Yelapi v. DeSantis

487 F.Supp.3d 1278

Michael YELAPI, Patricia Sanchez, Jaime Mariona, Julia Michalka, and Disability Rights Florida, Plaintiffs,

v.Ronald DESANTIS, in his official capacity as Governor of Florida, and the Executive Office of the Governor, Defendants.

Case No. 4:20-cv-351-AW-MAF

United States District Court, N.D. Florida, Tallahassee Division.

Signed September 15, 2020

Leah Wiederhorn, The National Association of the Deaf US Litigation Department, Silver Springs, MD, Lauren Brittany Eversole, Disability Rights Florida, Tallahassee, FL, for Plaintiffs Michael Yelapi, Patricia Sanchez, Jaime Mariona, Julia Michalka.

Ann Marie Cintron-Siegel, Disability Rights Florida, Hollywood, FL, Leah Wiederhorn, The National Association of the Deaf US Litigation Department, Silver Springs, MD, Lauren Brittany Eversole, Disability Rights Florida, Tallahassee, FL, for Plaintiff Disability Rights Florida.

Lauren Brittany Eversole, Disability Rights Florida, Tallahassee, FL, for Plaintiff Carlos Aponte.

Blaine H. Winship, Nicholas Allen Primrose, Office of the Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, Colleen M. Ernst, Office of General Counsel Executive Office of the Governor, for Defendant Ronald Desantis.

Blaine H. Winship, Nicholas Allen Primrose, Office of the Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, for Defendant Executive Office of the Governor.

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

Allen Winsor, United States District Judge Disability Rights Florida ("DRF") and several deaf Floridians sued Governor Ron DeSantis and the Executive Office of the Governor, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. In short, their claim is that deaf Floridians are denied access to critical information about COVID-19, hurricanes, and other emergency situations because the Governor's press conferences do not always feature a sign language interpreter. Plaintiffs seek an order requiring live, televised, in-frame American Sign Language ("ASL") interpretation at all of the Governor's press conferences and news briefings. ECF No. 4 at 33. They moved for a preliminary injunction, the Governor¹ responded, and the court held a telephonic hearing. This order denies the motion.

I. THE RELEVANT FACTS ARE NOT IN DISPUTE.

Both sides submitted evidence. There is no dispute about any material fact at this stage, and the parties agreed no evidentiary hearing was needed.

A. The Governor Delivers Important Information at Press Briefings That Do Not Always Feature ASL Interpretation.

Citing COVID-19, the Governor issued a March 9, 2020 executive order declaring a state of emergency. ECF No. 4-1 at 22. Since then, the State of Florida—like the rest of the world—has been dealing with unprecedented circumstances. All the while, elected officials, experts, and others issued guidance and provided critical updates. The Governor held many press conferences for precisely these purposes. See ECF No. 21 at 3. At some of these conferences, an ASL interpreter accompanied him. At some, not.

The parties agree that the Governor now includes an ASL interpreter when he holds news briefings at the Capitol but that an ASL interpreter does not typically accompany the Governor when he holds press briefings outside Tallahassee. Id. ; ECF No. 25 at 1, 4. Plaintiffs have identified some 50 instances in which the Governor held a COVID-related press conference without ASL interpretation. ECF No. 4-1 at 35-40, Stachurski Decl.

The Governor will continue to hold press conferences featuring critical information not only about COVID, but also about other important issues, such as hurricanes or other disasters.

B. Plaintiffs Seek ASL Interpretation to Better Understand the Governor's Briefings.

DRF is an advocacy group for disabled Floridians, including the deaf,² and it is concerned about its constituents' ability to receive accurate information. Many have complained to DRF that they cannot understand information conveyed at the Governor's COVID briefings without ASL interpretation. ECF No. 4-1 at 2 ¶ 9, Cintron-Siegel Decl. DRF, in turn, sent letters and emails to the Governor's office requesting ASL at news briefings. Id. at 3-4 ¶¶ 10, 14-17, 20. DRF never received a response, and although there was ASL interpretation at some later briefings, other times there was not. Id. at 3-4 ¶¶ 11, 18-20.

The individual plaintiffs are four of the approximately 800,000 deaf individuals living in Florida. ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 8-9. Plaintiff Michael Yelapi is a 56-year-old deaf St. Petersburg resident. ECF No. 4-1 at 24 ¶ 1, Yelapi Decl. He is fluent in ASL and prefers it as his primary language. Id. at 24 ¶ 2. He has been frustrated because without an ASL interpreter, he cannot fully understand information provided at the Governor's briefings. Id. at 24 ¶ 3. Closed captioning is too fast for him, and he finds it unreliable. Id. at 25 ¶¶ 4, 10.

