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[PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 17-13170
________________________
D.C. Docket No. 0:17-cv-60663-RNS
DENNIS HAYNES,
individually,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
versus
HOOTERS OF AMERICA, LLC,
a foreign limited liability company,
Defendant - Appellee.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
________________________
(June 19, 2018)
Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, MARCUS, Circuit Judge, and ROSS, * District
Judge.
*
The Honorable Eleanor L. Ross, United States District Judge for the Northern District of
Georgia, sitting by designation.
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ROSS, District Judge:
At issue in this appeal is whether the plaintiff’s claims for declaratory and
injunctive relief pursuant to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42
U.S.C. § 12181, et seq., are moot due to the fact that the defendant entered into a
remediation plan as a result of a settlement between the defendant and a different
plaintiff in an almost identical earlier-filed suit. After thorough review, we
conclude that the plaintiff’s claims are not moot. Accordingly, we vacate and
remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I. Background
The essential facts, as set forth in the motion to dismiss record before the
district court, are undisputed. Dennis Haynes is blind and is a disabled person
within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et
seq. (“ADA”). In order to read and navigate internet websites, Haynes utilizes
Screen Reader Software, specifically, JAWS Screen Reader Software. Hooters of
America, LLC (“Hooters”) owns and operates a national chain of restaurants.
Hooters also operates a website, located at www.hooters.com. Prior to the
inception of this lawsuit, Haynes attempted to read and navigate Hooters’ website
but was unable to do so because the website was not compatible with Screen
Reader Software.
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On April 4, 2017, Haynes sued Hooters in the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, as
well as costs and attorneys’ fees, pursuant to Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C.
§ 12181, et seq. In pertinent part, Haynes requested that (1) the district court enter
an order directing Hooters to alter its website to make it accessible to, and usable
by, individuals with disabilities to the full extent required by Title III of the ADA
and (2) the district court enter an order directing Hooters to continually update and
maintain its website to ensure that it remains fully accessible to, and usable by,
visually impaired individuals.
Prior to the initiation of Haynes’ suit, on August 22, 2016, a different
plaintiff filed a separate and nearly identical website-inaccessibility lawsuit against
Hooters. Less than three weeks after the filing of that suit, the parties reached an
agreement and settled their dispute (“Gomez Settlement Agreement”). The Gomez
Settlement Agreement was executed on September 29, 2016. As part of the
Gomez Settlement Agreement, Hooters agreed to place an accessibility notice on
its website within six months and agreed to improve access on its website within
twelve months to conform with the WCAG 2.0 web access standard, the
recognized industry standard for website accessibility. 1
1
The Gomez Settlement Agreement does not define the term “accessibility notice,” but merely
states that Hooters shall use WCAG 2.0 as a guideline in making this improvement.
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While the Gomez Settlement Agreement is in effect, the only person who
can enforce any rights under it is the plaintiff in that case. After the agreement
expires in September 2018, no one will have any rights under it. In any event,
nothing in the agreement requires Hooters, either before or after it expires, to
continuously update and maintain its website to ensure it remains accessible to the
blind. Not only that but because the parties in Gomez voluntarily dismissed the
case on October 5, 2016, and the district court did not retain jurisdiction to enforce
the settlement agreement, the court could not order Hooters to abide by it.
Hooters moved to dismiss Haynes’ suit, arguing that, because Hooters was
in the process of actively implementing a remediation plan for its website, pursuant
to the Gomez Settlement Agreement, there was no live case or controversy and
Haynes’ claim must be dismissed on mootness grounds. At the time Hooters filed
its motion to dismiss in April 2017, Hooters stated that it was in the process of
remediating its website, that its website had been substantially updated, and that it
complied with the first aspect of its remediation plan by placing an accessibility
notice on its website. The district court granted Hooters’ motion and dismissed
Haynes’ complaint. The district court held that Haynes’ claims for declaratory and
injunctive relief pursuant to the ADA were moot, given that Hooters agreed to
remedy, in accordance with the Gomez Settlement Agreement, all of the website
inaccessibility issues Haynes complained of in his suit. Additionally, the district
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court determined that there were no allegations that the relief requested by Haynes
differed from the relief addressed by the Gomez Settlement Agreement, and, thus,
the district court found no live controversy warranting the court’s intervention.
