ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; DISMISSING ALL CLAIMS; AND DENYING MOTION TO DEEM PLAINTIFF VEXATIOUS
Before the Court are two motions by Defendants Del Taco, Inc. dba Del Taco # 342 and Leonard M. Kramer (“Defendants” or “Del Taco”): a motion for summary judgment and a motion to declare Plaintiff, Tony Harris, a vexatious litigant. 1 After reviewing the moving, opposing, and replying papers, hearing oral argument on Monday, April 18, 2005, and for the reasons stated below, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, DISMISSES all claims, and DENIES Defendants’ motion to deem Plaintiff vexatious.
Mr. Harris has brought an action against Del Taco, a fast food restaurant, for injunctive relief from violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 (1995) (“ADA”), and related state law claims for damages. These causes of action arise out of Mr. Harris’s visit to Del Taco # 342, located at 22859 Lake Forest Drive, Lake Forest, California on April 21, 2004 when he pulled off the highway to eat. Harris Dep., 29:9-10. Mr. Harris was in a wheelchair when he visited Del Taco due to the fact that Mr. Harris sustained a number of permanent injuries in the past as a result of a motorcycle accident. While visiting Del Taco # 342, Mr. Harris encountered at least three aspects of the restaurant that he found to be frustrating. First, Mr. Harris parked in the parking lot outside of the restaurant and had difficulty going from his car to the restaurant because the disabled access lane cut across the drive-through lane, which was full of traffic. Id. at 31:20-32:1. Second, when Mr. Harris attempted to use the restaurant’s restroom, Mr. Harris had difficulty transferring himself to the toilet because of the placement of the toilet paper dispenser near the grab bars. Id. at 32:3-8. Third, Mr. Harris had difficulty in finding a place to sit that would permit him to put his legs under the table. Id. at 33:6-11.
Mr. Harris also visited the same Del Taco on January 11, 2005, the day before his scheduled deposition. Id. at 35:14-16. Mr. Harris visited Del Taco on January 11, 2005 because “[he] know[s] where it is. It’s not very far from the airport. And there’s also a pharmacy right down the road from there, which [he] went over there and got some stuff also.” Id. at 19-22. Between Mr. Harris’s original visit to Del Taco on April 21, 2004 and the January 11, 2005 visit, Mr. Harris did not visit the Del Taco located in Lake Forest. Mr. Harris drove through the Lake Forest area, but did not visit the restaurant on that occasion. Id. at 36:18-37:4. 2 Additionally, Mr. Harris testified that he was not sure whether he had visited any Del Taco between April 21, 2004 and January 11, 2005. Id. at 30:24-31:6. 3 In opposition to the motion for summary judgment Mr. Harris submitted a declaration, which states in full:
I, Tony Harris, do hereby declare the following:
1. I have a disability placard issued by the State of California to park in disabled spaces.
2. I visited the Del Taco restaurant located at 22859 Lake Forest Road, in Lake Forest, California, on April 21, 2004, because I was traveling on the nearby freeway and wanted to get a bite to eat.
3. I frequently travel through the area while visiting my brother and would stop at the restaurant if I were hungry.
4. I would be more inclined to stop at the restaurant if it were accessible.
5. I never said that I have ‘no desire to return’ to the restaurant.
I declare under the penalty of perjury that the aforementioned facts are true and correct and if called upon to testify in the above matters, I could do so competently.
Harris Decl., p. 2. In Plaintiffs memorandum in opposition to the motion for summary judgment, Plaintiffs counsel asserts that Mr. Harris’s declaration is credible “[i]n light of the frequency that he visits the San Diego area, and the close proximity of the restaurant to the freeway between San Diego and Cottonwood.” Opp., p. 11. Although Plaintiffs have presented no evidence that Mr. Harris’s brother lives in San Diego, the Court assumes that to be true based on counsel’s assertion in the memorandum.
Mr. Harris’s residence, in Cottonwood, California, is approximately 573.66 miles (8 hours, 35 minutes) from Del Taco # 342 when traveling on Interstate Freeway Five (“the I-5”). 4 The distance between Mr. Harris’s residence and San Diego is approximately 650 miles on the 1-5. The distance between Del Taco # 342 and San Diego is approximately 78 miles on the 1-5.
II. MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
A. LEGAL STANDARD
Summary judgment is proper if “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c).
The Court must view the facts and draw inferences in the manner most favorable to the non-moving party.
