UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT In re: TSAY JBR LLC, No. 24-5234 ___________________ D.C. No. 2:23-cv-07378- TSAY JBR LLC, DMG-AJR Petitioner, OPINION v. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA,

Respondent, THERESA BROOKE, a married woman dealing with her sole and separate claim,

Real Party in Interest.

Petition for a Writ of Mandamus

Argued and Submitted February 7, 2025 Phoenix, Arizona

Filed May 13, 2025 2 TSAY JBR LLC V. USDC FOR THE CENT. DIST. OF CA

Before: Michael Daly Hawkins, Richard R. Clifton, and Bridget S. Bade, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Clifton

SUMMARY *

Right to Trial by Jury / Mandamus

The panel granted a petition for a writ of mandamus and directed the district court to set for jury trial an action for statutory damages under § 52(a) of California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. Theresa Brooke alleged that architectural barriers deterred her from entering a hotel. She sued the hotel’s owner, Tsay JBR, LLC, under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Unruh Act. On summary judgment, the district court concluded that Tsay JBR had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Because Brooke established an ADA violation, she also necessarily established an Unruh Act violation. As to statutory damages under the Unruh Act, there remained a factual issue whether Brooke personally encountered the violation or was deterred by it. The district court scheduled a bench trial, concluding that the Seventh Amendment right to a trial by jury does not attach to claims for statutory damages under the Unruh Act.

* This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. TSAY JBR LLC V. USDC FOR THE CENT. DIST. OF CA 3

The panel held that so long as a case involves a legal claim, the right to a jury trial attaches, even if the case also seeks equitable relief. The panel determined that Brooke’s claim was legal because, compared to 18th-century actions brought in the courts of England, it resembled a legal action under English public accommodations law. In addition, the remedy Brooke sought was legal in nature because an award of statutory damages under the Unruh Act is a penalty that advances punitive and deterrent purposes. Because both the historical analog and the nature of the remedy revealed that Brooke’s claim was legal, the panel held that the Seventh Amendment entitles parties in federal court to a jury trial on a claim for statutory damages under § 52(a) of the Unruh Act.

COUNSEL James S. Link, Law Office of James S. Link, Pasadena, California, for Petitioner. Peter K. Strojnik, Law Offices of Peter Strojnik, Phoenix, Arizona, for Real Party in Interest. 4 TSAY JBR LLC V. USDC FOR THE CENT. DIST. OF CA

OPINION CLIFTON, Circuit Judge:

The Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that in “[s]uits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved.” In this case we consider whether a defendant in an action for statutory damages under section 52(a) of California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act is entitled to a jury trial. We answer that question in the affirmative, grant the petition for a writ of mandamus, and direct the district court to set the matter for jury trial. I. Background Plaintiff Theresa Brooke is a woman with disabilities who uses a wheelchair. Along with her husband, she frequents California hotels to test their complia