Aimee Ray, et al v. Washington State Department of Health and Human Services, a government agency, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, a government agency

• Court: District Court, W.D. Washington
• Decided: June 1, 2026
• Docket: 2:23-cv-00465
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

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4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA 7 AIMEE RAY, et al, Case No. 2:23-cv-00465-TMC 8 Plaintiffs, ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR LEAVE 9 TO AMEND v. 10 WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT 11 OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, a 12 government agency, WASHINGTON STATE 13 DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND 14 HEALTH SERVICES, a government agency, 15 WENDY LONG, an individual, SONYA 16 SANDERS, an individual, 17 Defendants. 18

19 I. INTRODUCTION 20 This case arises out of Plaintiffs’ requests for religious exemptions from Defendant 21 Washington State Department of Social and Health Services’ (DSHS) implementation of a 22 COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all state employees. Plaintiffs sued DSHS, along with DSHS 23 24 1 employees Wendy Long and Sonya Sanders, alleging that their application of the vaccine 2 mandate violated federal and state law. 3 On July 17, 2025, the Court granted Defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings

4 but also granted Plaintiffs’ request for leave to file a motion to amend their complaint a final 5 time. See Dkt. 73. The Court set a deadline of July 31 for Plaintiffs’ motion, required Plaintiffs to 6 include a copy of their proposed amended complaint with the filing, and warned Plaintiffs that 7 [i]f the proposed amendments do not cure the deficiencies explained in the Order [granting judgment on the pleadings], the Court will deny the motion to amend as 8 futile, dismiss the federal claims in the operative complaint with prejudice, continue to decline supplemental jurisdiction over the state claims, and enter judgment in 9 favor of Defendants. Id. at 2–3. 10 On July 31, 2025, instead of filing their promised motion, Plaintiffs requested an 11 extension, explaining that they needed more time to address new Ninth Circuit decisions. Dkt. 76 12 at 1–2. Reluctantly, and over Defendants’ opposition (Dkt. 78), the Court found good cause to 13 grant the extension to Plaintiffs’ requested deadline of August 15. Dkt. 80. Yet on August 15, 14 instead of the motion for leave to amend, Plaintiffs filed two new motions—the first asking the 15 Court to “revise” its order granting judgment on the pleadings (Dkt. 81), and the second asking 16 for yet another extension to file the motion for leave to amend until after the Court ruled on the 17 first motion (Dkt. 82). 18 Once more, and again over the Defendants’ opposition (Dkts. 87–88), the Court 19 reluctantly agreed to give Plaintiffs a final shot. Dkt. 91. The Court’s order allowed Plaintiffs a 20 chance to plead claims for injunctive relief against the individual defendants, on the condition 21 that the proposed amended complaint “specifically identify which plaintiffs are seeking 22 injunctive relief in the form of reinstatement” and “include sufficient allegations of personal 23 participation by the individual defendants in violating the constitutional rights of those individual 24 1 plaintiffs.” Id. The Court also warned Plaintiffs that their motion “is due no later than 11/3/2025 2 and no further extensions will be granted. The Court will immediately dismiss the case as 3 explained in Dkt. 73 if the motion is untimely.” Id.

4 The Plaintiffs filed their motion for leave to amend and a redline of a proposed amended 5 complaint as the clock neared midnight on the due date of November 3, 2025. Dkt. 92. The Court 6 accepted that motion as timely filed. Dkt. 93. But the next day, November 4, Plaintiffs submitted 7 a substantively different version of their proposed amendment, misleadingly labeled as an 8 “errata,” with no attempt to explain the untimely filing to the Court or seek permission to file it. 9 Dkt. 94. This filing, and the ongoing disrespect for the Court’s orders and deadlines that it 10 embodies, will not be accepted. The Clerk will be directed to strike Dkt. 94 from the docket, and 11 the Court will consider only the motion for leave and proposed amendment that were timely 12 filed.1 13 For the reasons explained further below, that proposed amendment has not cured the 14 deficiencies that the Court previously identified in its order granting Defendants’ motion for 15 judgment on the pleadings. It does not contain plausible federal claims, and allowing further 16 amendment would be futile. Because Plaintiffs have not shown a basis for leave to amend, all 17 federal claims from the operative second amended complaint (Dkt. 26) are DISMISSED WITH 18 PREJUDICE. The Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state-law claims 19 and those claims are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. If Plaintiffs wish to continue 20 pursuing their state-law claims, they may do so in state court. 21

