Doug Wander v. Jack S. Kaus Irene B. Kaus

Doug Wander appeals the district court’s dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction of his disability discrimination 14533 claims under the California Disabled Person’s Act (DPA). We hold today that there is no federal-question jurisdiction over a lawsuit for damages brought under California’s Disabled Person’s Act, even though the California statute makes a violation of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act a violation of state law. Congress intended that there be no federal cause of action for damages for a violation of Title III of the ADA. To exercise federal-question jurisdiction in these circumstances would circumvent the intent of Congress. Federal-question jurisdiction is not created merely because a violation of federal law is an element of a state law claim.

I. Factual Background

Doug Wander is quadriplegic and requires the use of a van and driver to travel in public. Jack and Irene Kaus are the former owners of Mangrove Square, a business complex containing, among other tenants, a Kinko’s Copy Center.

Wander, an attorney, visited Kinko’s on numerous occasions to make copies of legal documents. He alleged that each time he entered the square, he…