Robert Daniel Taylor v. Leanne Polhill

964 F.3d 975
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedJuly 1, 2020
Docket18-14934
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 964 F.3d 975 (Robert Daniel Taylor v. Leanne Polhill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robert Daniel Taylor v. Leanne Polhill, 964 F.3d 975 (11th Cir. 2020).

Opinion

Case: 18-14934 Date Filed: 07/01/2020 Page: 1 of 19

[PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________

No. 18-14934 ________________________

D.C. Docket No. 6:18-cv-00613-GAP-DCI

ROBERT DANIEL TAYLOR,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

versus

LEANNE POLHILL, solely in her official capacity as a Member of the Florida Board of Hearing Aid Specialists, et al.,

Defendants-Appellees. ________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida ________________________

(July 1, 2020)

Before MARCUS, ANDERSON, and EBEL,∗ Circuit Judges.

EBEL, Circuit Judge:

∗The Honorable David M. Ebel, Senior United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, sitting by designation. Case: 18-14934 Date Filed: 07/01/2020 Page: 2 of 19

Plaintiff-Appellant Robert Daniel Taylor sued Defendants-Appellees, the

members of the Florida Board of Hearing Aid Specialists and the Secretary of the

Florida Department of Health, each in their official capacities, alleging that three

Florida statutes administered by the Defendants are preempted by federal law

and/or violate Taylor’s due process rights. The district court dismissed the case in

its entirety, dismissing one of Taylor’s claims for lack of standing and the others

for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Taylor challenges

the district court’s dismissal of his claims. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.

§ 1291, we AFFIRM the district court’s dismissals for failure to state a claim upon

which relief could be granted and REVERSE the district court’s dismissal for lack

of standing and REMAND to the district court for further proceedings consistent

with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

In 1976, Congress amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act

through passage of the Medical Device Amendments (“MDA”) which, together

with regulations promulgated by the Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”),

created a federal regulatory scheme for different kinds of medical devices,

including hearing aids. The MDA contains an express preemption provision, 21

U.S.C. § 360k, which preempts state laws which are “different from, or in addition

2 Case: 18-14934 Date Filed: 07/01/2020 Page: 3 of 19

to” the federal requirements and “which relate[] to the safety or effectiveness of the

device or to any other matter included in a [federal] requirement applicable to the

device.” § 360k(a). This same section also provides for the FDA to create a

process through which states can request exemptions from express preemption.

§ 360k(b); see 21 C.F.R. pt. 808 (providing a procedure for requesting

exemption). 1

Florida, like most states, has enacted its own statutory scheme regulating

professions and occupations, which includes statutes applicable to those who fit

and dispense hearing aids. Fla. Stat. §§ 484.0401 et seq. Three of those statutes

are at issue in this case. The first, Fla. Stat. § 484.0501 (the “Pre-Sale Testing

Statute”), requires that when fitting and selling hearing aids, pre-sale audiometric

testing be conducted following specific minimum procedures and using specified

equipment. The second, Fla. Stat. § 484.053 (the “Licensing Statute”), prohibits

dispensing hearing aids without a state hearing aid specialist license or through

improper or fraudulent use of a state hearing aid specialist license. The third, Fla.

Stat. § 484.054 (the “Mail Order Ban”), bans all sales of hearing aids through the

mail.

Taylor has been selling hearing aids in Florida for over thirty years and, until

1 Neither the constitutionality nor the validity of the FDA’s promulgated regulations is at issue in this litigation. 3 Case: 18-14934 Date Filed: 07/01/2020 Page: 4 of 19

2016, Taylor was a licensed hearing aid specialist. In 2016, based on his belief

that the pre-sale testing requirements established by Florida’s statutory scheme

were preempted by the MDA, he did not renew his license. Taylor did not cease

his business, but rather continued selling hearing aids utilizing the testing

procedures he believes are necessary. Taylor was cited by Defendants for selling

hearing aids without a license, and he was assessed a civil fine, which he paid.

Taylor then filed this suit against the members of the Florida Board of

Hearing Aid Specialists and the Secretary of the Florida Board of Health, in their

official capacities, alleging that the three aforementioned Florida statutes are

unconstitutional because all three are preempted by federal law and because the

Pre-Sale Testing Statute infringes on his due process rights. Taylor sought

prospective declaratory and injunctive relief. The Defendants filed a motion to

dismiss Taylor’s complaint, which the district court granted.

The district court dismissed Taylor’s challenges to the Pre-Sale Testing

Statute for lack of standing, and it dismissed Taylor’s challenges to the Licensing

Statute and the Mail Order Ban for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of

Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Taylor appeals the dismissal of all of his claims.

Because this appeal arises from a motion to dismiss, our review is de novo,

“accepting the allegations in the complaint as true and construing them in the light

most favorable to the plaintiff.” Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 872 (11th Cir.

4 Case: 18-14934 Date Filed: 07/01/2020 Page: 5 of 19

2008).

II. DISCUSSION

The district court concluded that Taylor (1) did not have standing to

challenge the Pre-Sale Testing Statute; (2) failed to state a claim as to the

Licensing Statute; and (3) failed to state a claim as to the Mail Order Ban. We

address these conclusions in turn.

A. Standing to Challenge the Pre-Sale Testing Statute

The district court determined that, because the Pre-Sale Testing Statute

imposes requirements on licensed hearing aid sellers, and because Taylor is not

and does not intend to become a licensed hearing aid seller, the Pre-Sale Testing

Statute neither applies to nor poses a threat of future injury to Taylor. Thus, the

district court concluded that Taylor does not have standing to challenge the Pre-

Sale Testing Statute. 2 We disagree.3

Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constitution limits our jurisdiction

to cases and controversies; consequently, plaintiffs wishing to utilize the federal

courts must establish that they have standing for each of their claims. U.S. Const.

2 The standing analysis applies equally to Taylor’s preemption claim and his due process claim challenging the Pre-Sale Testing Statute. 3 The court below did not reach the merits of Taylor’s challenges to the Pre-Sale Testing Statute; thus, we limit our review to whether Taylor has standing to challenge the Pre-Sale Testing Statute, and we do not express an opinion as to the merits of either Taylor’s preemption challenge or his due process challenge to the Pre-Sale Testing Statute.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
964 F.3d 975, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robert-daniel-taylor-v-leanne-polhill-ca11-2020.