United States Reports/Volume 601/Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer
CASES ADJUDGED
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
AT
OCTOBER TERM, 2023
ACHESON HOTELS, LLC v. LAUFER
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR
THE FIRST CIRCUIT
No. 22–429. Argued October 4, 2023—Decided December 5, 2023
The Court granted review in this case to consider whether Deborah Laufer has Article III standing to sue hotels whose websites failed to state whether they have accessible rooms for the disabled as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, even if Laufer had no thought of staying at the hotels, much less booking a room. After a lower court sanctioned her lawyer, Laufer voluntarily dismissed her pending suits, including her case against Acheson Hotels, LLC, and fled a suggestion of mootness in this Court. Though Laufer’s case is moot, the circuit split on the issue briefed and argued in this Court is very much alive.
Held: This case is vacated as moot. The Court has the authority to address jurisdictional issues of mootness and standing in any order it chooses. See Sinochem Int’l Co. v. Malaysia Int’l Shipping Corp., 549 U. S. 422, 431. And while the Court is sensitive to Acheson’s concern about litigants manipulating this Court’s jurisdiction, the Court is not convinced that Laufer abandoned her case in an effort to evade the Court’s review. Pp. 4–6.
50 F. 4th 259, vacated and remanded.
Adam G. Unikowsky argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs were Lindsay C. Harrison, Sally A. Morris, and Andrianna D. Kastanek.
Erica L. Ross argued the cause for the United States as amicus curiae urging reversal. With her on the brief were Solicitor General Prelogar, Assistant Attorney General Clarke, Deputy Solicitor General Fletcher, Bonnie I. Robin-Vergeer, and Yael Bortnick.
Kelsi Brown Corkran argued the cause for respondent. With her on the briefs were Rupa Bhattacharyya, Amy L. Marshak, and Joseph W. Mead.[1]
- ↑ Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were fled for the Atlantic Legal Foundation et al. by Lawrence S. Ebner and Sarah Elizabeth Spencer; for The Buckeye Institute et al. by Larry J. Obhof, Jr., Robert Alt, and David C. Tryon; for the Center for Constitutional Responsibility by Steven P. Lehotsky, Andrew B. Davis, Karen R. Harned, and Drew F. Waldbeser; for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America et al. by Mark A. Perry, Jennifer B. Dickey, Jonathan D. Urick, and Thomas Pinder; for the Restaurant Law Center et al. by Dylan B. Carp and Angelo I. Amador; and for the Retail Litigation Center, Inc., et al. by Shay Dvoretzky, Parker Rider-Longmaid, Michael W. McTigue, Jr., Meredith C. Slawe, Jeremy Patashnik, Deborah R. White, and Jason D. Russell.
Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the Constitutional Accountability Center by Elizabeth B. Wydra and Brianne J. Gorod; for Disability Antidiscrimination Law Scholars by Hyland Hunt and Ruthanne M. Deutsch; for the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund et al. by Karla Gilbride, Amy Farr Robertson, and Maria Michelle Uzeta; for Fair Housing Organizations et al. by Reed Colfax, Lila Miller, Gemma Donofrio, Daniel Woofter, and Diane L. Houk; for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., et al. by Janai S. Nelson, Samuel Spital, Christopher Kemmitt, Michael Skocpol, David D. Cole, Sunu P. Chandy, Rachel E. Smith, Damon Hewitt, Jon Greenbaum, Thomas Silverstein, ReNika Moore, Sandra Park, Zachary L. Heiden, Jocelyn D. Larkin, Lindsay Nako, Karen L. Loewy, and Raymond P. Tolentino; for Public Citizen by Scott L. Nelson and Allison M. Zieve; and for Philip L. Schuler et al. by Michael M. Epstein, pro se.
Briefs of amici curiae were filed for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts et al. by Andrea Joy Campbell, Attorney General of Massachusetts, David C. Kravitz, Deputy State Solicitor, and Ann E. Lynch and David R. Rangaviz, Assistant Attorneys General, and by the Attorneys General for their respective jurisdictions as follows: William Tong of Connecticut, Brian L. Schwalb of the District of Columbia, Kwame Raoul of Illinois, Anthony G. Brown of Maryland, Matthew J. Platkin of New Jersey, Letitia James of New York, Ellen F. Rosenblum of Oregon, and Robert W. Ferguson of Washington; and for the National Association of Home Builders of the United States by Jeffrey B. Augello, Thomas J. Ward, and Felicia K. Watson.