Forbes v. Macchione, FACHE

District Court, S.D. California·Decided March 4, 2021·No. 3:20-cv-00998·Unknown

Opinion

ASHTON FORBES, Case No. 20-cv-00998-BAS-JLB

Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ v. MOTIONS TO DISMISS (ECF Nos. 11, 12) COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO; GAVIN

NEWSOM, in his official capacity as the Governor of California; TOMÁS J. ARAGÓN, in his official capacity as the State Public Health Officer, Defendants.

Plaintiff Ashton Forbes brings this action against the County of San Diego, the Governor of California, and California’s Public Health Officer1 to challenge the face mask requirements imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The County moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). (ECF No. 11.) California’s Governor and its Public Health Officer (collectively, the “State”) similarly move to dismiss the action. (ECF No. 12.) Plaintiff opposes. (ECF No. 13.) 1 The Court substitutes Tomás J. Aragón in place of the former official, Sonia Y. Angell. See Fed. The Court finds these motions suitable for determination on the papers submitted and without oral argument. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 78(b); Civ. L.R. 7.1(d). For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS the County’s and State’s motions. As part of the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Department of Public Health issued Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings (“Mask Rules”). The Mask Rules recite: The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection remains and will continue to be in our midst for the foreseeable next several months. Since the start of the pandemic, we have learned a lot about COVID-19 transmission, most notably that there are a large proportion of people who are infected but are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, and they play an important part in community spread. The use of face coverings by everyone can limit the release of infected droplets when talking, coughing, sneezing, singing, exercising, shouting, or other forms of increased respiration, and they can also reinforce physical distancing by signaling the need to remain apart. In addition, increasing evidence also demonstrates a cloth face covering or mask also offers some protection to the wearer, too. The purpose of this guidance is to provide information about when face coverings are required. It mandates that face coverings be worn state-wide at all times when outside of the home, unless one or more of the exceptions outlined below apply. (Mask Rules, ECF No. 17.2) The mask exceptions include “[p]ersons who are outdoors and maintaining at least 6 feet of social distancing from others not in their household” and those “who are working in an office or in a room alone.” (Id.) In addition, certain individuals are exempt altogether, including children under two and people “with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering.” (Id.) The County has incorporated the Mask Rules into its Public Health Order regarding

2 Plaintiff’s pleading challenges the mask mandate issued on June 18, 2020. (Second Am. Compl. (“SAC”) ¶ 12, ECF No. 7.) California issued the revised Mask Rules on November 16, 2020. (ECF No. 17.) As a practical matter, both the June and November Mask Rules require individuals to wear masks in the circumstances that Plaintiff challenges. Hence, the Court considers Plaintiff’s allegations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. (ECF No. 18; see also SAC ¶¶ 9–10 (mentioning the County’s prior health orders).) “Plaintiff is a healthy individual.” (SAC ¶ 14.) His case challenging the Mask Rules relies on two contentions. First, citing statements and conclusions from various sources, Plaintiff claims that the spread of the virus by asymptomatic carriers “is statistically insignificant.” (Id. ¶ 40; see also id. ¶¶ 23–32.) Second, similarly citing a collection of statements and articles, Plaintiff alleges “the science and data do not support the use of masks to stop the spread of COVID-19.” (Id. ¶ 40; see also id. ¶¶ 33–40.) Therefore, Plaintiff alleges Defendants’ requirement that “healthy individuals . . . wear facial coverings is not reasonably necessary or narrowly tailored to accomplish [their] purported goal of stopping the spread of COVID-19.” (Id. ¶ 40.) Based on these allegations, Plaintiff brings five claims against Defendants, including for violations of California’s police power and his constitutional rights to privacy and travel. (Id. ¶¶ 41–85.) The County and State move to dismiss every claim. A motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure tests the legal sufficiency of the claims asserted in the complaint. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6); Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir. 2001). The court must accept all factual allegations pleaded in the complaint as true and must construe them and draw all reasonable inferences from them in favor of the non-moving party. Cahill v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 80 F.3d 336, 337–38 (9th Cir. 1996). To avoid a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal, a complaint need not contain detailed factual allegations; rather, it must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). “Where a complaint pleads facts that are ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant’s liability, it ‘stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.’” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557). “[A] plaintiff’s obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief’ requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (alteration in original) (quoting Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286 (1986)). A court need not accept “legal conclusions” as true. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. Despite the deference the court must pay to the plaintiff’s allegations, it is not proper for the court to assume that “the [plaintiff] can prove facts that it has not alleged or that the defendants have violated the . . . law[] in ways that have not been alleged.” Assoc. Gen. Contractors of Cal., Inc. v. Cal. State Council of Carpenters, 459 U.S. 519, 526 (1983). As a general rule, a court freely grants leave to amend a complaint that has been dismissed. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a); Schreiber Distrib. Co. v. Serv-Well Furniture Co., 806 F.2d 1393, 1401 (9th Cir. 1986). However, leave to amend may be denied when “the court determines that the allegation of other facts consistent with the challenged pleading could not possibly cure the deficiency.” Schreiber Distrib. Co., 806 F.2d at 1401 (citing Bonanno v. Thomas, 309 F.2d 320, 322 (9th Cir. 1962)). A. Police Power Plaintiff’s first claim alleges California’s Mask Rules exceed its “police power” because “the existing conditions do not warrant a facial

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