May v. Strain

55 F. Supp. 3d 885, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149509, 2014 WL 5364820
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedOctober 21, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 13-176
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 55 F. Supp. 3d 885 (May v. Strain) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
May v. Strain, 55 F. Supp. 3d 885, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149509, 2014 WL 5364820 (E.D. La. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

NANNETTE JOLIVETTE BROWN, District Judge.

• Before the Court is Rodney “Jack” Strain, Jr. (“Strain”) and Lindsey “Scott” Crain’s (“Crain”) (collectively, “Officer Defendants”) “Motion for Summary Judgment Pursuant to Rule 56(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”1 Defendants Walgreens Louisiana Co. (“Walgreens”), K & B Louisiana Corp. (“K & B”), Appriss, Inc. (“Appriss”), and the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, Inc. (“NADDI”) (collectively, “Corporate Defendants”) join the Motion for Summary Judgment.2 Having considered the motion, the response, the reply, the record, and the applicable law, the Court will GRANT the motion in part and DENY the motion in part.

J. Background

A. Factual Background

In 2009, the Louisiana legislature enacted the Ephedrine, Pseudoephedrine, and Phenylpropanolamine Monitoring Act (“LEPPMA”).3 One of the legislative findings included in LEPPMA states; “In order to assist law enforcement and prosecu-torial agencies in addressing the growing problems associated with methamphetamine production, a real time electronic database is needed to record purchases of products containing ephedrine, pseu-doephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine at a pharmacy.”4 LEPPMA authorizes instant access to information collected by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections from pharmacies in Louisiana to the Louisiana Sheriffs Association and, under some circumstances, to other local law enforcement agencies.5 Sometime subsequent to the enactment of LEPPMA, Louisiana began to utilize a computer program and database known as the National Precursor Log Exchange [888]*888(“NPLEx”).6 NPLEx is a multi-state database that is currently used by approximately ten state jurisdictions.7 According to the Complaint, NPLEx is an electronic tracking service used to track the sale of over-the-counter cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine.8

On January 31, 2012, Defendant Crain was participating in surveillance of several pharmacies in Slidell, Louisiana.9 As part of that surveillance, Crain accessed the NPLEx system on a laptop computer provided to him by Defendant Strain.10 Crain monitored pseudoephedrine purchases at those pharmacies in real-time.11 According to the Complaint, he used NPLEx to access the real-time pharmacy records of Corina May (“May”) and Joel Weaver (“Weaver”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”). Based in part on the information that he obtained from the NPLEx system, Crain arrested Plaintiffs.12 On September 12, 2012, May was convicted of Attempted Creation or Operation of a Clandestine Laboratory, and Weaver was convicted of Accessory After the Fact of Creation or Operation of a Clandestine Laboratory.13

B. Procedural Background

Plaintiffs filed the complaint in this case on January 30, 2013, wherein they allege claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as a Louisiana state law claim for privacy rights violations.14 Officer Defendants filed the pending Motion for Summary Judgment on June 5, 2014.15

On June 20, 2014, Defendant Walgreens Louisiana Co. (“Walgreens”) filed a “Motion to Join Motion of Rodney J. ‘Jack’ Strain, Jr., in His Capacity as Sheriff of St. Tammany Parish, and Detective Lindsey ‘Scott’ Crain for Summary Judgment.” 16 Noting that Plaintiffs did not file any objection to Walgreens’ motion, and that the Officer Defendants had no objection to the motion, the Court granted Wal-greens’ motion on July 15, 2014.17

On July 22, 2014, K & B Louisiana Corp. (“K & B”), Appriss, Inc. (“Appriss”), and the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, Inc. (“NADDI”) (collectively with Walgreens, “Corporate Defendants”) filed a “Motion to Join Motion for Summary Judgment by Rodney J. ‘Jack’ Strain, Jr. and Detective Lindsey ‘Scott’ Crain.”18 Because Corporate Defendants submitted that they conferred with, and received no objection from, all other Defendants, and because Plaintiffs have not filed any objection in the record, the Court granted Corporate Defendants’ Motion to Join.19

On July 29, 2014, Plaintiffs filed a memorandum in opposition to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment.20 Officer [889]*889Defendants filed a memorandum in further support on August 7, 2014.21

II. Parties’ Arguments
A. Defendants’ Arguments in Support

Defendants argue that there is no constitutionally-protected right to privacy regarding the purchase of over-the counter (“OTC”) medications.22 Defendants aver that no court, at any level or in any jurisdiction, has yet decided whether use of the NPLEx system by law enforcement constitutes a violation of an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights.23

Defendants contend that the provisions of LEPPMA, and the resulting use of the NPLEx System, do not constitute a per se violation of an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights.24 Defendants argue that purchasers of OTC medications containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenyl-propanolamine, which are within the scope of NPLEx’s record keeping, are entitled to a lesser expectation of privacy than purchasers of prescription drugs.25 Defendants aver that restrictions of access to medical information usually extend to information regarding prescriptions, and “OTC medieation[s] are typically less likely to be harmful and less likely to involve the types of serious medical conditions about which privacy concerns become legitimate.” 26 Moreover, OTC medications are often sold in grocery stores and pharmacies, and are typically placed on open shelves available to “any one, at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all.”27 Defendants aver that although they cannot point to authority from this circuit on point, several other courts have addressed concerns about the privacy rights of individuals relative to health information.28 Because this is apparently a matter of first impression, Defendants argue, there is no clear constitutional violation of the Plaintiffs’ privacy rights, a “bedrock concept” of a claim under § 1983.29

Defendants raise the qualified immunity defense. According to Defendants, “in the face of the assertion by a defendant public official of the defense of qualified immunity, a § 1983 plaintiff must comply with a heightened pleading standard.”30 This standard, according to Defendants, requires claims of specific conduct and actions giving rise to a constitutional violation.

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Bluebook (online)
55 F. Supp. 3d 885, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149509, 2014 WL 5364820, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/may-v-strain-laed-2014.