Monet v. State of Hawaii

District Court, D. Hawaii·Decided May 31, 2022·No. 1:21-cv-00368·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF HAWAII

SAM MONET, CIV. NO. 21-00368 LEK-KJM

Plaintiff,

vs.

STATE OF HAWAII, SHARON MORIWAKI, EDWARD UNDERWOOD, GORDON WOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF HAWAII, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL, AND DOE DEFENDANTS 1- 20,

Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART THE STATE DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS [036] FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FILED FEBRUARY 11, 2022

On February 26, 2022, Defendants State of Hawai`i (“the State”); Edward Underwood (“Underwood”), in his individual capacity; Gordon Wood (“Wood”), in his individual capacity; Senator Sharon Moriwaki (“Moriwaki”), in her individual capacity; and Attorney General Holly T. Shikada, in her official capacity (“the Attorney General,” and all collectively “State Defendants”) filed their Motion to Dismiss [036] First Amended Complaint Filed February 11, 2022 (“Motion”).1 [Dkt. no. 40.]

1 The Motion was also filed on behalf of Defendants Governor David Ige (“the Governor”), in his official capacity; Department of Land and Natural Resources (“DLNR”); Suzanne Case (“Case”), in her official capacity; Underwood, in his official capacity; (. . . continued) Pro se Plaintiff Sam Monet (“Plaintiff”) filed his “Reply Memorandum to Defendant State’s Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint” (“Memorandum in Opposition”) on February 28, 2022. [Dkt. no. 41.] The Court finds this matter suitable for disposition without a hearing pursuant to Rule LR7.1(c) of the

Local Rules of Practice for the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. For the reasons set forth below, the State Defendants’ Motion is granted in part and denied in part. BACKGROUND Plaintiff initiated this action in August 2021. See Complaint for Declaratory, Compensatory and Injunctive Relief, and Civil Penalties (“Complaint”), filed 8/30/21 (dkt. no. 1). The Complaint was dismissed without prejudice, with the exception of certain claims that were dismissed with prejudice. See Order Granting Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss [001] Complaint Filed August 30, 2021, filed 1/11/22 (dkt. no. 33) (“1/11/22 Order”).2 The following claims were dismissed with prejudice:

-all claims against the State, DLNR, and DOCARE;

Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (“DOCARE”); Jason Redulla (“Redulla”), in his official capacity; Corey Fujioka (“Fujioka”), in his official capacity; Wood, in his official capacity; and Moriwaki, in her official capacity. [Motion at iii.] However, these defendants are not named in the operative pleading. See First Amended Complaint, filed 2/11/22 (dkt. no. 36), at ¶¶ 25-32 (identifying defendants). 2 The 1/11/22 Order is also available at 2022 WL 105194. -all federal law claims for damages or other forms of retrospective relief and all state law claims against the Governor, Case, Underwood, Redulla, Fujioka, Moriwaki, and the Attorney General, in their official capacities; and

-Plaintiff’s claim alleging violations of the Hawai`i Landlord- Tenant Code, Plaintiff’s breach of contract claim, and Plaintiff’s claim for injunctive relief.

[Id. at 28-29.] Plaintiff filed his First Amended Complaint on February 11, 2022.3 [Dkt. no. 36.] Plaintiff added numerous allegations to the First Amended Complaint, but the core factual allegations which are the basis for his claims remain the same as those in the original Complaint. Those allegations are summarized in the 1/11/22 Order and will not be repeated here. The First Amended Complaint appears to allege the following claims: a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against the State, Underwood, Moriwaki, and Wood, alleging violations of Plaintiff’s due process rights (“Count I”); a claim against Underwood, Moriwaki, and Wood, brought pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 242 (“Count II”); a § 1983 claim against the State, Underwood, Moriwaki, and Wood,

3 Plaintiff added United States of America, Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) as a defendant in the First Amended Complaint. See First Amended Complaint at ¶ 32. Plaintiff previously agreed to dismiss, without prejudice, his claims against Defendant Christi A. Grimm, in her official capacity as the Principal Deputy Inspector General, United States Department of Health Human Services, and the United States of America. See Stipulation for Voluntary Dismissal of Complaint as to Defendant Christi A. Grimm and the United States of America, filed 10/6/21 (dkt. no. 22). However, the OIG has not appeared in this case since the filing of the First Amended Complaint. alleging violations of his constitutional right to the free exercise of his religion (“Count III”); a § 1983 claim against the State, Underwood, and Moriwaki, alleging abuse of power (“Count IV”); a § 1983 claim against the State, Underwood, Moriwaki, and Wood, alleging violations of Plaintiff’s due

process rights, arising from the conspiracy to evict Plaintiff from the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor (“AWSBH” and “Count V”); and a claim challenging the validity of Haw. Rev. Stat. § 200-9(f), which requires boats berthed at AWSBH to complete a longer trip in navigable waters than was previously required (“Buoy Run” and “Count VI”). In the instant Motion, the State Defendants argue the First Amended Complaint should be dismissed with prejudice. Specifically, they contend: 1) Plaintiff improperly named defendants in the First Amended Complaint that were dismissed with prejudice in the 1/11/22 Order; 2) claims that were dismissed without prejudice in the 1/11/22 Order, but were not

realleged in the First Amended Complaint, should now be dismissed with prejudice; 3) Plaintiff failed to cure the deficiencies in his claims as to Eleventh Amendment immunity and legislative immunity; 4) the State Defendants’ qualified immunity also precludes Plaintiff’s claims; and 5) Plaintiff’s federal law claims are insufficiently pled.4 DISCUSSION I. Improperly Named Defendants The State Defendants argue the First Amended Complaint

improperly asserts claims against the State, DLNR, and DOCARE. [Mem. in Supp. of Motion at 8-9.] The State is the only one of these entities listed, either in the caption of the First Amended Complaint or in the section listing the defendants. See First Amended Complaint at pg. 1; id. at ¶¶ 25-34. DLNR and DOCARE are mentioned in multiple paragraphs of the First Amended Complaint. See, e.g., First Amended Complaint at ¶ 137. However, because the First Amended Complaint specifically identifies the parties that are the defendants in this case, and Plaintiff does not include DLNR and DOCARE among the defendants, this Court construes the allegations about DLNR and DOCARE as background supporting Plaintiff’s claims against the State

Defendants. Even with a liberal construction, Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint cannot be construed as asserting claims

4 The State Defendants also argue this Court should decline to exercise pendant jurisdiction over any state law claims that remain. The only claim that could possibly be a state law claim is Count VI. However, for the reasons stated infra, this Court does not construe Count VI as a state law claim. against DLNR and DOCARE.5 To the extent that the State Defendants’ Motion seeks the dismissal, with prejudice, of Plaintiff’s claims against DLNR and DOCARE, that portion of the Motion is denied as unnecessary. II. Claims Not Realleged in the First Amended Complaint

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