Rhode v. Becerra

342 F. Supp. 3d 1010
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedOctober 17, 2018
DocketCase No.: 18-cv-802-BEN
StatusPublished

This text of 342 F. Supp. 3d 1010 (Rhode v. Becerra) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rhode v. Becerra, 342 F. Supp. 3d 1010 (S.D. Cal. 2018).

Opinion

Hon. Roger T. Benitez, United States District Judge

Plaintiffs set out nine claims for relief in an Amended Complaint ("Complaint"). Defendant Xavier Becerra filed a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss three of those claims: Claim 1 alleging a violation of U.S. Const. Art, I, § 8, Clause 3 (the "Commerce Clause"), Claim 8 alleging a violation of the Equal Protection Clause, and Claim 9 alleging federal preemption. This motion to dismiss does not address the Plaintiffs' other six claims alleging violations of the Second Amendment. Defendant also asks the Court to take judicial notice of two exhibits, the Proposition 63 ballot measure and his web page titled Certificate of Eligibility. The motion to dismiss is denied as to Claim 1 (Commerce Clause), granted as to Claim 8 (Equal Protection Clause), and denied as to Claim 9 (Federal Preemption). The request for judicial notice is granted.

BACKGROUND

State Proposition 63 (the "Safety for All Act of 2016") amended the California Penal Code to regulate the sale of ammunition in some ways that are similar to the State's regulations on the sale of firearms. For example, like firearms, ammunition sales, deliveries, or transfers in California must now be processed through a state-licensed ammunition vendor in a face-to-face transaction. Cal. Penal Code § 30312(a) - (b). If California residents make ammunition purchases from sellers outside of California, the purchases must be received and processed by a California-licensed ammunition vendor in a face-to-face transaction. Id. California residents who obtain ammunition while outside California and desire to bring that ammunition back with them into California must first somehow deliver it to a licensed ammunition vendor and receive it from the vendor in a face-to-face transaction. Id. § 30314. Plaintiffs are a group of California residents, out-of-state ammunition sellers, and the California Rifle & Pistol Association. Defendant is the Attorney General of the State of California.

LEGAL STANDARD

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a claim may be dismissed if the complaint fails to state a plausible claim for relief. Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ; Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 556-57, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). Dismissal is appropriate if the complaint fails to state enough facts to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of the matter complained of, or if the complaint lacks a cognizable legal theory under which relief may be granted. Twombly , 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

*1013"A claim is facially plausible 'when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.' " Zixiang Li v. Kerry , 710 F.3d 995, 999 (9th Cir. 2013) (quoting Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ). Reasonable inferences may be drawn in the non-movant's favor. A court need not, however, "necessarily assume the truth of legal conclusions merely because they are cast in the form of factual allegations." Warren v. Fox Family Worldwide, Inc., 328 F.3d 1136, 1139 (9th Cir. 2003) (internal quotations omitted). "The plausibility standard is not akin to a 'probability requirement,' but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully." Mashiri v. Epsten Grinnell & Howell , 845 F.3d 984, 988 (9th Cir. 2017) (quoting Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ).

DISCUSSION

Claim One - Commerce Clause, U.S. Const. Art, I, § 8, Clause 3

Plaintiffs claim that Proposition 63, codified at California Penal Code §§ 30312, 30314, 30370, and 30385, violates the Interstate Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution because it favors businesses in California and unjustifiably burdens interstate commerce. Defendant argues that Proposition 63 is a permissible in-state regulation.

The United States Supreme Court reminds us that, "[t]ime and again this Court has held that, in all but the narrowest circumstances, state laws violate the Commerce Clause if they mandate differential treatment of in-state and out-of-state economic interests that benefits the former and burdens the latter." Granholm v. Heald , 544 U.S. 460, 472, 125 S.Ct. 1885, 161 L.Ed.2d 796 (2005) (quotation marks and citations omitted).

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342 F. Supp. 3d 1010, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rhode-v-becerra-casd-2018.