NC Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans v. NC Department of Transportation

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: December 22, 2022
• Docket: 22-1282
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 22-1282 Doc: 21 Filed: 12/22/2022 Pg: 1 of 4

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 22-1282

NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION OF SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS, INC.,

Plaintiff - Appellant,

v.

NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; J. ERIC BOYETTE, in his official capacity as Secretary of Transportation of the State of North Carolina; NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES; WAYNE GOODWIN, in his official capacity as Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of the State of North Carolina,

Defendants - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. William L. Osteen, Jr., District Judge. (1:21-cv-00296-WO-LPA)

Submitted: December 20, 2022 Decided: December 22, 2022

Before NIEMEYER and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ON BRIEF: James B. Wilson, Jr., JAMES BARRETT WILSON & ASSOCIATES, Winston Salem, North Carolina, for Appellant. Joshua H. Stein, Attorney General, Sarah G. Boyce, Deputy Solicitor General, Kathryne E. Hathcock, Special Deputy Attorney USCA4 Appeal: 22-1282 Doc: 21 Filed: 12/22/2022 Pg: 2 of 4

General, NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

2 USCA4 Appeal: 22-1282 Doc: 21 Filed: 12/22/2022 Pg: 3 of 4

PER CURIAM:

North Carolina Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. (“NCSCV”), appeals

the district court’s order dismissing its 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint for failure to state a

claim upon which relief may be granted under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). NCSCV filed the

complaint in state court, alleging that Defendants’ rejection of NCSCV’s specialty license

plate design violated its rights to free speech, due process, and equal protection. The design

included the NCSCV’s insignia, which features a Confederate battle flag. Defendants

removed the action to federal court and moved to dismiss the complaint. The district court

granted Defendants’ motion. On appeal, NCSCV reasserts its claims that Defendants’

rejection of NCSCV’s specialty license plate design violated its rights under the First and

Fourteenth Amendments. NCSCV also argues that North Carolina’s specialty license plate

program expresses a state public policy that does not provide Defendants discretion to

regulate license plate designs. We affirm.

We review de novo the grant of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

Rockville Cars, LLC v. City of Rockville, 891 F.3d 141, 145 (4th Cir. 2018). “In conducting

such a review, we accept the complaint’s factual allegations as true and draw all reasonable

inferences in favor of the plaintiff.” Dawson-Murdock v. Nat’l Counseling Grp., Inc.,

931 F.3d 269, 274-75 (4th Cir. 2019) (cleaned up). We have thoroughly reviewed the

briefs, joint appendix, and the entire record and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we

affirm the district court’s judgment. N.C. Div. of Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. v.

N.C. Dep’t of Transp., No. 1:21-cv-00296-WO-LPA (M.D.N.C. Apr. 8, 2022). We

dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately

3 USCA4 Appeal: 22-1282 Doc: 21 Filed: 12/22/2022 Pg: 4 of 4

presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional

process.

AFFIRMED