Yelapi works as a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Coordinator, which means he is responsible for providing COVID information to other deaf citizens. Id. at 25 ¶¶ 5-6. When he could not understand information at a press briefing, he relied on other sources to gather the information for his clients and himself. Id. at 25 ¶ 7. This led to delays in his providing important information, including information about COVID testing, whether others should wear masks or social distance, and whether businesses were open. Id. at 25 ¶ 8. Yelapi believes he would better understand the briefings with televised ASL interpretation. Id. at 25 ¶ 11.

Plaintiff Patricia Sanchez is a 56-year-old deaf Tampa resident. Id. at 27 ¶ 1, Sanchez Decl. She is fluent in Spanish, but her preferred, primary language is ASL. Id. at 27 ¶¶ 2-3. She could not understand the Governor's news briefing on "Reopening Florida" and had to rely on the newspaper and other sources for the information. Id. at 28 ¶ 6. Sanchez has found that closed captioning is not always accurate or reliable, and she believes she would better understand the Governor's briefings if they were televised with an ASL interpreter. Id. at 28 ¶¶ 10-12.

Plaintiff Jaime Mariona is a 45-year-old deaf Kissimmee resident. Id. at 30 ¶ 1, Mariona Decl. He is fluent in ASL, his primary language. Id. at 30 ¶ 2. He has watched the Governor's press briefings since March and has complained to the Governor's office about the lack of ASL. Id. at 30 ¶¶ 3-4. Mariona felt overwhelmed when he was unable to understand the Governor's briefings, including those about the State's reopening. He fears he will miss important health and safety information without an ASL interpreter. Id. at 31 ¶¶ 5-7. He finds closed captioning unclear and hard to follow, and he believes he would understand the briefings better through ASL. Id. at 31 ¶¶ 8-9.

Plaintiff Julia Michalka is a 48-year-old deaf Tampa resident. Id. at 32 ¶ 1, Michalka Decl. Her first language is Slovakian, but she also is fluent in ASL, her preferred language. Id. at 32 ¶¶ 2-3. Michalka has watched several of the Governor's briefings but has had difficulty understanding them. Id. at 32-33 ¶¶ 4-6. Closed captioning is not always available, and, even if it were, she does not trust it and considers it unreliable and inaccurate. Id. at 33 ¶ 7.

Like Yelapi, Michalka works with deaf Floridians. Some of them only communicate with ASL and have had difficulty understanding the Governor's briefings. Id. at 33 ¶¶ 8-10. Michalka has conducted her own research to find what she missed at briefings, sometimes learning information 24 to 48 hours after it was announced. Id. at 33 ¶¶ 11-12. Michalka believes she could better understand the Governor's briefings if they included a televised ASL interpreter. Id. at 33 ¶ 13.

C. The Governor's Office Does Not Control How the Media Covers His Press Briefings.

The Governor's office itself does not control how (or if) media companies broadcast the briefings. ECF No. 21 at 14-15. For example, if the Governor conducts a briefing with an ASL interpreter, a news network may broadcast the briefing at a wide angle showing the Governor and the interpreter together in the same box, or it may show the Governor and the interpreter in separate boxes (with a closer view of each), or it may not display the interpreter at all, focusing solely on the Governor. See id.

The Florida Channel, which the State funds, broadcasts live and recorded programing of public events, including the Governor's press conferences. ECF No. 21 at 42 ¶ 2, Switzer Decl. Based in Tallahassee, The Florida Channel records and broadcasts the Governor's briefings at the Capitol. Id. at 43-44 ¶ 4. That broadcast can include an ASL interpreter if one is present. Id. at 43-44 ¶ 4. When covering the Governor's out-of-Tallahassee conferences, though, The Florida Channel merely retransmits feeds other networks provide. Id. at 44 ¶ 5. Therefore, if those networks' feeds do not display an ASL interpreter, The Florida Channel's broadcast will likewise display no ASL interpreter. Id.³

* * *

With these facts—established for purposes of the preliminary injunction motion—I now turn to the applicable law.

II. A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION REQUIRES A SUBSTANTIAL SHOWING.

A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary and drastic remedy, and no court may grant one unless the movant clearly establishes entitlement. ACLU of Fla., Inc. v. Miami-Dade Cty. Sch. Bd. , 557 F.3d 1177, 1198 (11th Cir. 2009). Because preliminary injunction motions often turn on undeveloped records, it can be difficult for movants to meet this high standard. Siegel v. LePore , 234 F.3d 1163, 1175 (11th Cir. 2000) (en banc). Accordingly, preliminary injunctions are usually the exception, not the rule. Id. at 1176.

To obtain a preliminary injunction, a movant must clearly establish (1) a substantial likelihood of success on the merits, (2) that it will suffer irreparable injury without an injunction, (3) that the threatened injury outweighs damage the injunction may inflict on the nonmovant, and (4) that the injunction would not be adverse to public interest....