Judge: Peter A. Hernandez, Case: 21PSCV00915, Date: 2022-08-18 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21PSCV00915    Hearing Date: August 18, 2022    Dept: O

Plaintiff Rebecca Castillo’s Application for Default Judgment is DENIED without prejudice.

 

Background   

 

Plaintiff Rebecca Castillo (“Plaintiff”) is a visually-impaired and legally blind person who

requires screen-reading software to read website content using a computer. Plaintiff alleges that

Royal Bee, Inc. (“Royal Bee”) has failed to design, construct, maintain and operate its

website to be fully accessible to and independently usable by Plaintiff and other blind or

visually-impaired people.

 

On November 5, 2021, Plaintiff filed a complaint, asserting a cause of action against Defendant and Does 1-10 for:

 

  1. Violations of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, California Civil Code § 51 et seq.


On November 17, 2021, Plaintiff filed an “Amendment to Complaint,” wherein Exclusive Label Inc. (“ELI”) was named in lieu of Doe 1.


On December 23, 2021, Plaintiff dismissed Royal Bee, without prejudice.

 

On March 22, 2022, ELI’s default was entered.

 

An Order to Show Cause Re: Default Judgment is set for August 18, 2022.

 

Discussion

 

Plaintiff’s Application for Default Judgment is denied without prejudice. The following defects are noted:

 

  1. Plaintiff has failed to dismiss Does 1-50.

  2. Plaintiff has failed to attach any documentary evidence in support of her declaration. For instance, Plaintiff represents, inter alia, that the homepage of www.royalbee.buzz “has graphics, links, and buttons that are not labeled or are incorrectly labeled, or lack alternative text (‘Alt-text’) . . . Alt—text does not change the visual presentation, but instead a text box shows when the cursor moves over the picture.” (Plaintiff's Decl., ¶ 5.) Plaintiff has not provided the court with any screen shots of the website reflecting same. Plaintiff also represents that she “encountered multiple unlabeled or mislabeled buttons and links,” “multiple pages containing navigational headings” and “an inaccessible checkout system” (Id., ¶¶ 6-8), but again has not provided screenshots of same.