Clampitt v. City of Fort Wayne

682 F. Supp. 401, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2336, 1988 WL 23878
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedMarch 21, 1988
DocketCiv. F 87-115
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 682 F. Supp. 401 (Clampitt v. City of Fort Wayne) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clampitt v. City of Fort Wayne, 682 F. Supp. 401, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2336, 1988 WL 23878 (N.D. Ind. 1988).

Opinion

ORDER

WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge.

This case presents a facial challenge to the constitutionality of various provisions of Fort Wayne’s amended nude modeling and massage parlor ordinance. On August 21, 1987, the court dismissed a number of claims in the plaintiffs complaint. Equal protection, procedural due process, and vagueness claims remain and are the subject of the defendant’s present motion for summary judgment. The motion is fully briefed and ripe for ruling, and for the following reasons, will be granted.

I.

Summary Judgment Standards

Summary judgment is proper “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ. P. 56(c). Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery, against a party “who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and in which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The standard for granting summary judgment mirrors the directed verdict standard under Rule 50(a), which requires the court to grant a directed verdict where there can be but one reasonable conclusion. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A scintilla of evidence in support of the non-moving party’s position is not sufficient to successfully oppose summary judgment; “there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff.” Id. at 2512; Valentine v. Joliet Tp. High School Dist. No. 204, 802 F.2d 981, 986 (7th Cir.1986).

Initially, Rule 56 requires the moving party to inform the court of the basis for the motion, and to identify those portions of the “pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admission on file, together with the affidavits, if any, which demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celotex, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. The non-moving party, may oppose the motion with any of the evidentiary materials listed in Rule 56(c), but reliance on the pleadings alone is not sufficient to withstand summary judgment. Posey v. Skyline Corp., 702 F.2d 102, 105 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 960, 104 S.Ct. 392, 78 L.Ed.2d 336 (1983). In ruling on a summary judgment motion the court accepts as true the non-moving party’s evidence, draws all legitimate inferences in favor of the non-moving party, and does not weigh the evidence or the credibility of witnesses. Anderson, 106 S.Ct. at 2511.

Substantive law determines which facts are material; that is, which facts might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law. Id. at 2510. Irrelevant or unnecessary facts do not preclude summary judgment even when they are in dispute. Id. The issue of fact must be genuine. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), (e). To establish a genuine issue of fact the non-moving party “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio, 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The non-moving party must come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. A summary judgment determination is essentially an inquiry as to “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Anderson, 106 S.Ct. at 2512.

II.

Factual Background

Plaintiff Martha Clampitt operates Tender Touch, a massage establishment lo *404 cated in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Plaintiff is a professional masseuse. Plaintiff is challenging the constitutionality of various provisions of Fort Wayne’s new massage parlor and nude modeling ordinance, Special Ordinance No. S-46-87. The challenged ordinance supersedes the old ordinance, which also applied to Clampitt’s business.

The new ordinance is allegedly more onerous than the old. Both the old and new ordinances are licensing ordinances. To obtain a license under the new ordinance, an application must be filed with the City, accompanied by a $500 annual licensing fee. The application must include a variety of information, including information about employees. Licenses may be denied, revoked, or suspended for a variety of reasons listed in the ordinance. For those establishments which are licensed, the ordinance contains a number of operating requirements and provides for inspections. These are the basic facts; other facts will be explained in more detail as they come up in the analysis.

III.

Analysis

A.

Equal Protection

“The Equal Protection Clause ... commands that no state shall ‘deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,’ which is essentially a direction that all persons similarly situated should be treated alike.” City of Cleburne, Texas v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 105 S.Ct. 3249, 3254, 87 L.Ed. 2d 313 (1985). Courts have devised standards to determine the validity of legislation or other official action that is challenged as denying equal protection. Id. Generally, legislation is presumed valid and will be sustained if the classification drawn by the legislation is “rationally related to a legitimate state interest.” Id. See also Pennell v. City of San Jose, — U.S. —, 108 S.Ct. 849, 859, 99 L.Ed.2d 1 (1988); Schweiker v. Wilson, 450 U.S. 221, 101 S.Ct. 1074, 67 L.Ed.2d 186 (1981); Vaden v. Village of Maywood, Illinois, 809 F.2d 361, 365 (7th Cir.1987). And when social legislation is at issue, the Equal Protection Clause allows wide latitude. United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz, 449 U.S. 166, 174, 101 S.Ct. 453, 459, 66 L.Ed.2d 368 (1980).

The Constitution presumes that even improvident decisions will eventually be rectified by the democratic process. City of Cleburne, 105 S.Ct. at 3254. “There is a presumption that the objectives articulated by the legislature are the ones actually pursued.” Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co., 449 U.S. 456, 463 n. 7, 101 S.Ct. 715, 723 n.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Little Arm Inc. v. Adams
13 F. Supp. 3d 914 (S.D. Indiana, 2014)
Gora v. City of Ferndale
576 N.W.2d 141 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1998)
Tee & Bee, Inc. v. City of West Allis
936 F. Supp. 1479 (E.D. Wisconsin, 1996)
Mae A. Engron v. United States Department of Labor
9 F.3d 112 (Seventh Circuit, 1994)
Brightwell v. United States
805 F. Supp. 1464 (S.D. Indiana, 1992)
Allstate Insurance v. Norris
795 F. Supp. 272 (S.D. Indiana, 1992)
Allstate Insurance v. Shockley
793 F. Supp. 852 (S.D. Indiana, 1991)
Rush v. McDonald's Corp.
760 F. Supp. 1349 (S.D. Indiana, 1991)
Kaken Pharmaceutical Co. v. Eli Lilly and Co.
737 F. Supp. 510 (S.D. Indiana, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
682 F. Supp. 401, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2336, 1988 WL 23878, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clampitt-v-city-of-fort-wayne-innd-1988.