Milan Kiser, et al. v. Chris Langer

On March 27, 2023, this Court granted the petition for writ of certiorari to the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the case, Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Deborah Laufer, 22-429 addressed to the question of whether a “tester” has Article III standing under Title 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. On December 5, 2023, in the wake of a series of improbable events, this Court vacated its order after the basis for the case disappeared. And with it went the opportunity for this Court to address a critical question at the center of a major Circuit split. Until now. This case, originating within the Ninth Circuit, presents, in unambiguous terms, the question of whether a “tester” has Article III standing to sue a place of public accommodation without a future intention to patronize that accommodation – the very question raised by Acheson. The Ninth Circuit has created a special class of litigants – testers – that (1) does not require an invasion of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized, and (b) actual or imminent; (2) does not require an injury that will be redressed by a favorable decision; and (3) does not require any interest in the goods or services offered. The questions presented are: 1. Can the Ninth Circuit’s creation of a special class of testers pursuing claims based on hypothetical interests survive scrutiny in the face of separation of