SD VOICE v. Noem

District Court, D. South Dakota·Decided January 9, 2020·No. 1:19-cv-01003·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JAN 09 2020 DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA Mall □□□ NORTHERN DIVISION

SD VOICE and CORY HEIDELBERGER, t-19-CV-01003-CBK Plaintiffs, VS. OPINION AND ORDER KRISTI G. NOEM, SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY; JASON RAVNSBORG, SOUTH DAKOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY; AND STEVE BARNETT, SOUTH DAKOTA SECRETARY OF STATE IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY; Defendants.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA CENTRAL DIVISION

SOUTH DAKOTA NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION, SOUTH DAKOTA 3:19-CV-03010-CBK RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, SOUTH DAKOTA BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION, SOUTH DAKOTA CHAMBER BALLOT □ ACTION COMMITTEE, THOMAS BARNETT JR., and AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY, OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiffs, vs. STEVE BARNETT, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SOUTH DAKOTA SECRETARY OF STATE, and JASON RAVNSBORG, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SOUTH DAKOTA ATTORNEY . GENERAL, Defendants.

Plaintiffs in these two cases filed complaints seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction preventing the State of South Dakota from enforcing IM 24, a 2018 initiated measure which banned out-of-state contributions to South Dakota ballot question committees. Following a court trial, I issued a memorandum opinion and order finding that IM 24 is unconstitutional because it violates First Amendment rights to engage in political speech and to associate with others to fund political speech and because it violates the Commerce Clause by interfering with the free flow of money between persons or entities from another state and ballot questions committees in South Dakota. I enjoined enforcement of IM 24 and awarded attorney fees and costs in an amount to be determined later by the Court. The plaintiffs have filed their motions and affidavits in support of an award of attorney fees and the parties have fully briefed the issue. Plaintiffs SD Voice and Cory Heidelberger were represented by James D. Leach. Plaintiffs seek reimbursement for Mr. Leach’s fees in the amount of $30,090, expenses and costs in the amount of $1,589.30, and additional fees for responding to the defendants’ objection to the fee request in the amount of $2,010.00. Plaintiffs South Dakota Newspaper Association, ef a/., were represented by Marty J. Jackley and Sara Frankenstein of Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore, LLP and by Ryan Morrison of Institute for Free Speech. Plaintiffs seek reimbursement for the Gunderson Law Firm’s fees in the amount $63,050.00, expenses and costs in the amount of $780.80, and additional fees for responding to the defendants’ objections to the fee request in the amount of $6,125.00. Plaintiffs seek reimbursement for the Institute for Free Speech attorney’s fees in the amount of $23,075.00. DECISION In an action filed pursuant to, inter alia, 42 U.S.C. 1983, the district court has the discretion to allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney’s fee. 42 U.S.C. § 1988. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 429, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983). A prevailing party is “one who has been awarded some relief by the court which has created a material alteration of the legal relationship of the parties.” Libertarian Party of Arkansas v. Martin, 876 F.3d 948, 952 (8th Cir, 2017), (quoting Buckhannon Bd. & Care Home, Inc. v. W. Va. Dept. of Health and Human Res., 532 U.S. 598, 603, 121 S.Ct. 1835, 149 L.Ed.2d 855 (2001)) (cleaned up). Defendants do not argue that plaintiffs are not prevailing parties. Instead, defendants urge the Court to deny attorney fees based upon the argument that special circumstances render

an award unjust. Defendants cite the decision in Thorsted v. Gregoire, 841 F.Supp. 1068 (W.D. Wash. 1994) and urge that the following special circumstances exist which justify denial of an □ award of attorney’s fees: 1. No award is needed to serve the purpose of Section 1988, which is to assure “effective access to the judicial process.” This is not a typical civil rights case. The mere filing of suit by anyone with standing would have assured a full court test. 2. No relief has been won under the Section 1983 claims beyond that already awarded under the constitutional claims. 3, The legislation that prompted the suit was adopted by a voters’ initiative, not by State officials. The deterrence purpose of Section 1983 is inapplicable, 4. The defendant officials have not yet enforced Initiative [24]. Their ' willingness to do so if it is upheld reflects only the minimum their oaths of office require. 5. The State officials have acted in good faith. “The Ninth Circuit has ruled that a defendant's good faith is one factor of several that a court may consider in applying the Attorney's Fees Act.” 6. This is a case of first impression in federal court, and the public interest requires that it be adjudicated through a full adversary process. The State defendants have done nothing to increase the litigation costs beyond what would have been necessary in any event, 7. There was no way for the State officials to settle the case by agreement. Even if a stipulation of unconstitutionality had been entered (a most unlikely event), the court would have rejected it. State legislation is presumed constitutional until the contrary is shown. Thorsted v. Gregoire, 841 F. Supp. 1068, 1084 (W.D. Wash. 1994), aff'd sub nom. Thorsted v. Munro, 75 F.3d 454 (9th Cir. 1996) (internal citations omitted).! Defendants have failed in their ethical obligation to advise the Court that the Ninth Circuit in Thorsted v. Gregoire held that “several of the circumstances identified by the district court would be insufficient, standing alone, to warrant a denial of fees.” Thorsted v. Munro, 75 F.3d 454, 456 (9th Cir, 1996). .

' Thorsted v. Gregoire struck a Washington initiated measure setting term limits for United States Senators and Representatives because “states, like Congress, are without power to add substantive requirements for election to Congress to those set forth in the Qualifications Clauses.” Thorsted v, Gregoire, 841 F. Supp. at 1076,

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

SD VOICE v. Noem, (D.S.D. 2020).

SD VOICE v. Noem (SD VOICE v. Noem) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Hensley v. Eckerhart
461 U.S. 424 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Craftsmen Limousine, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co.
579 F.3d 894 (Eighth Circuit, 2009)
Thorsted v. Gregoire
841 F. Supp. 1068 (W.D. Washington, 1994)
Frank Snider, III v. Matthew Peters
752 F.3d 1149 (Eighth Circuit, 2014)
Libertarian Party of Arkansas v. Mark Martin
876 F.3d 948 (Eighth Circuit, 2017)
State of North Dakota v. Nancy Lange
900 F.3d 565 (Eighth Circuit, 2018)
Adrian Bryant v. Jeffrey Sand Company
919 F.3d 520 (Eighth Circuit, 2019)
Thorsted v. Munro
75 F.3d 454 (Ninth Circuit, 1996)