22 1 After Plaintiffs filed their motion, the parties sought an agreed extension, and the briefing was ultimately complete in December 2025. See Dkts. 95–99. By that point, the Court had begun to 23 experience an unprecedented wave of immigration habeas petitions arising from the executive’s change in detention policies and enforcement priorities that has not yet abated, leading to the 24 regrettable delay in resolving this motion. 1 II. BACKGROUND Plaintiffs first filed this case in March 2023. Dkt. 1. They amended their complaint once 2 in September 2023 and again in May 2024. Dkts. 19, 26. In November 2024, the deadline for 3 amending pleadings passed. Dkt. 32. In March 2025, Defendants moved for judgment on the 4 pleadings. Dkt. 53. The parties agreed to a briefing schedule under which briefing was completed 5 in May, and the Court held oral argument in July. Dkts. 60, 66, 72. 6 In Plaintiffs’ response to the motion for judgment on the pleadings, they requested leave 7 to amend and included a proposed amended complaint. See Dkt. 61 at 1; Dkt. 61-1. But at oral 8 argument, Plaintiffs’ counsel conceded that proposed complaint was an “incorrect filing” that 9 Plaintiffs “would withdraw.” Dkt. 77 at 9–10. Instead, Plaintiffs asked “to be able to bring a 10 formal motion to amend,” which would propose “a very different Complaint.” Id. at 10. Plaintiffs 11 also represented to the Court that they would not attempt to re-plead statutory claims under 12 Title VII or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), after acknowledging in a comment 13 bubble in their proposed amended complaint that their clients “have no Title VII claims — no 14 timely complaints brought following issuance of right to sue letters.” See id. at 7, 10, 20; 15 Dkt. 61-1 at 77. Plaintiffs’ counsel ultimately asked for “a short timeline to bring a motion to 16 amend to have that opportunity to do a one shot at a substantive amendment to cure some of the 17 deficiencies that have been raised and proceed accordingly.” Dkt. 77 at 11. 18 The Court granted Plaintiffs’ request. In its Order granting judgment on the pleadings, the 19 Court first dismissed with prejudice only claims that Plaintiffs conceded could be dismissed: 20 their Takings Clause claim and their federal claims against DSHS and against Long and Sanders 21 in their official capacities. See Dkt. 73 at 9; Dkt. 61 at 9 (“Plaintiffs concede that their claims for 22 violation of federal constitutional rights . . . as applied to the State (i.e., DSHS) or to its agents 23 (Individual Defendants) in their official capacities, may be dismissed . . . .”), 15 (“The 24 1 [Plaintiffs] concede . . . that their Takings Clause claim may be dismissed to narrow the issues 2 going forward.”). The Court then dismissed the remaining federal claims against Sanders and 3 Long in their personal capacities based on qualified immunity and Plaintiffs’ failure to

4 sufficiently allege personal participation by those defendants in a constitutional violation. 5 Dkt. 73 at 9–14. But the Court dismissed those claims without prejudice to allow Plaintiffs to file 6 a motion for leave to amend as they requested. Id. at 14–16. 7 Consistent with their representation that they needed only a “short timeline,” Dkt. 77 at 8 11, the Court gave Plaintiffs two weeks to file their motion, setting a deadline of July 31, 2025. 9 Dkt. 73 at 16. The Order specifically warned Plaintiffs: 10 The proposed amended complaint must include both a clean copy and a redline version showing changes from the second amended complaint. If the proposed 11 amendments do not cure the deficiencies explained in this Order, the Court will deny the motion to amend as futile, dismiss the federal claims in the operative 12 complaint with prejudice, continue to decline supplemental jurisdiction over the state claims, and enter judgment in favor of Defendants. 13 Id. 14 But on July 31, rather than file their motion for leave to amend, Plaintiffs requested an 15 extension of time. Dkt. 76. Plaintiffs represented that they needed additional time to revise their 16 proposed complaint in light of two Ninth Circuit decisions issued on July 24 and 31. Id. at 1–2. 17 Plaintiffs asked for an extension to August 15, “so that a product is provided to the Court which 18 considers this new authority, does not require additional motions practice to conform to the 19 same, and comports with [the] undersigned’s duties to the Court.” Id. at 5 (emphasis added). 20 Over Defendants’ opposition, Dkt. 78, the Court granted the extension to August 15. Dkt. 80. 21 Yet on August 15, the motion for leave to amend again failed to make an appearance. 22 Instead, Plaintiffs filed two new motions. The first, styled a “Motion to Revise Interlocutory 23 Order,” was really a motion for reconsideration of the Court’s order dismissing with prejudice 24 1 the official capacity claims that Plaintiffs had conceded could be dismissed. See Dkt. 81 at 1. 2 Plaintiffs argued that the Ninth Circuit’s en banc decision in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc. 3 v. Carvalho, 148 F.4th 1020 (9th Cir. 2025) was intervening precedent that should allow them to

