Argued
and Submitted October 12, 2018 Pasadena, California
Appeal
from the United States District Court No.
2:16-cv-06599-SJO-FFM for the Central District of California
S. James Otero, District Judge, Presiding
Joseph
R. Manning (argued) and Michael J. Manning, Manning Law APC,
Newport Beach, California, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Gregory Francis Hurley (argued) and Bradley J. Leimkuhler,
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, Costa Mesa,
California, for Defendant-Appellee.
Jessica Paulie Weber (argued) and Eve L. Hill, Brown
Goldstein & Levy LLP, Baltimore, Maryland, for Amici
Curiae National Federation of the Blind, American Council of
the Blind, American Foundation for the Blind, Association of
Late Deafened Adults, California Council of the Blind,
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers,
Disability Rights Advocates, Disability Rights California,
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, National
Association of the Deaf, National Disability Rights Network,
National Federation of the Blind of California, Washington
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs,
and World Institute on Disability.
Stephanie N. Moot and Carol C. Lumpkin, K&L Gates LLP,
Miami, Florida; Martin S. Kaufman, Executive VP and General
Counsel, Atlantic Legal Foundation, Harrison, New York; for
Amicus Curiae The Atlantic Legal Foundation.
Stephanie Martz, National Retail Federation, Washington,
D.C., for Amicus Curiae National Retail Federation.
Kathleen McGuigan and Deborah White, Retail Litigation
Center, Inc., Arlington, Virginia, for Amicus Curiae Retail
Litigation Center, Inc.
Felicia Watson and Jeffrey B. Augello, National Association
of Home Builders of the United States, Washington, D.C., for
Amicus Curiae National Association of Home Builders of the
United States.
Janet
Galeria and Warren Postman, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center,
Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae Chamber of Commerce of
the United States of America.
Angelo
I. Amador, Restaurant Law Center, Washington, D.C., for
Amicus Curiae Restaurant Law Center.
Elizabeth Milito, Karen R. Harned, National Federation of
Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, Washington,
D.C., for Amicus Curiae National Federation of Independent
Business Small Business Legal Center.
Christine Mott, International Council of Shopping Centers,
New York, New York, for Amicus Curiae International Council
of Shopping Centers.
Justin
Vermuth, American Resort Development Association, Washington,
D.C., for Amicus Curiae American Resort Development
Association.
Mary
Caroline Miller, Kevin W. Shaughnessy, and Joyce Ackerbaum
Cox, Baker & Hostetler LLP, Orlando, Florida; John B.
Lewis, Baker & Hostetler LLP, Cleveland, Ohio; for Amici
Curiae Restaurant Law Center, American Bankers Association,
American Hotel & Lodging Association, American Resort
Development Association, Asian American Hotel Owners
Association, Chamber of Commerce of the United States of
America, International Council of Shopping Centers,
International Franchise Association, National Association of
Convenience Stores, National Association of Home Builders of
the United States, National Association of Realtors, National
Association of Theater Owners, National Federation of
Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, National
Multifamily Housing Council, National Retail Federation,
Retail Litigation Center.
Before: Paul J. Watford and John B. Owens, Circuit Judges,
and Jennifer G. Zipps, [*] District Judge.
SUMMARY
[**]
Americans
with Disabilities Act
The
panel reversed the district court's dismissal of an
action under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act
and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, alleging that
Domino's Pizza's website and mobile application were
not fully accessible to a blind or visually impaired person.
The
panel held that the ADA applied to Domino's website and
app because the Act mandates that places of public
accommodation, like Domino's, provide auxiliary aids and
services to make visual materials available to individuals
who are blind. Even though customers primarily accessed the
website and app away from Domino's physical restaurants,
the panel stated that the ADA applies to the services
of a public accommodation, not services in
a place of public accommodation. The panel stated that the
website and app connected customers to the goods and services
of Domino's physical restaurants.
The
panel held that imposing liability on Domino's under the
ADA would not violate the company's Fourteenth Amendment
right to due process. The panel held that the statute was not
impermissibly vague, and Domino's had received fair
notice that its website and app must comply with the ADA.
Further, the plaintiff did not seek to impose liability on
Domino's for failure to comply with the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, private industry standards for
website accessibility. Rather, an order requiring compliance
with WCAG 2.0 was a possible equitable remedy. Finally, the
lack of specific regulations, not yet promulgated by the
Department of Justice, did not eliminate Domino's
statutory duty.
The
panel held that the district court erred in invoking the
prudential doctrine of primary jurisdiction, which allows
courts to stay proceedings or to dismiss a complaint without
prejudice pending the resolution of an issue within the
special competence of an administrative agency. The panel
reasoned that the DOJ was aware of the issue, and its
withdrawal of an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking meant
that undue delay was inevitable. The delay was needless
because the application of the ADA to the facts of this case
was well within the district court's competence. The
panel remanded the case to the district court.
OPINION
OWENS
JUDGE
Plaintiff
Guillermo Robles, a blind man, appeals from the district
court's dismissal of his complaint alleging violations of
the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101,
and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act (UCRA),
California Civil Code § 51. Robles alleged that
Defendant Domino's Pizza, LLC, (Domino's) failed to
design, construct, maintain, and operate its website and
mobile application (app) to be fully accessible to him. We
have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we reverse
and remand.
I.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Robles
accesses the internet using screen-reading software, which
vocalizes visual information on websites. Domino's
operates a website and app that allows customers to order
pizzas and other products for ...