P Poe 5 v. University of Washington

District Court, W.D. Washington·Decided March 29, 2024·No. 2:24-cv-00170·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT AT SEATTLE P. POE 5 and P POES 2 through 4 and 6 CASE NO. 2:24-cv-00170-JHC through 75, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, ORDER

Plaintiffs, v. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, a Washington public corporation; ELIZA SAUNDERS, Director of Public Records and Open Public Meetings at the University of Washington,

Defendants, and PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS, INC.; NORTHWEST ANIMAL RIGHTS NETWORK,

Intervenor-Defendants.

I This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction.

Dkt. # 3. Plaintiffs seek to enjoin Defendants, the University of Washington (UW) and Eliza Saunders, UW Director of Public Relations, from releasing information that would identify Plaintiffs by name in response to a request under the Washington’s Public Records Act (PRA). Id. at 4. Plaintiff P Poe 5 is a member or alternate member of UW’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Dkt. # 5 at 1. The public records requests at issue are from the animal rights groups Rise for Animals, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN). Id. at 7. Plaintiffs claim that if their names or other identifying details are released, they are likely to be harassed by activists associated with these groups who oppose animal research. Dkt. # 3 at 4. Plaintiffs argue that disclosure of such

information would violate their federal constitutional right to informational privacy. Id. at 6. The Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on February 13, 2024. Dkt. # 11. UW did not oppose the TRO and takes no position on whether Plaintiffs have a constitutional right to informational privacy in this case. Dkt. # 29. PETA and NARN intervened in the case and argue that Plaintiffs do not have a constitutional right to informational privacy. Dkt. # 24. On March 25, 2024, the Court heard oral argument. For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion.1

1 The Court DENIES the Intervenor-Defendants’ motion to strike the declaration at Dkt. # 42. Dkt. # 43. Instead, the Court has considered the points made in their surreply. See id. II

Institutions that use live animals in research, tests, or experiments and accept federal funding for such work must establish an IACUC that must, among other things, “review . . . the research facility’s program for human care and use of animals,” “review and approve, require modifications in (to secure approval), or withhold approval of . . . of proposed activities related to the care and use of animals,” and “review, and, if warranted, investigate concerns involving the care and use of animals at the research facility resulting from public complaints received and from reports of noncompliance received from laboratory or research facility personnel or employees.” 9 CFR § 2.31(c)(1), (4), (6); 7 U.S.C. § 2132(e). UW’s IACUC meetings are open to the public via online video conference, but the names and other identifying features of the

members are kept confidential. Dkt. # 4 at 40. IACUC members are identified by their initials at the meetings. Id. At UW, all IACUC members are volunteers. Id. at 41. Members’ identities are kept confidential “due to ongoing harassment and threats of harassment against the committee (and other US researchers) by persons opposed to animal research.” Id. at 40. B. Previous Case In a previous case before this District, Sullivan v. University of Washington, 2:22-cv- 00204-RAJ, Jane Sullivan, the IACUC Chair, and P. Poe 1, an IACUC member, sought a TRO and preliminary injunction to stop UW from releasing the names of members of UW’s IACUC. The court granted the TRO and preliminary injunction based on the plaintiffs’ argument that the release of information would violate the plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to academic

association. Sullivan v. Univ. of Washington, No. 2:22-CV-00204-RAJ, 2022 WL 558219, at *3 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 24, 2022). PETA, an intervenor-defendant, appealed the preliminary injunction and the Ninth Circuit reversed. It held that “[t]he committee members’ performance of their official duties is not protected by the First Amendment right of expressive association, and so the disclosure of

public records that relate to performance of such duties does not impinge on that right.” Sullivan v. Univ. of Washington, 60 F.4th 574, 576 (9th Cir. 2023). On remand, the district court granted another preliminary injunction based on the plaintiffs’ amended complaint. Sullivan v. Univ. of Washington, No. 2:22-CV-00204-RAJ, 2023 WL 3224495, at *2 (W.D. Wash. May 3, 2023). The court concluded that the plaintiffs showed a likelihood of success on the merits as to their claim that the release of information would violate their Washington and federal constitutional rights to personal security and bodily integrity and informational privacy. Id. at *3–4. PETA again appealed. The Ninth Circuit concluded that Jane Sullivan and P. Poe 1 lacked standing. Sullivan v. Univ. of Washington, No. 23-35313, 2023 WL 8621992, at *1 (9th Cir. Dec. 13, 2023). The Ninth Circuit held that “Sullivan cannot demonstrate redressability because she cannot represent the IACUC’s institutional interests in her role as the chair of the IACUC” and her identity is already known. Id. And it held that P. Poe 1 could not show redressability because the record reflected that UW already responded to a PRA request from PETA that disclosed the names and emails of “almost all” IACUC members on March 4, 2021. Id. P. Poe 1 did not furnish any information showing that their information was not disclosed on March 4, 2021, so the Ninth Circuit held that P. Poe 1 did not meet their “burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction.” Id. (quoting Safe Air for Everyone v. Meyer, 373 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9th Cir. 2004)). The court did not opine on the merits of the preliminary injunction. The court vacated the injunction and remanded with instructions to dismiss the case. Id. at *2. C. The Present Case Plaintiffs now bring this case because UW has informed IACUC members that it intends to respond to public records requests without redacting the names of the committee members,

because there is no longer a preliminary injunction barring disclosure. Dkt. # 3 at 4. III DISCUSSION2 A preliminary injunction is “an extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief.” Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 23 (2008). To obtain a preliminary injunction, a plaintiff must show that (1) they are “likely to succeed on the merits”; (2) they are “likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of” a preliminary injunction”; (3) “the balance of equities tips in [their] favor”; and (4) a preliminary injunction “is in the public interest.” Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky, 586 F.3d 1109, 1127 (9th Cir. 2009) (quoting Winter, 555 U.S. at 20) (these are called the Winter factors).3

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