4 unwind their concession that the official capacity claims against Long and Sanders could be 5 dismissed. See id. at 1–4. The second motion sought yet another extension of time, asking that 6 Plaintiffs be allowed to wait to file their motion for leave to amend until after the Court ruled on 7 their motion for reconsideration. See Dkt. 82. Defendants opposed both motions (Dkts. 87, 88), 8 and Plaintiffs replied (Dkts. 89, 90). 9 To give Plaintiffs all benefit of the doubt, and in light of the liberality surrounding leave 10 to amend, the Court granted their motions and set a final deadline for the proposed amendment: 11 November 3, 2025. Dkt. 91. Due to the pattern of failing to adhere to the Court’s deadlines, the 12 order warned: “The Court will immediately dismiss the case as explained in Dkt. 73 if the

13 motion is untimely.” Id. 14 This time, Plaintiffs filed their motion for leave to amend—but just barely. The ECF 15 filing notification came through at 12:35 AM on November 4, but maintained a filing date of 16 November 3, indicating that Plaintiffs’ counsel began the ECF filing process before midnight. To 17 avoid confusion, the Court entered a minute order early on November 4 confirming that it would 18 consider the motion and attached proposed amended complaint as timely filed. Dkt. 93. The 19 motion also failed to include a clean copy of the proposed amended complaint along with the 20 redlined copy, as the Court had previously ordered. See Dkt. 73 at 16. 21 Yet later that day, without any attempt at explanation or to seek the Court’s permission, 22 Plaintiffs filed a new version of their proposed amended complaint, misleadingly labeled as an

23 “errata.” Dkt. 94. As Defendants point out, the two proposed amendments contained significant 24 substantive differences, including rewriting entire sections on Plaintiffs’ causes of action; adding 1 a new theory of disparate treatment, a new basis for the procedural due process claim, and new 2 allegations as to how the Defendants treated secular and religious accommodations differently; 3 and combining certain causes of action. Compare Dkt. 92-1 at 109–154, with Dkt. 94 at 85–131.

4 Somewhat unbelievably, the “errata” amendment continued to assert the Title VII and ADA 5 claims counsel had promised to withdraw, while also retaining the comment bubble saying: “WE 6 have no Title VII claims – no timely complaints brought following issuance of right to sue 7 letters. Is this a different claim other than an EEOC/Title VII claim??” Dkt. 94 at 117. 8 This version of the proposed amendment was untimely and not allowed by the Court’s 9 order. Plaintiffs’ attempt to substitute an entirely different proposed amended complaint under 10 the guise of an errata demonstrates a complete lack of respect for the Court’s orders, deadlines, 11 and previous willingness to grant Plaintiffs multiple extensions. It has wasted the time of the 12 parties and the Court, and it will not be tolerated. The proposed amended complaint filed at

13 Dkt. 94 shall be STRICKEN from the record and will not be considered in ruling on Plaintiffs’ 14 motion for leave to amend. 15 III. LEGAL STANDARD Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2), after the time for amendment as of right 16 has passed, “a party may amend its pleading only with the opposing party’s written consent or 17 the court’s leave. The court should freely give leave when justice so requires.” When considering 18 whether to allow leave to amend, the court considers various factors, including “the presence or 19 absence of undue delay, bad faith, dilatory motive, repeated failure to cure deficiencies by 20 previous amendments, undue prejudice to the opposing party and futility of the proposed 21 amendment.” G.B. ex rel G.P. v. E.P.A., 172 F.4th 1042, 1064–65 (9th Cir. 2026) (quoting 22 Moore v. Kayport Package Express, Inc., 885 F.2d 531, 538 (9th Cir. 1989)). “A district court 23 does not abuse its discretion in denying leave to amend where any further amendment to the 24 1 complaint would likely prove futile.” Brown v. Brita Prods. Co., 172 F.4th 1113, 1118 (9th Cir. 2 2026) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Election Integrity Project Cal., Inc. v. Weber, 3 113 F.4th 1072, 1099 (9th Cir. 2024)).

