February 14th, 2018

​US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions
Deutsch v. Annis Enterprises, Inc.

Docket: 17-50231
Opinion Date: February 8, 2018
Judge: Per Curiam
Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal, for want of Article III standing, plaintiff's claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Plaintiff, a paraplegic, alleged that defendant's parking lot did not have the number of spaces required by the ADA and lacked access ramps. In this case, defendant filed nearly 400 lawsuits in just over 300 days and could not remember a single establishment that he sued and then returned to. Therefore, plaintiff has failed to show any likelihood of future injury necessary to obtain equitable relief; the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing a contempt order fining counsel $2,500; and the district court did not wrongfully award attorney's fees where the district court only awarded costs.