United States v. Diebold, Inc.,
When the moving party meets its burden, the “adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the adverse party’s pleading, but the adverse party’s response, by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule, must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. If the adverse party does not so respond, summary judgment, if
“The general rule in the Ninth Circuit is that a party cannot create an issue of fact by an affidavit contradicting his prior deposition testimony.”
Kennedy v. Allied Mut. Ins. Co.,
B. MR. HARRIS LACKS STANDING TO ASSERT HIS CLAIM FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF UNDER THE ADA
The dispositive issue on this motion for summary judgment is whether Mr. Harris has a sufficient intent to return to Del Taco to establish that he will suffer an
imminent
injury in fact. Under the ADA, a private individual can sue for injunctive relief from a violation of the provisions of the ADA.
See
42 U.S.C. § 12188(a). To succeed on his claim for injunctive relief, Mr. Harris must, of course, satisfy Article Ill’s case or controversy requirement. “The party invoking federal jurisdiction bears the burden of establishing” standing.
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife,
To establish standing, Mr. Harris must demonstrate (1) that he has suffered an injury in fact; (2) that the injury is traceable to the challenged action of Del Taco, and (3) that the injury can be redressed by a favorable decision.
Id.
at 560-61,
In
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife,
Justice Scalia, writing for the Court, explained that a mere profession of an intent to do some act that may cause an injury at some indefinite time in the future is not sufficient to establish that injury is
imminent. Lujan v.' Defenders of Wildlife,
The Ninth Circuit, in
Pickem v. Holiday Quality Foods, Inc.,
[A] disabled individual who is currently deterred from patronizing a public accommodation due to a defendant’s failure to comply with the ADA has suffered ‘actual injury.’ Similarly, a plaintiff who is threatened with harm in the future because of existing or imminently threatened non-compliance with the ADA suffers ‘imminent injury.’
Id. at 1138. With respect to the imminence requirement, Judge William Fletcher, writing for a panel that also included Judges Thompson and Berzon, reasoned as follows:
Doran has visited Holiday’s Paradise store in the past and states that he has actual knowledge of the barriers to access at that store. Doran also statesthat he prefers to shop at Holiday markets and that he would shop at the Paradise market if it were accessible. This is sufficient to establish actual or imminent injury for purposes of standing.
Pickem,
Pickem
also cites with approval, albeit on a different issue, an' Eighth Circuit case,
Steger v. Franco, Inc.,
Although Mr. Harris’s complaint indicated that he would return to the Del Taco # 342 in the future if the alleged barriers were removed, the facts of the case indicate otherwise. In determining whether a plaintiffs likelihood of returning to a defendant is sufficient to confer standing, courts have, examined factors such as “(1) the proximity of the place of public accommodation' to plaintiffs residence, (2) plaintiffs past patronage of defendant’s business, (3) the definitiveness of plaintiffs plans to return, and (4) the plaintiffs frequency of travel near defendant.”
Molski v. Arby’s Huntington Beach,
The most obvious difficulty for Mr. Harris is the great distance between his residence and Del Taco #342 (573.66 miles). This distance initially suggests that, without some sort of explanation, Mr. Harris is
Mr. Harris’s argument is deficient for a number of reasons. First, the procedural problem with Mr. Harris’s explanation is that it comes to the Court by way of a declaration filed only in opposition to Del Taco’s motion for summary judgment. “The general rule in the Ninth Circuit is that a party cannot create an issue of fact by an affidavit contradicting his prior deposition testimony.”
Kennedy,
Even if the Court were to consider Mr. Harris’s declaration, it would not present compelling evidence of Mr. Harris’s purported desire to return to Del Taco # 342. It may be true that Mr. Harris, who lives in Cottonwood, frequently drives to visit his brother in San Diego. But Mr. Harris has presented no evidence that distinguishes Del Taco # 342 from any other fast-food restaurant located near the 1-5 between Cottonwood and San Diego. The mere fact that Mr. Harris frequently drives from Cottonwood to San Diego does not give Mr. Harris standing to sue every
At oral argument, counsel for Mr. Harris essentially urged the Court to carve out a fast food exception to the rule that plaintiffs who seek injunctive relief must demonstrate that they face a real and immediate threat of future harm. As support for that argument, counsel cites
Parr v.L&L Drive-Inn Restaurant,
Visiting a fast food restaurant, as opposed to a hotel or professional office, is not the sort of event that requires advance planning or the need for a reservation. Fast food restaurants ... do not take reservations. Therefore ... specification as to a date and time of returning to this public accommodation is impossible due to the nature of the event. Fast food patrons visit such restaurants at the spur of the moment. Once a person determines that he or she likes a fast food restaurant, that person’s return is on impulse.