4 IV. DISCUSSION 5 A. Amendment of the federal claims would be futile. 1. Plaintiffs appear to concede their Title VII and ADA claims would be futile. 6 The proposed amended complaint contains three federal statutory claims: a failure to 7 accommodate claim under Title VII (Count 11), Dkt. 92-1 at 137; a “regarded as disabled” claim 8 under the ADA (Count 12), id. at 139; and a retaliation claim under Title VII (Count 14), id. at 9 148. As discussed above, when Plaintiffs first asked for a final chance at leave to amend, they 10 represented to the Court that they would not re-plead these claims. Dkt. 77 at 7, 10, 20. Their 11 motion does not discuss the statutory claims at all. See Dkt. 92. They repeatedly acknowledged 12 in internal comments left in their filings that they could not bring Title VII claims because none 13 of their clients had exhausted their administrative remedies at the EEOC. See, e.g., Dkt. 94 at 14 117. When Defendants pointed this out in opposition, see Dkt. 97 at 4–6, Plaintiffs conceded that 15 they “appeared in the prior complaint inadvertently” and “Plaintiffs will not assert those claims.” 16 Dkt. 99 at 5. Amendment of the statutory claims would be futile. 17 2. Amendment of the federal due process claim would be futile. 18 Count 3 of the proposed amended complaint is a procedural due process claim against 19 individual Defendant Wendy Long. See Dkt. 92-1 at 116–18, ¶¶ 1–10. Plaintiffs conceded in 20 their reply brief that they are not bringing a substantive due process claim. Dkt. 99 at 5. In its 21 order granting Defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings, the Court found that Plaintiffs 22 had not sufficiently alleged Long’s participation in a constitutional violation and that she was 23 24 1 entitled to qualified immunity. Dkt. 73 at 9–14. Plaintiffs now assert that because they are also 2 seeking reinstatement as injunctive relief, qualified immunity does not apply. See Dkt. 99 at 5. 3 Even assuming without deciding that Plaintiffs have made out a plausible claim for

4 injunctive relief, they have not plausibly alleged a procedural due process violation against Long. 5 In Count 3 itself, Plaintiffs allege only that they have a property interest in their employment, 6 and that they “were terminated from public employment without a hearing or other due process.” 7 Dkt. 92-1 at 118 ¶ 7. In Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to amend, they similarly discuss only their 8 claimed right to a pre-termination hearing under Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill, 9 470 U.S. 532 (1985). Dkt. 92 at 10. 10 But the Ninth Circuit has repeatedly held that “employees received sufficient process 11 related to a vaccine mandate if they received ‘notice of the vaccination requirements and of the 12 consequence of termination for failure to comply’ and ‘opportunities to be heard for the purpose

13 of religious and medical exemptions.’” Brock v. City of Bellingham, No. 25-1070, 2026 WL 14 1470574, at *2 (9th Cir. May 26, 2026) (quoting Curtis v. Inslee, 154 F.4th 678, 693 (9th Cir. 15 2025)). It is insufficient for plaintiffs to “allege that their requests should have been accepted but 16 were not.” Id. That is all Plaintiffs do here. While they allege that Long directed a protocol for 17 processing exemption requests for DSHS (see Dkt. 92-1 at 46–51), nowhere do they allege or 18 explain how this protocol violated due process in a way that would distinguish this case from the 19 Ninth Circuit’s previous decisions. Similarly, while they allege that Long “directed her 20 subordinates to classify religious exemptions as requesting a permanent accommodation and 21 secular medical exempt employees as requesting a temporary accommodation,” nowhere do they 22 allege how this harmed any individual plaintiff or affected their opportunity to be heard. See id.

