Hernandez v. Oregon House of Representatives

District Court, D. Oregon·Decided November 29, 2021·No. 6:21-cv-00238·Unknown

Opinion

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON

EUGENE DIVISION

DEIGO HERNANDEZ; Civ. No. 6:21-cv-00238-AA

Plaintiff, OPINION & ORDER v.

OREGON HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; OREGON STATE LEGISLATURE; RON NOBLE; JULIE FAHEY; JACKIE SANDMEYER; TINA KOTEK,

Defendants. _______________________________________

AIKEN, District Judge.

This case comes before the Court on a Motion to Dismiss filed by Defendants. ECF No. 18. The Court concludes that this motion is suitable for resolution without oral argument. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is GRANTED and this case is DISMISSED. LEGAL STANDARD To survive a motion to dismiss under the federal pleading standards, the complaint must include a short and plain statement of the claim and “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting 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. The plausibility standard . . . asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id.

The court is not required to accept legal conclusions, unsupported by alleged facts, as true. Id. BACKGROUND Defendant Oregon Legislature is the legislative body of the State of Oregon and Defendant Oregon House of Representatives is one of the two chambers comprising the Legislature. Compl. ¶ 3. ECF No. 1. Defendant Tina Kotek is the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. Id. at ¶ 6.

The House has established a Conduct Committee of four members, which is co- chaired by Defendants Julie Fahey and Ron Noble. Compl. ¶ 4. Defendant Jackie Sandmeyer is the head of the House Legislative Equity Office (“LEO”). Id. at ¶ 5. The House has adopted a resolution, known as Legislative Branch Personnel Rule 27, to resolve issues involving misconduct, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation by members of the legislature, legislative staff,

lobbyists, and others. Abrams Decl. Ex. B. ECF No. 19.1 Under Rule 27, a complainant may make a report of prohibited behavior to the LEO. Id. at 5. The LEO conducts an investigation by referral of the matter to an independent investigator who must conduct her inquiry within a certain amount of time, subject

1 An earlier version of Rule 27 was attached as an exhibit to the Complaint but Defendants have supplied the current version, which was in effect during the relevant period in the Abrams Declaration. ECF No. 19. Plaintiff has not objected to Defendants’ submission. to approved extensions. Id. at 10. The independent investigator is charged with keeping both the complainant and the respondent apprised of the status of the investigation on a regular basis or upon request. Id. The investigator must prepare

a draft written report prior to the conclusion of the investigation and must provide the report to the complainant and the respondent, who each have the opportunity to submit responses. Id. at 10-11. If the respondent is a member of the Legislature, the final report must be delivered to the complainant, the respondent, the LEO, and the Conduct Committee for the chamber in which the respondent serves. Id. at 11. The complainant and respondent may then submit written challenges to the factual findings in the final report to the Conduct Committee. Id.

The Conduct Committee must then hold a hearing at which the complainant and respondent are permitted to appear, present documents and physical evidence, and suggest witnesses. Abrams Decl. Ex. B, at 11. The Conduct Committee may decide to hear witnesses, but only members of the Committee are permitted to question any witnesses called. Id. The Conduct Committee will then make a final determination of the facts and whether those facts constitute a violation of Rule 27.

Id. The Conduct Committee also determines what, if any, remedial measures are necessary. Id. If the respondent is a member of the Legislature and if the Committee’s recommendation is that the member be expelled from the Legislature, the Committee will report that recommendation to the chamber in which member serves and the chamber will act on the recommendation at the earliest opportunity. Id. at 12. Actual expulsion of a member of the Legislature is governed by article IV, section 15 of the Oregon Constitution, which provides that either chamber may expel a member by a majority vote of two thirds. Or. Const. art. IV, § 15. Plaintiff Diego Hernandez was the elected representative for Oregon House

District 47 beginning in January 2019. Compl. ¶ 2. In April 2020, a complaint was made against Plaintiff alleging that he had mistreated several women. Id. at ¶ 9. Kotek referred the complaint to the LEO, which triggered an investigation under Rule 27. Id. at ¶ 10. On May 5, 2020, Sandmeyer notified Plaintiff of the complaint and the investigation. Id. at ¶ 11. An independent investigator was appointed and an investigation lasting nearly 200 days was commenced. Id. at ¶¶ 12-14. While the investigation was pending, Plaintiff issued a statement on Facebook

opposing the Rule 27 proceedings against him. Compl. ¶ 47. Plaintiff alleges that he was accused of retaliation under Rule 27 based on the contents of this Facebook statement. Id. On January 22, 2021, Plaintiff received a copy of the investigator’s report. Compl. ¶ 15. The investigator concluded that Plaintiff had engaged in appropriate conduct and interactions with three women, identified pseudonymously in the report.

Id. at ¶ 17. Plaintiff submitted a lengthy written response disputing the investigator’s conclusions on January 29, 2021. Id. at ¶¶ 16-17; Compl. Ex. 3. Sandmeyer insisted that Plaintiff’s response be redacted to protect the anonymity of the three women before it was submitted to the Conduct Committee. Id. at ¶¶ 20-22. The Oregon House Conduct Committee, chaired by Fahey and Noble, convened a five-day hearing on the report, beginning on February 1, 2021. Compl. ¶ 25. Plaintiff appeared before the Committee represented by counsel. Id. at ¶ 28. The Committee told Plaintiff that he would be required to opt between making a statement himself or presenting his case through counsel and Plaintiff chose to

proceed through counsel. Id. at ¶¶ 27-28. One witness was called to testify before the Committee and four other witness presented statements to the Committee. Id. at ¶ 29. Plaintiff’s counsel was not permitted to cross-examine the witness. Id. at ¶ 28. At the conclusion of the hearing on February 5, 2021, the Conduct Committee found that Plaintiff had violated Rule 27 and voted to recommend that Plaintiff be expelled from the House. Compl. ¶¶ 29-30.2

Plaintiff filed this action on February 10, 2021 in the Marion County Circuit Court. ECF No. 1. On February 11, 2021, the Conduct Committee referred its recommendation to the Oregon House of Representatives as House Resolution 1. Supp. Lafky Decl. Ex. 11. ECF No. 7. Kotek represented to the Court that she would move the House to suspend its normal rules so that any member, including Plaintiff, would be able to speak for as long as they wished during the debate on House

Resolution 1. Kotek Decl. ¶ 4. ECF No. 10. Plaintiff, in turn, represented to the Court that he planned to attend the session and participate in the debate. Suppl. Hernandez Decl. ¶ 6. ECF No. 12.3

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