(Id., ¶ 16; see also id. at ¶¶ 21–22 (alleging the transaction counter is too high and a lower

one is needed).)

In view of Schutza’s representations in his brief in chief, the Court concludes these

are drafting errors, probably inadvertently not omitted when revising the complaint, and that

Schutza in fact knows the business has a wheelchair-accessible transaction counter.

Apparently what the proposed amended complaint means is that Schutza asked to use the

counter (which he did not, at the time, know existed) but the employee did not tell him where

/ / /

This allegation differs somewhat from Schutza’s representations in his brief in chief. 

1

In that brief, he says there were policies or procedures, and that those policies or procedures

made the counter unavailable. Had the proposed amended complaint included such an

allegation, however, it would have been merely conclusory. No factual allegations suggest

that the employee’s failure to direct Schutza to the wheelchair-accessible counter was

anything other than an isolated incident. And in any case, there is nothing to suggest that

if Schutza pointed out the wheelchair-accessible counter, which he now knows is there, there

would be any problem with his using it.

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it was, either because the employee either did not know about it or did not want to make

inquiries about where it was, or perhaps just did not tell him for some other reason. But the

motion makes clear that Schutza now knows that one exists, and where it is.

Even assuming County Motor Parts failed to put in place a policy under which store

employees would be educated about where the wheelchair-accessible transaction counter

is and would direct customers to it when asked, Schutza would not benefit from an injunction

requiring such a policy to be put in place. He now knows there is such a counter, and where

it is, and no longer needs anyone to tell him these things. There is no allegation that he ever

pointed it out, asked or attempted to use it, and was refused. Nor are there any facts alleged

suggesting any reasonable likelihood that this would happen in the future. The proposed

amended complaint therefore does not plead any facts suggesting that injunctive relief is

available to him on this claim, or that the Court would have the power to grant it. See Friends

of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Serv. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 180–81 (2000) (holding

that federal courts have jurisdiction only where it is "likely, as opposed to merely speculative,

that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision”); Gest v. Bradbury, 443 F.3d 1177,

1181 (9th Cir. 2006) (a plaintiff seeking declaratory or injunctive relief must show she is

“realistically threatened by a repetition of the violation”). See also Castagnola v. HewlettPackard Co., 2012 WL 2159385, at *6 (N.D.Cal., June 13, 2012) (citing cases for the

proposition that plaintiffs had not shown a realistic threat of harm to support an injunction,

where they already knew information that an injunction would have required to be disclosed).

The original complaint, and the proposed amended complaint both attempt to allege

that there are other barriers on the premises:

In addition, and even though plaintiff did not personally encounter this

barrier, defendants place moveable obstructions (like barrels where

merchandise is stored) about the sales floor, which reduces the clear space

and path of travel in front of merchandise below that permitted by the ADA

and creating impediments to use by wheelchair users.

(Propd. Am. Compl., ¶ 17.) While an ADA claim may rely on barriers the plaintiff did not

personally encounter but which nevertheless deter him from using the premises, or deny him

equal access, Chapman v. Pier 1 Imports (U.S.), Inc., 631 F.3d 939, 951 (9 Cir. 2011) (en th

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banc), injunctive relief is limited to barriers that deny the plaintiff “full and equal enjoyment”

of the facilities, id., at 947, and the plaintiff is “likely to encounter on future visits,” id. at 951. 

In other words, barriers that are the same for everyone — whether handicapped or not ----

are not remediable under the ADA. For example, if the barrels and other items reduced the

available space so that everyone, and not just people in wheelchairs, had to take another

path, it would not amount to an ADA violation.

But more seriously, the allegations make clear Schutza has been to the premises

regularly, yet has never personally encountered any of these obstructions on the sales floor.

This suggests the items are there only temporarily or rarely, or else were placed in areas

Schutza has never wanted to go. It is possible the items are placed in the aisles while being

moved from one place to another, or for purposes of restocking the shelves. Temporary

barriers or obstacles of this type do not give rise to cognizable injuries under the ADA. See

Chapaman v. Pier 1 Imports (U.S., Inc.), 870 F. Supp. 2d 995, 1014 (E.D.Cal., 2012). See

also Cohen v. City of Culver City, 754 F.3d 690, 699 (9 Cir. 2014) (holding that “temporary th

obstructions do not violate the ADA,” unless they “persist beyond a reasonable period of

time”). If the barrels and other items are anything other than temporary or transitory

obstructions, the proposed amended complaint has failed to plead any facts that would

support such an inference. 

Because the proposed amended complaint does not state a cognizable federal claim,

the Court would not exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims, see United

Mine Workers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 726 (1966) (“if the [plaintiffs'] federal

claims are dismissed before trial, the state claims should be dismissed as well”), and the

entire complaint would be subject to dismissal. Permitting Schutza to file the proposed

amended complaint would be futile, and the motion for leave to amend (Docket no. 19) is

DENIED.

For the reasons set forth above, it appears the Court lacks jurisdiction over this case.

No later than October 20, 2014, Schutza must take one of the following three steps: 1) He

may, together with the remaining Defendant, jointly move to dismiss; 2) If County Motor Parts

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does not agree to a joint motion, he may move ex parte to dismiss the action; or 3) He must

show why the Court has jurisdiction. If he opts for the third choice, he must show cause by

filing a memorandum of points and authorities, which must not exceed five pages (not

including any lodged or attached material), and he must attach a proposed amended

complaint to it as an exhibit. The memorandum and proposed amended complaint must

clearly show why the Court has jurisdiction. If he files a memorandum, County Motor Parts

may file a response in opposition within 7 calendar days. No hearing will be held unless the

Court deems it necessary. If Schutza fails to do any of these three things, this action will be

dismissed without leave to amend.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: October 10, 2014

HONORABLE LARRY ALAN BURNS

United States District Judge

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