This appeal followed.
II. Mootness
Whether a case is moot is a question of law that we review de novo. Sheely
v. MRI Radiology Network, P.A., 505 F.3d 1173, 1182 (11th Cir. 2007) (citing
Troiano v. Supervisor of Elections in Palm Beach Cty., Fla., 382 F.3d 1276, 1282
(11th Cir. 2004)).
In this appeal, we must consider whether, when a plaintiff sues a defendant
for certain relief, the defendant’s agreement with a third party to take actions
which grant the plaintiff some of the relief he seeks moots the plaintiff’s suit. As
we have explained,
Article III of the Constitution limits the jurisdiction of the federal
courts to the consideration of “Cases” and “Controversies.” . . . [A]
case is moot when the issues presented are no longer “live” or the
parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome. As this
Court has explained, put another way, a case is moot when it no
longer presents a live controversy with respect to which the court can
give meaningful relief.
Troiano, 382 F.3d at 1281-82 (citation omitted).
Hooters contends that by entering into the remediation plan pursuant to the
Gomez Settlement Agreement, Haynes’ case was moot because the remediation
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plan afforded Haynes all the relief he sought and could obtain; therefore, the
district court was unable to order any further meaningful relief. The Court
disagrees and finds that this case is not moot. Hooters’ assurance to an unrelated
third party to remediate its website does not alone moot Haynes’ claims for relief.
First, the Court notes that while Hooters may be in the process of updating
the accessibility of its website, there is nothing in the record demonstrating that
Hooters has successfully done so. Accordingly, it cannot be said that the issues are
no longer “live” or that the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the
outcome.
Second, some of the relief requested by Haynes remains outstanding and
could be granted by a court. Specifically, Haynes requested an injunction, one that
he may enforce against Hooters if Hooters does not bring its website into
compliance with the ADA. Relatedly, Haynes requested in his complaint that the
district court direct Hooters to continually update and maintain its website to
ensure that it remains fully accessible. Accordingly, even if Hooters’ website
becomes ADA compliant, Haynes seeks injunctive relief requiring Hooters to
maintain the website in a compliant condition. Thus, notwithstanding the fact, as
argued by Hooters and as found by the district court, that the Gomez Settlement
Agreement supplies Haynes with much of the relief he requested, there is still a
live controversy about whether Haynes can receive an injunction to force Hooters
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to make its website ADA compliant or to maintain it as such. Therefore, this case
is not moot. See Wright v. Giuliani, 230 F.3d 543, 547 (2d Cir. 2000) (finding that
although relief mandated in another case may remedy the conditions complained of
in the instant case, the instant case will not be moot provided the first decision did
not “grant the precise relief sought by the plaintiffs in this case”).
Finally, Haynes was not a party to the Gomez Settlement Agreement.
Consequently, if, for whatever reason, Hooters does not remediate its website in
accordance with the Gomez Settlement Agreement, Haynes will have no way of
enforcing the remediation plan. See Kennedy Bldg. Assocs. v. Viacom, Inc., 375
F.3d 731, 745 (8th Cir. 2004) (“If the suit were to be dismissed upon an agreement
between third parties to perform at some time in the future, if ‘some impediment
arises or some prolonged delay ensues’ in the planned performance, the plaintiff
would be ‘at square one.’”) (quoting Kostok v. Thomas, 105 F.3d 65, 66 (2d Cir.
1997)).
In sum, for all of the reasons stated herein, the Court finds that Haynes’
claims are not moot.
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III. Conclusion
Because the Court finds that Haynes’ complaint presents a live case or
controversy, Haynes’ case is not moot. We therefore vacate and remand the
judgment of the district court. 2
VACATED AND REMANDED.
2
Hooters filed a motion for sanctions against Haynes under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure
38 for filing a frivolous appeal. That motion is DENIED.
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