23 at 52. The next sentence, which begins “[a]fter creating the artificial distinction between 24 temporary and permanent accommodation requests,” is left unfinished. See id. Plaintiffs have not 1 provided plausible allegations that Defendant Long violated their procedural due process rights, 2 let alone that those rights were clearly established. Amendment of this claim for either injunctive 3 relief or damages would be futile.

4 3. Amendment of the equal protection clause claim would be futile. 5 Count four of the proposed amended complaint is an equal protection claim against 6 Defendant Long. Dkt. 92-1 at 122–24, ¶¶ 11–19. That count alleges “[t]here was no rational 7 relation to some legitimate government end because the action taken—termination of the 8 unvaccinated—did not further the interest of reducing the spread of COVID-19 given that the 9 vaccinated and the unvaccinated both contract and transmit COVID-19.” Id. at 123–24 ¶ 15. 10 They allege elsewhere in the proposed complaint that the vaccines against COVID-19 “did not 11 eliminate infection and could not end transmission of the virus,” noting that the vaccines 12 primarily protected against severe illness and that breakthrough cases still occurred among

13 vaccinated individuals. See id. at 54–60. But the Ninth Circuit has already concluded that 14 “substantially similar mandates, which were imposed for substantially similar reasons, survive 15 rational basis review.” Brock, 2026 WL 1470574, at *1 (citing Curtis, 154 F.4th at 691–95, and 16 Carvalho, 148 F.4th at 1029–33). As in Brock, here Plaintiffs “allege no facts that materially 17 distinguish their case from Curtis or Carvalho,” let alone facts that show Defendant Long 18 personally violated their equal protection rights. See id. And although Plaintiffs’ motion 19 discusses claims arising from the “General Government Transition Pool Program,” see Dkt. 92 at 20 5–6, there are no allegations in the proposed amended complaint relating to such a claim or 21 alleging how it harmed any individual plaintiff or violated the Constitution. Amendment of this 22 claim for either injunctive relief or damages would be futile.

23 24 1 4. Amendment of the First Amendment claim would be futile. 2 Count eight of the proposed amended complaint is a First Amendment claim against 3 Defendant Long. Dkt. 92-1 at 131–34 ¶¶ 36–44. In substance, that count alleges only that

4 “Defendants knew that the First Amendment prohibits governmental officials from 5 demonstrating hostility to religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Id. at 133 ¶ 40. But 6 nowhere in the proposed amended complaint do Plaintiffs allege any facts showing that Long 7 demonstrated hostility to religion, or that she personally implemented the vaccine mandate in a 8 way that would trigger strict scrutiny as in Bacon v. Woodward, 104 F.4th 744, 752 (9th Cir. 9 2024). In Bacon, the court held that “by allowing firefighters from neighboring counties to work 10 in Spokane, the City undermined its asserted interest in enforcing the Proclamation against the 11 firefighters. The distinction between firefighters from within the County and those from without 12 in no way aligns with or promotes the stated interest of the Proclamation.” Id. There is simply no

13 comparable allegation against Long. Additionally, for the reasons already explained in the 14 Court’s order granting the motion for judgment on the pleadings, Long would be entitled to 15 qualified immunity for damages on any of the federal claims. Dkt. 73 at 12–14. Amendment of 16 this claim for either injunctive relief or damages would be futile. 17 B. The Court does not need to analyze the state-law claims. Plaintiffs’ ability to litigate their state-law claims in federal court depends on 18 supplemental jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a). Under Section 1367(c), a district court “may 19 decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a claim under subsection (a) if . . . (3) the 20 district court has dismissed all claims over which it has original jurisdiction.” 28 U.S.C. 21 § 1367(c). Because the Court has previously stated that it would decline to exercise supplemental 22 jurisdiction over the state-law claims if the federal claims failed, it will not separately analyze the 23 futility of the state-law claims. 24 1 Vv. CONCLUSION For the reasons explained above, the motion for leave to amend (Dkt. 92) is DENIED.

3 The federal claims in the operative second amended complaint (Dkt. 26) are DISMISSED WITH

4 PREJUDICE. The Court declines supplemental jurisdiction over the state-law claims, and those

5 claims are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

6 The Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of Defendants and close the case.

7 Dated this 1st day of June, 2026.

9 Tiffany-MI. Cartwright United States District Judge 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24