JäRLSTRöM v. Aldridge

366 F. Supp. 3d 1205
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedDecember 28, 2018
DocketCase No. 3:17-cv-00652-SB
StatusPublished

This text of 366 F. Supp. 3d 1205 (JäRLSTRöM v. Aldridge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
JäRLSTRöM v. Aldridge, 366 F. Supp. 3d 1205 (D. Or. 2018).

Opinion

STACIE F. BECKERMAN, United States Magistrate Judge *1210Plaintiff Mats Järlström ("Plaintiff") brings this action against members of the Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying ("Board"), seeking declaratory and injunctive relief under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 - 2202 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff challenges the constitutionality of certain provisions of Oregon's Professional Engineer Registration Act, Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 672.002 - 672.325, et seq. (the "Act"). Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Or. Rev. Stat. § 672.005(1)(a)-(b) ; Or. Rev. Stat. § 672.007(1) ; Or. Rev. Stat. § 672.020(1) ; Or. Rev. Stat. § 672.045(1) ; Oregon Administrative Rule ("OAR") 820-010-0730(3) ; and OAR 820-040-0030 (collectively, the "Practice laws"), and Or. Rev. Stat. § 672.002(2) ; Or. Rev. Stat. § 672.007(1) ; and OAR 820-010-0730(3) (collectively, the "Title laws"), violate the First Amendment, both as applied to Plaintiff and on their face.1

Plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment. (ECF No. 72.) The Board filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, admitting liability on Plaintiff's as-applied challenge but opposing Plaintiff's facial challenge. (ECF No. 79 ). The Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and all parties consent to the jurisdiction of a U.S. Magistrate Judge under FED. R. CIV. P. 73(b). For the following reasons, the Court grants the Board's motion for summary judgment with respect to Plaintiff's facial challenge to the Practice laws, and grants Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment with respect to all other issues.

BACKGROUND

The material facts are not in dispute. Plaintiff is a resident of Washington County, Oregon, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, and a citizen of the Kingdom of Sweden. (Compl. ¶ 8; Answer ¶ 7.) Plaintiff earned the equivalent of a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in Sweden and has spent his career working in the field of electronics. (Compl. ¶¶ 12-15; Answer ¶ 9.) He does not have a professional engineering license to practice in any state. (Compl. ¶ 28; Answer ¶ 22.)

In May 2013, Plaintiff became interested in traffic light timing after his wife received a "red-light-camera" ticket. (Compl. ¶ 11; Answer ¶ 9.) Plaintiff spent three years analyzing the standard method for calculating the duration of a yellow light and found that the formula failed to account *1211for drivers who must slow down to make a legal turn. (Compl. ¶¶ 16-17; Answer ¶¶ 10-11.)

In September 2014, Plaintiff emailed the Board and asked for "support and help" in an attempt to further his research and broadcast his findings. (Compl. ¶¶ 24-25; Answer ¶¶ 18-19.) The Board responded two days later, informing Plaintiff that he violated engineering laws by referring to himself as an "electronics engineer" and stating "I'm an engineer." (Compl. ¶¶ 26-27; Answer ¶¶ 20-21.) The Board advised Plaintiff to stop using those titles until he registered with the Board. (Compl. ¶ 29; Answer ¶ 23.) Undeterred, Plaintiff continued to discuss his ideas with the public, including the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, the 60 Minutes news program, a local news station, and the physicist who created the original traffic light timing formula. (Compl. ¶¶ 31-32; Answer ¶ 23.) In at least one of those communications, Plaintiff described himself as an "engineer," including in further emails to the Board. (Compl. ¶¶ 37-38; Answer ¶¶ 26-27.)

On February 12, 2015, the Board's Law Enforcement Committee conducted a preliminary evaluation and voted to open a "law enforcement case" against Plaintiff. (Compl. ¶ 43; Answer ¶ 32.) In November 2016, the Board imposed a $ 500 civil penalty for Plaintiff's violations of Or. Rev. Stat. § 672.020 ; Or. Rev. Stat. § 672.045(1) and (2) ; and OAR 820-010-0730. (Compl. ¶¶ 72-74; Answer ¶¶ 50-52.) Specifically, the Board concluded that Plaintiff violated Or. Rev. Stat. § 672.020(1), Or. Rev. Stat. § 672.045(1) and (2), and OAR 820-010-0730(3)(a) and (c) by critiquing the traffic light timing formula and submitting his critiques to members of the public, and by "asserting to the public media" and "to a public body" that he is an engineer. (Mats Järlström Decl., Ex. 14 ¶¶ 13-17.) Plaintiff paid the $ 500 penalty. (Järlström Decl.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
366 F. Supp. 3d 1205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jarlstrom-v-aldridge-ord-2018.