Brittney Mejico v. Boat U.S., Inc.
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
I. Background1
This case is one of many in this district filed by plaintiff’s counsel alleging that various defendants failed to make their websites accessible to the visually impaired. They have all followed the same pattern: (1) the plaintiff sues in state court alleging a single claim under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act; (2) the defendant removes the case to federal court, arguing that there is federal-question jurisdiction because the Unruh Act incorporates the Americans with Disabilities Act; and (3) upon the plaintiff’s motion to remand, the court finds there is no federal- question jurisdiction and remands the case. This case followed that pattern, with the additional step that the Court decided that an award of attorney fees and costs to the plaintiff was now warranted. The lawyers for the parties are very familiar with each other because they have been litigating many of these website accessibility cases – several of them before the Court. Given the string of remands, defense counsel lacked an objectively reasonable basis for removing this case. For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS IN PART the request for attorney fees and costs.