Foley v. Orange County

638 F. App'x 941
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedJanuary 29, 2016
DocketNo. 14-10936
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 638 F. App'x 941 (Foley v. Orange County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Foley v. Orange County, 638 F. App'x 941 (11th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

David Foley and his wife Jennifer Foley (the “Foleys”), proceeding pro se, appeal from the District Court’s order granting partial summary judgment in favor of defendant Orange County, Florida (the “County”) in a civil action on their federal claims for violations of the Due Process Clause, U.S. Const, amend. XIV, § 1, the Equal Protection Clause, id., the First Amendment, U.S. Const, amend. I, and the Fourth Amendment, U.S. Const, amend. IV.1 Because we find that these federal claims on which the District Court’s federal-question jurisdiction was based are frivolous under Bell v. Hood, 327 U.S. 678, 66 S.Ct. 773, 90 L.Ed. 939 (1946), we vacate the District Court’s orders.

I.

The relevant facts and procedural history of this case are fairly straightforward. This case arose from a citizen complaint filed with the county against the Foleys for breeding and -selling toucans from their residentiary zoned property. In response to the complaint, county employees investigated and cited the Foleys for having accessory buildings on their property without the necessary permits. These were the buildings the Foleys used to house the toucans.

The Foleys then requested a determination from the county zoning manager as to whether the ordinance under which the Foleys were cited was interpreted proper[943]*943ly. The zoning manager determined that the ordinance was interpreted properly— that the Foleys were required under the ordinance to obtain permits for the accessory buildings on their property. This determination was affirmed by the Board of Zoning Adjustment, the Board of County Commissioners, the Florida Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in and for Orange County, and the Fifth District Court of Appeal.

The Foleys then filed this action in federal court. Their complaint, which they later amended,2 made various state and federal law claims against the County and 19 individual County employees in their official and individual capacities. Under state law, the Foleys again challenged the ordinance requiring permits for the accessory buildings on their property, mainly contending that that ordinance was preempted by Article IV, § 9 of the Florida Constitution, which grants the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission executive and regulatory authority over captive wildlife. See Fla. Const, art. IV, § 9. Under federal law, the Foleys sought damages pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of their federal constitutional rights. These federal claims were the basis for federal-question jurisdiction in the District Court.3 28 U.S.C. § 1331.

After both parties moved for summary judgment, the District Court granted partial summary judgment in favor of the Foleys on one of their state-law claims and granted partial summary judgment to the County on the Foleys’ remaining claims. The District Court also made various immunity rulings in relation to the suits against the County employees. Most relevant here, the Foleys appeal the grant of summary judgment against their four federal Constitutional claims based on (1) substantive due process; (2) equal protection; (3) compelled and commercial speech; and (4) illegal search and seizure.

II.

“ We review de novo questions concerning jurisdiction.’ We are ‘obligated to inquire into subject matter jurisdiction sua sponte whenever it may be lacking.’” Weatherly v. Ala. State Univ., 728 F.3d 1263, 1269 (11th Cir.2013) (citation omitted) (quoting Williams v. Chatman, 510 F.3d 1290, 1293 (11th Cir.2007) (per cu-riam) and Bochese v. Town of Ponce Inlet, 405 F.3d 964, 975 (11th Cir.2005)). Where a District Court’s jurisdiction is based on a federal question, “a suit may sometimes be dismissed ... where the alleged claim un-dér the Constitution or federal statutes clearly appears to be immaterial and made ■solely for the purpose of obtaining jurisdiction or where such a claim is wholly insubstantial and frivolous.” Bell, 327 U.S. at 682-83, 66 S.Ct. at 776 (emphasis added). “Under the latter Bell exception, subject matter jurisdiction is lacking only ‘if the claim has no plausible foundation, or if the court concludes that a prior Supreme Court decision clearly forecloses the claim.’ ” Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Ala. v. Sanders, 138 F.3d 1347, 1352 (11th Cir.1998) (quoting Barnett v. Bailey, 956 F.2d 1036, 1041 (11th Cir.1992)).

We will review each of the Foleys’ federal claims in turn. We “review questions of constitutional law de novo.” Kentner v. City of Sanibel, 750 F.3d 1274, 1278 (11th Cir.2014), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 135 [944]*944S.Ct. 950, 190 L.Ed.2d 831 (2015) (citing United States v. Duboc, 694 F.3d 1223, 1228 n. 5 (11th Cir.2012) (per curiam)).

The Foleys first allege violation of their substantive due process rights. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of the law.” U.S. Const.- amend. XIV, § 1. Substantive due process protects the rights that are fundamental and “implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.” Greenbriar Vill., L.L.C. v. Mountain Brook, City, 345 F.3d 1258, 1262 (11th Cir.2003) (per curiam) (quotation omitted) (quoting McKinney v. Pate, 20 F.3d 1550, 1556 (11th Cir.1994) (en banc)). Because property rights are not created by the Constitution, they are not fundamental rights. See id., “Substantive due process challenges that do not implicate fundamental rights are reviewed under the ‘rational basis’ standard.” Kentner, 750 F.3d at 1280-81 (applying rational basis standard to non-fundamental rights). The rational basis test is highly deferential. Id. at 1281. “In order to survive this minimal scrutiny, the challenged provision need only be rationally related to a legitimate government purpose.” Schwarz v. Kogan, 132 F.3d 1387, 1390-91 (11th Cir.1998) (citing TRM, Inc. v. United States, 52 F.3d 941, 945 (11th Cir.1995)). Additionally, while substantive due process rights may protect against arbitrary and irrational legislative acts, see Lewis v. Brown, 409 F.3d 1271, 1273 (11th Cir.2005) (per curiam), there is no similar protection for non-legislative acts. DeKalb Stone, Inc. v. Cty. of DeKalb, 106 F.3d 956, 959-60 (11th Cir.1997) (per curiam).

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638 F. App'x 941, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foley-v-orange-county-ca11-2016.