Theresa Brooke v. Greens Group Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

THERESA BROOKE, Case No. 5:23-cv-00950-SB-RAOx

Plaintiff,

v. ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

GREENS GROUP INC.,

Defendant.

Plaintiff Theresa Brooke, who requires the use of a wheelchair while traveling in public, filed this suit alleging that Defendant’s facilities impose physical barriers that impede her access, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Unruh Act. Dkt. No. 1.

Because Plaintiff’s Unruh Act claim is closely related to her ADA claim, the Court has authority to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the Unruh Act claim under 28 U.S.C. § 367(a). However, supplemental jurisdiction “is a doctrine of discretion, not of plaintiff’s right,” and district courts “can decline to exercise jurisdiction over pendent claims for a number of valid reasons.” City of Chi. v. Int’l Coll. of Surgeons, 522 U.S. 156, 172 (1997) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). This discretion is codified in Section 1367(c):

The district courts may decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a claim under subsection (a) if— (1) the claim raises a…