Park v. Forest Service of the United States

69 F. Supp. 2d 1165, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13529, 1999 WL 692345
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedJune 11, 1999
DocketNo. 96-3288-CV-S-RGC
StatusPublished

This text of 69 F. Supp. 2d 1165 (Park v. Forest Service of the United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Park v. Forest Service of the United States, 69 F. Supp. 2d 1165, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13529, 1999 WL 692345 (W.D. Mo. 1999).

Opinion

ORDER & INJUNCTION

RUSSELL G. CLARK, Senior District Judge.

On July 23, 1996, plaintiff Trade Park (“Park”) filed a complaint with this Court, seeking an injunction to prevent the Forest Service of the United States (“Forest Service”) from establishing roadblocks near the entrance of Rainbow Family gatherings in the Mark Twain National Forest without first obtaining a warrant. Park alleges in her complaint that the Forest Service, together with the other defendants, impinged on the rights guaranteed to her by the First and Fourth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Park contends that the roadblock constituted an unreasonable seizure and its location unfairly targeted the Rainbow Family, a group exercising their right to assemble and speak freely.

Park has filed a motion for summary judgment, as have defendants Oregon County, Mike Wilhoit, acting in his official capacity as the Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the United States Forest Service. All of the parties have responded to the opposing motions. For the reasons stated below, the Court will dismiss plaintiffs claims against defendants Oregon County and Mike Wilhoit, the Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, because the plaintiff is without standing to pursue her claims against those parties. However, the Court will grant plaintiffs motion for summary judgment against the Forest Service because the actions of the Forest Service impermissibly violate Park’s rights under the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable seizures.

I. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

There are well settled principles in ruling on a motion for summary judgment. Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of material, fact present in the case and judgment should be awarded to the party seeking the motion as a matter of law. Langley v. Allstate Insurance Co., 995 F.2d 841, 844 (8th Cir.1993). Because the summary judgment remedy is drastic, it should not be granted unless the moving party has established the right to a judgment with such clarity that there is no room for controversy. Umpleby v. United States, 806 F.2d 812, 814 (8th Cir.1986). However, as the Supreme Court noted in Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986): “Summary judgment procedure is properly regarded not as a disfavored procedural shortcut, but rather as an integral part of the Federal Rules as a whole .... ”

In order for a motion for summary judgment to be defeated, the nonmoving party [1168]*1168must resist the motion by making a sufficient showing on every element of its case on which it bears the burden of proof, Rath v. Selection Research, Inc., 978 F.2d 1087, 1090 (8th Cir.1992), and the factual dispute “must be outcome determinative under prevailing law.” Get Away Club, Inc. v. Coleman, 969 F.2d 664, 666 (8th Cir.1992). The Supreme Court has held that summary judgment is mandated against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case. “In such a situation, there can be ‘no genuine issue as to any material fact,’ since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party’s case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.” Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548. However, such a motion is to be viewed in the light most favorable to the opposing party who also must receive the benefit of all reasonable inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts. Johnson v. Minnesota Historical Society, 931 F.2d 1239, 1244 (8th Cir.1991).

The standard for granting a motion for summary judgment is similar to that of a directed verdict: the evidence must be such that a reasonable jury could not return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Westchem Agricultural Chemicals, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 990 F.2d 426 (8th Cir.1993). Summary procedures are appropriate where the issues for resolution are primarily legal rather than factual. Parmenter v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., 925 F.2d 1088, 1092 (8th Cir.1991). Issues of fact must be material to a resolution of the dispute between the parties; where the only disputed issues of fact are immaterial to the resolution of the legal issues, summary judgment is appropriate. Get Away Club, Inc. v. Coleman, 969 F.2d 664, 666 (8th Cir.1992). In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the Court does not decide material fact issues, rather it determines whether or not they exist. Parmenter, 925 F.2d at 1092.

II. BACKGROUND

A. The Rainbow Family Tribe

The Rainbow Family is a loose-knit network of people who gather each year to— as they describe it — “give honor & respect to all those who have aided the positive evolution of earth & humankind.” Suggestions in Support of Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment Exhibit A (Rainbow Guide), at ii [hereinafter “Plaintiffs Support”]. The Rainbow Family makes an annual summer pilgrimage to a National Forest, as well as holding smaller regional gatherings periodically in various locations. Plaintiffs Support Exhibit C, Affidavit of Tracie Park. The summer gathering is always held around the Fourth of July, so that from sunrise to noon on the Fourth, attendees at the gathering can “meditate for World Peace & Healing the Earth.” Plaintiffs Support Exhibit A.

' However, this pursuit of peace is not without its problems. Conflicts arise between the Rainbow Family and the Forest Service. One of the major problems has been the insistence of the Forest Service that the Rainbow Family obtain a special use permit for their gatherings. The Rainbow Family maintains that their “non-hierarchical structure gives nobody the authority to sign such a thing” and that they are merely exercising their right to assemble peaceably, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Plaintiffs Support Exhibit A. These contentions are apparently not without support. Two federal judges found a prior effort to require a permit unconstitutional because it unfairly focused on groups gathered for expressive conduct. United States v. Israel, No. CR-86-027-TUC-RMB (May 10, 1986); United States v. Rainbow Family, 695 F.Supp. 294 (E.D.Tex.1988).

It is this right to assemble that brings us to the current complaint before the [1169]*1169Court.

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69 F. Supp. 2d 1165, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13529, 1999 WL 692345, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/park-v-forest-service-of-the-united-states-mowd-1999.