Scahill v. Dist. of Columbia

286 F. Supp. 3d 12
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedDecember 11, 2017
DocketCivil Action No. 16–2076 (JDB)
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 286 F. Supp. 3d 12 (Scahill v. Dist. of Columbia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Scahill v. Dist. of Columbia, 286 F. Supp. 3d 12 (D.C. Cir. 2017).

Opinion

JOHN D. BATES, United States District Judge

Currently before the Court is [16] plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration and for *16leave to amend their complaint. For the following reasons, the motion will be denied.

I. BACKGROUND

The Court will assume familiarity with the facts of this case, as laid out in the prior Memorandum Opinion granting defendants' motion to dismiss ("Mem. Op.") [ECF No. 14]. See Scahill v. District of Columbia, 271 F.Supp.3d 216, 2017 WL 4280946 (D.D.C. Sept. 25, 2017). Plaintiffs Martin Scahill ("Scahill") and HRH Services, Inc. ("HRH") brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the District of Columbia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board ("the Board"), the District of Columbia itself, and ten unnamed "John Doe" defendants. Plaintiffs alleged that conditions placed on HRH's liquor license-which barred Scahill from entering HRH's pub, the Alibi-violated their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association, and that the Board brought enforcement actions against HRH in retaliation for plaintiffs' lawsuits against the Board. Plaintiffs also claimed that the order violated their Fifth Amendment rights to liberty, due process, and freedom of movement and violated the unconstitutional conditions doctrine. Plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, and damages.

Defendants filed a motion to dismiss under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), arguing that plaintiffs lacked standing and failed to state a claim. The Court granted the motion, finding that a prior D.C. Court of Appeals decision precluded HRH from claiming it had standing on its claims related to the Board's order and that plaintiffs did not state plausible claims to relief. Mem. Op. at 33; see Order ("September 25 Order") [ECF No. 13]. The Court also issued an order to show cause as to why the claims against the John Doe defendants should not be dismissed for failure to identify and serve them with process under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m). See Order [ECF No. 15]. Plaintiffs then voluntarily dismissed their claims against the John Doe defendants. See Response to Order to Show Cause [ECF No. 17]. However, HRH also filed a motion to: (1) reconsider the Court's decision regarding HRH's standing, thereby seeking to revive HRH's First and Fifth Amendment and unconstitutional conditions claims; and (2) amend plaintiffs' complaint to provide more detailed facts, in order to revive their retaliation claims. See Pl. HRH's Mot. for Reconsideration and for Leave to Amend the Compl. ("HRH Mot.") [ECF No. 16]. The District opposes the motion. See Defs.' Opp. to Pl. HRH Servs. LLC's Mot. for Reconsideration and to Amend the Compl. ("Opp'n") [ECF No. 21].

II. DISCUSSION

HRH argues that the Court should reconsider its determination that a prior D.C. Court of Appeals decision precluded later courts from finding that HRH has standing. HRH asserts that it was fined by the Board after briefing closed on the motion to dismiss, and that this factual change triggers the curable defect exception to issue preclusion. HRH Mot. at 3-5. HRH also claims that issue preclusion should not have applied in the first place, because standing under the D.C. Administrative Procedure Act (DCAPA) is not the same issue as Article III standing. Id. at 5-6. Additionally, HRH seeks leave to amend its complaint, so it can add more details about the Board's alleged retaliatory acts. Id. at 6-7. The Court will consider each argument in turn.

A. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Before the Court can reach the merits of HRH's reconsideration motion, it *17must first resolve a dispute over the applicable standard of review. HRH argues that its motion is properly brought under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) because the September 25 Order was not a final order. HRH Mot. at 2 n.2; Reply Br. in Supp. of Pl. HRH's Mot. for Reconsideration and for Leave to Amend the Compl. ("Reply") [ECF No. 23] at 1, 5-6. Under this Rule, a court may revise its decisions "at any time before the entry of a judgment adjudicating all the claims and all the parties' rights and liabilities." Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b). The District, on the other hand, claims that plaintiffs' voluntary dismissal of the John Does eliminated the final claims in the case, thus transforming the September 25 Order into a final order that may be reconsidered only under Rule 59(e). See Opp'n at 4-5. That Rule allows a party to move to "alter or amend a judgment" already entered. Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e). The Court must therefore determine whether plaintiffs' voluntary dismissal of the John Doe plaintiffs transformed the September 25 Order into a final one.

"A decision is final only if it 'ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment.' " Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. All Plumbing, Inc., 812 F.3d 153, 156 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (citation omitted). Therefore, a court must resolve all claims against all defendants before an order may be deemed final. This is a procedure that the parties themselves can only rarely control. "The judge, not the parties, is meant to be the dispatcher who controls the circumstances and timing of the entry of final judgment." Blue v. D.C. Pub. Sch., 764 F.3d 11, 18 (D.C. Cir. 2014). Thus, a court can render a prior order final by involuntarily dismissing remaining claims or parties, even without prejudice. Id. However, the D.C.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
286 F. Supp. 3d 12, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scahill-v-dist-of-columbia-cadc-2017.