Melanies Delapaz v. Lomita Commons LLC, 2:25-cv-04259

Melanie Delapaz, a wheelchair user, sued Lomita Commons LLC, alleging that physical barriers at defendant's facilities violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Unruh Act.
The Unruh Act claim is closely related to the ADA claim, both arising from the same alleged barriers.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a), federal courts can exercise supplemental jurisdiction over related state law claims but may decline to do so under certain circumstances.
California enacted reforms to the Unruh Act to curb abusive, high-frequency litigation, leading many plaintiffs to file claims in federal court to circumvent these protections.
The Ninth Circuit, in Arroyo v. Rosas, acknowledged that exercising supplemental jurisdiction over Unruh Act claims can undermine California's legislative intent.
The court has not yet ruled on the merits and is now considering whether to decline supplemental jurisdiction over the Unruh Act claim at this early stage.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether to retain supplemental jurisdiction over the Unruh Act claim	Not yet provided; plaintiff must show cause	Not specified in this order	Court likely to decline supplemental jurisdiction unless plaintiff responds with good cause.
Impact of high-frequency ADA litigation on state and federal comity	Not yet addressed	Not specified in this order	Retention may thwart state reforms, per Ninth Circuit guidance.
Timing for declining supplemental jurisdiction	Not addressed	Not specified	Proper to decline early, before merits are reached (distinguishing Arroyo).
Plaintiff's status as high-frequency litigant affecting applicable procedure	To be addressed in required filings	Not specified	Plaintiff must provide declarations regarding this status.

City of Chi. v. Int’l Coll. of Surgeons, 522 U.S. 156 (district courts have discretion to decline supplemental jurisdiction under § 1367(c))
Arroyo v. Rosas, 19 F.4th 1202 (9th Cir. 2021) (retention of supplemental jurisdiction over ADA-based Unruh Act claims can thwart California's litigation reforms and grounds for exceptional circumstances under § 1367(c)(4))