Opinion
CIV. NO. 2:14-1263 WBS KJN
01-07-2015
CECIL SHAW, Plaintiff, v. ERNIE'S GENERAL STORE, INC., et al., Defendants.
ORDER RE: MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT
Plaintiff Cecil Shaw brought this action under the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101, et seq., and related California law, alleging that defendants Ernie's General Store, Inc., and Ernest Giannecchini failed to remove barriers preventing plaintiff's access to a public accommodation.
Plaintiff now moves pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 15 for leave to file a First Amended Complaint ("FAC") adding additional alleged barriers to his access. (Docket No. 14.) "[A] party may amend its pleading only with the opposing party's written consent or the court's leave. The court should freely give leave when justice so requires." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). Defendants have not filed an opposition or statement of non-opposition as required by Local Rule 230(c).
A plaintiff who has established standing to sue under the ADA regarding at least one barrier to access "may, in one suit, permissibly challenge all barriers in that public accommodation that are related to his or her specific disability." Doran v. 7-Eleven, Inc., 524 F.3d 1034, 1047 (9th Cir. 2008). The plaintiff "need not have personally encountered all the barriers that bar his access to the . . . store in order to seek an injunction to remove those barriers." Pickern v. Holiday Quality Foods, Inc., 293 F.3d 1133, 1137-38 (9th Cir. 2002).
Plaintiff represents that the additional barriers he seeks to add to his Complaint were not identified until after a consultant conducted a site inspection on October 10, 2014, and wrote a report identifying them. (Pl.'s Mem. at 2 (Docket No. 14-1).) Moreover, plaintiff indicated in the Joint Status Report filed by the parties on September 15, 2014, that he would seek amendment after conducting this inspection. (JSR at 2 (Docket No. 8).)
Good cause appearing therefor, IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that plaintiffs' unopposed motion for leave to file a FAC be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED. Dated: January 7, 2015
/s/_________
WILLIAM B. SHUBB
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE