Florida Action Committee, Inc. v. Seminole County

212 F. Supp. 3d 1213, 2016 WL 3364985, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79189
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedJune 17, 2016
DocketCase No: 6:15-cv-1525-Orl-40GJK
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 212 F. Supp. 3d 1213 (Florida Action Committee, Inc. v. Seminole County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Florida Action Committee, Inc. v. Seminole County, 212 F. Supp. 3d 1213, 2016 WL 3364985, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79189 (M.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

PAUL G. BYRON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This cause comes before the Court on the following:

1. Defendant Sheriff Eslinger’s Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint (Doc. 44), filed January 8, 2016;
2. Defendant Seminole County’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (Doc. 45), filed January 8, 2016; and
3. Plaintiffs Omnibus Response to Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss (Doc. 52), filed February 4, 2016.

Upon consideration, Defendants’ motions to dismiss are due to denied.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, Florida Action Committee, Inc. (“FAC”), is a non-profit, voluntary membership organization formed under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. (Doc. 52-1, ¶ 1). FAC states that it has approximately 650 members across Florida, many of whom (but not all) are registered sexual offenders or sexual predators. (Doc. 32, ¶ 12). FAC affirms that its “mission is to educate the media, legislators, and the public with the facts surrounding sex offender laws.” (Id. ¶ 8). FAC pursues this mission in part by engaging in litigation to challenge laws which target sexual offenders and predators. (Doc. 52-1, ¶4).

To that end, FAC brings this action against Defendants, Seminole County and Seminole County Sheriff Donald F. Eslinger in his official capacity (collectively, “Seminole County”),1 to assert a number of constitutional challenges against Seminole County Ordinance 2005-41 (hereinafter referred to as the “Ordinance”),2 which was enacted on October 3, 2005 and is codified in Chapter 228 of the Seminole County Code (hereinafter cited as “SCC”). In pertinent part, the Ordinance establishes a 1,000-foot exclusion zone around every school, daycare center, park, and playground within Seminole County’s jurisdictional limits and proscribes sexual offenders and predators from traveling through or remaining in these exclusion zones. SCC § 228.2. The Ordinance provides a number of exceptions to these restrictions, such as when a sexual offender or predator travels for work, education, medical, religious, or legal reasons, or in the case of an emergency. See id. § 228.2(a)-(j). Violation of the Ordinance constitutes a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of up to $500.00 and/or sixty days in jail. See id. § 1.8.

FAC contends that the Ordinance violates some of its members’ constitutional rights in a number of ways. First, FAC claims that the Ordinance is impermissibly vague and violates the guarantees of procedural due process enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment. Next, FAC challenges the Ordinance as an unconstitutional ex post facto law. FAC additionally alleges that the Ordinance infringes on the first [1220]*1220amendment right to freedom of association. Finally, FAC argues that the Ordinance infringes the'right to intrastate travel guaranteed by the Florida Constitution. FAC seeks declaratory and injunctive relief for these constitutional injuries through 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Seminole County now moves to dismiss FAC’s Amended Complaint in its entirety.3

II. DISCUSSION

Seminole County moves to dismiss FAC’s Amended Complaint for lack of standing and for failing to state claim's upon which relief can be granted. Because FAC’s standing to bring this lawsuit implicates the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction, the Court must resolve that issue first. The Court will then turn to the sufficiency of each of FAC’s claims.

A. Whether FAC Has Standing

Standing to bring and maintain a lawsuit is a fundamental component of a federal court’s subject matter jurisdiction. Clapper v. Amnesty Int’l USA, 568 U.S. 398, 133 S.Ct. 1138, 1146, 185 L.Ed.2d 264 (2013). Challenges to standing therefore attack the court’s subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the parties’ dispute. See Stalley ex rel. United States v. Orlando Reg’l Healthcare Sys., Inc., 524 F.3d 1229, 1232 (11th Cir. 2008) (per curiam). Attacks on standing come in two forms: facial and factual. Id. In a facial attack, the court looks to the face of the complaint and determines whether the plaintiff sufficiently alleges standing. Id. at 1232-33. In doing so, the court is limited to the complaint’s allegations and exhibits, which the court must accept as true. Id. In contrast, a factual attack contests the plaintiffs standing in fact, regardless of what the complaint says. McElmurray v. Consol. Gov’t of Augusta-Richmond Cty., 501 F.3d 1244, 1251 (11th Cir. 2007). When confronting a factual attack, the court affords no presumption of truth to the complaint and may consider matters outside of its allegations and exhibits, such as affidavits, testimony, and other evidence. Id. The party invoking a federal court’s subject matter jurisdiction bears the burden of establishing standing for each claim he or she asserts. Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 185, 120 S.Ct. 693, 145 L.Ed.2d 610 (2000). At the pleading stage, this burden is not particularly onerous and will be satisfied by “general factual allegations of injury resulting from the defendant’s conduct.” Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992).

An association like FAC will have standing to pursue claims on behalf of its members where three elements are met: “(a) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (b) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization’s purpose; and (c) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit.” Hunt v. Wash. State Apple Advert. Comm’n, 432 U.S. 333, 343, 97 S.Ct. 2434, 53 L.Ed.2d 383 (1977); Conn. State Dental Ass’n v. Anthem Health Plans, Inc., 591 F.3d 1337, 1354 (11th Cir. 2009). Seminole County contends that FAC fails the first two elements of associational standing in that (a) none of FAC’s members have standing on their own to maintain the claims alleged, and (b) the interests FAC seeks to protect are not germane to its purpose. (Doc. 44, pp. 7-14). Seminole County insists that FAC does not actually represent its mem[1221]*1221bers, but utilizes its membership as a vehicle to espouse a particular political viewpoint. Seminole County therefore launches a factual attack on FAC’s standing and the Court may look outside the four corners of the Amended Complaint to resolve the issue.

Regarding the first element of associational standing, FAC must show that at least one of its members has standing in their own right to state each of the claims FAC asserts. See Sierra Club v. Tenn. Valley Auth.,

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
212 F. Supp. 3d 1213, 2016 WL 3364985, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/florida-action-committee-inc-v-seminole-county-flmd-2016.