Molski

MEMORANDUM **

Levon Investments, LLC appeals the district court’s denial of Levon’s motion for attorneys’ fees and costs after the district court dismissed for lack of standing Jarek Molski’s claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. “‘On every writ of error or appeal, the first and fundamental question is that of jurisdiction, first, of this court, and then of the court from which the record comes.’ ” Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 94 , 118 S.Ct. 1003 , 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998) (quoting Great S. Fire Proof Hotel Co. v. Jones, 177 U.S. 449, 453 , 20 S.Ct. 690 , 44 L.Ed. 842 (1900)).

The district court dismissed Molski’s federal ADA claim for lack of Article III standing. Since the district court lacked jurisdiction over the underlying case or controversy from the outset, it also lacked jurisdiction to consider Levon’s motion for attorneys’ fees under the ADA’s fee-shifting provision. See Branson v. Nott, 62 F.3d 287, 292-93 (9th Cir.1995); In re Knight, 207 F.3d 1115 , 1117 (9th Cir.2000).

Ordinarily, the appropriate response to a motion for attorneys’ fees under such circumstances is dismissal. See Steel Co., 523 U.S. at…