Id. This passage from Parr presumably forms the basis for counsel’s argument that plaintiffs like Mr. Harris should be allowed to sue fast food restaurants regardless of whether the plaintiff has demonstrated any present intention to return. While the Court can accept the general notion that many people may visit fast food restaurants on a whim, the Court cannot create a special exception to the Article III standing doctrine for plaintiffs who sue fast food restaurants. The fact that people impulsively consume fast food only negates a plaintiffs ability to demonstrate intent to return by way of reservations or other definite plans. That fact cannot negate the requirement that a plaintiff must demonstrate that he or she has standing to assert a claim for injunctive relief. A plaintiff suing a fast food restaurant must simply demonstrate his or her intent to return some other way.
The plaintiff in Parr, for example, had “developed a taste for [defendant] L & L’s food and has visited various L & L restaurants across the island of Oahu. In particular, Plaintiff intends to visit the [defendant] Liliha L & L in the future.” Id. Mr. Harris’s apparent lack of predilection for Del Taco’s food distinguishes this case from Parr. Nowhere has Mr. Harris asserted that he has developed a taste for Del Taco. Mr. Harris, in his deposition, did not recollect whether he had visited any other Del Taco restaurants. Thus, Mr. Harris is unlike the plaintiff in Parr who demonstrated his intent to return to the restaurant by asserting that he especially enjoyed the defendant’s food. It is important to note that Mr. Harris need not love Del Taco food in order to sue any Del Taco restaurant. Mr. Harris could have demonstrated his intent to return in any number of ways. Nothing in the record indicates to the Court that Mr. Harris intends to return to Del Taco # 342.
Counsel for Mr. Harris also suggested that the fact that Mr. Harris returned to Del Taco # 342 once on the day before his deposition creates at least a triable issue of fact as to whether Mr. Harris intends to return to Del Taco
Thus, Mr. Harris lacks standing to assert a claim for injunctive relief under the ADA; the First Claim for Relief is DISMISSED. All remaining claims for relief arise under California state law. Accordingly, the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over those claims; they are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367(e)(3).
III. MOTION TO DEEM PLAINTIFF AND PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL VEXATIOUS
Because the Court has dismissed the federal claim for lack of jurisdiction and declined supplemental jurisdiction over the remainder of the claims, the Court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate Del Taco’s motion to deem Plaintiff and Plaintiffs counsel vexatious litigants. Accordingly, the motion is DENIED.
IV. DISPOSITION
For the reasons stated above, the First Claim for Relief is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. All remaining claims (Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth) are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Defendant’s motion to deem Plaintiff and Plaintiffs counsel vexatious is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Notes
. With their opposition, Plaintiff requested that the Court treat the opposition as a cross-motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff made no indication, however, that he complied with Local Rules 7-3 or 6-1. Thus, the Court simply considers the opposition to be a brief in opposition, and not a cross-motion for summary judgment.
. The testimony at Mr. Harris's deposition is as follows:
Mr. Ferrell: Okay. Between April 21st when you first visited the restaurant and January 11th when you went back to the restaurant yesterday, were you ever in the Lake Forest area again?
■ Mr. Harris: I drove through.
Q: Did you have any desire to visit the restaurant on that occasion?
A: No. I wasn’t hungry, sir.
Q: Okay. So between April 21st and yesterday, you haven't desired to go back to the specific Del Taco Number 342?
A: Correct, sir.
Harris Dep., 36:18-37:4.
. The testimony at the deposition was in response to an interrupted question as follows:
Mr. Ferrell: to January 11, 2005 And between that time of April 21, 2004 you haven’t visited Del Taco again?
Mr. Beauchane: Specifically the Del Taco on Lake Forest-
Mr. Ferrell: Any Del Taco.
Mr. Harris: I’m not too sure of that, sir.
Harris Dep., 30:24-31:6.
. Defendants have requested that the Court take judicial notice of the distance between Mr. Harris’s residence and Del Taco # 342. This distance is capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. See Fed.R.Evid. 201. Thus, the Court takes judicial notice of this distance.
. In assessing whether Mr. Harris has standing to sue, it is important to keep in mind that standing is determined as of the time of the filing of the complaint.
See Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidtaw Envtl. Servs. (TOC), Inc.,
