1 Jul 06, 2026 SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK 2 3 4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 6
7 TOM WATER, an individual, NO. 1:25-CV-3218-TOR 8 Plaintiff, ORDER ON MOTIONS 9 v.
10 GRANT COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of 11 Washington,
12 Defendant. 13 BEFORE THE COURT are Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss WLAD Claim 14 (ECF No. 14), Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Eighth Amendment Claim (ECF 15 No. 15), and Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint 16 (ECF No. 16). These matters were submitted for consideration without oral 17 argument. The Court has reviewed the record and files herein and is fully 18 informed. For the reasons discussed below, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss 19 WLAD Claim is GRANTED, its Motion to Dismiss Eighth Amendment Claim is 20 DENIED AS MOOT, and Plaintiff’s Motion is GRANTED. 1 FACTUAL BACKGROUND 2 This action arises out of alleged sexual assault that occurred in 2013 when
3 Plaintiff was seventeen years old. The following facts are taken from Plaintiff’s 4 complaint. ECF No. 1-2. At the age of seventeen, Plaintiff was arrested for 5 malicious mischief and taken to the Grant County Juvenile Detention Facility
6 (“GCJDF”) on April 4, 2013. ECF No. 1-2 at ¶ 7. Plaintiff alleges that during his 7 first night at the GCJDF, one of the guards woke Plaintiff up and told him to face 8 the wall. Id. at ¶ 8. The guard then had Plaintiff strip off his clothes and 9 proceeded to sexually assault him. Id. at ¶¶ 9,10,12,13. The next evening, the
10 guard returned with another guard, and Plaintiff was again ordered to strip off his 11 clothes. Id. at ¶¶ 14-16. Each guard then took turns sexually assaulting Plaintiff. 12 Id. at ¶ 17.
13 Plaintiff reported the assault to his mother after he was released from the 14 Grant County Juvenile Detention Facility on May 9, 2013. ECF No. 1-2 at ¶¶ 15 18,19. 16 PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
17 Plaintiff filed a complaint in the Yakima County Superior Court on 18 November 5, 2025, bringing claims against Grant County for rape and sexual 19 assault, negligence, violation of the Eighth Amendment, and a deprivation of civil
20 rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. ECF No. 1-2. Defendant removed the action 1 to this Court on December 3, 2025. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff filed an Amended 2 Complaint on April 2, 2026 amending his claims to negligence, violations of the
3 Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”), RCW 49.60, and an Eighth 4 Amendment violation pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. ECF No. 12. 5 Defendant moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s WLAD and Eighth Amendment
6 claims for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7 12(b)(6). ECF Nos. 14, 15. Plaintiff now moves for leave to file a Second 8 Amended Complaint that dismisses the Eight Amendment claim and adds a § 1983 9 Fourteenth Amendment claim. ECF No. 16. Defendant does not oppose Plaintiff’s
10 motion and agrees that if it is granted, Defendant’s motion to dismiss the Eighth 11 Amendment claim would be moot, leaving only the WLAD claim at issue. ECF 12 No. 23. Therefore, the Court grants Plaintiff’s motion (ECF No. 16) and denies
13 as moot Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claim (ECF 14 No. 15). 15 DISCUSSION 16 Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s WLAD claim pursuant to Rule
17 12(b)(6). 18 A. Legal Standard 19 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) provides that a defendant may
20 move to dismiss the complaint for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be 1 granted.” Fed. R. of Civ. P. 12(b)(6). To survive dismissal, a plaintiff must allege 2 “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is
3 plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell 4 Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). This requires the plaintiff to 5 provide “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the
6 elements.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. 7 When deciding, the court may consider the plaintiff’s allegations and any 8 “materials incorporated into the complaint by reference.” Metzler Inv. GMBH v. 9 Corinthian Colleges, Inc., 540 F.3d 1049, 1061 (9th Cir. 2008) (citing Tellabs, Inc.
10 v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322 (2007)). A plaintiff’s 11 “allegations of material fact are taken as true and construed in the light most 12 favorable to the plaintiff[,]” but “conclusory allegations of law and unwarranted
13 inferences are insufficient to defeat a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.” 14 In re Stac Elecs. Sec. Litig., 89 F.3d 1399, 1403 (9th Cir. 1996) (citation and 15 brackets omitted). 16 Generally, filing an amended complaint “moots any pending motion to
17 dismiss unless the amended complaint is substantially identical to the original 18 complaint.” Zimmerman v. PeaceHealth, 701 F. Supp. 3d 1099, 1108 (W.D. 19 Wash. 2023). An amended complaint may still be substantially identical to the
20 original complaint even if new claims are asserted, and a court may consider a 1 motion to dismiss as being addressed to the amended complaint where “the new 2 pleading contains some of the same defects raised in the original motion.” Id.
3 B. Analysis 4 Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint asserts that he was discriminated 5 against in a public accommodation on the basis of sex in violation of the WLAD.
6 ECF No. 17-1 at ¶¶ 35-45. Plaintiff’s asserted WLAD violations are substantially 7 similar to Plaintiff’s WLAD claim in his Amended Complaint. ECF No. 17-1. 8 Therefore, the Court will consider Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s 9 WLAD claim as addressed to the WLAD claim in the Second Amended
10 Complaint. 11 WLAD prohibits discrimination based on a person’s membership in a 12 protected class in places of public accommodation. RCW 49.60.215, 49.60.010;
13 see also Floeting v. Group Health Cooperative, 192 Wash. 2d 848, 852 (2019). To 14 establish a prima facie case of discrimination in a place of public accommodation, 15 a plaintiff must prove 16 (1) the plaintiff is a member of a protected class, (2) the defendant’s establishment is a place of public accommodation, (3) the defendant 17 discriminated against the plaintiff when it did not treat the plaintiff in a manner comparable to the treatment it provides to persons outside that 18 class, and (4) the plaintiff’s protected status was a substantial factor that caused the discrimination. 19 Floeting, 192 Wash. 2d at 853. 20 1 The element at issue here is whether the Grant County Juvenile Detention 2 Facility constitutes a public accommodation. Plaintiff asserts in his Second
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1 Jul 06, 2026 SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK 2 3 4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 6
7 TOM WATER, an individual, NO. 1:25-CV-3218-TOR 8 Plaintiff, ORDER ON MOTIONS 9 v.
10 GRANT COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of 11 Washington,
12 Defendant. 13 BEFORE THE COURT are Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss WLAD Claim 14 (ECF No. 14), Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Eighth Amendment Claim (ECF 15 No. 15), and Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint 16 (ECF No. 16). These matters were submitted for consideration without oral 17 argument. The Court has reviewed the record and files herein and is fully 18 informed. For the reasons discussed below, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss 19 WLAD Claim is GRANTED, its Motion to Dismiss Eighth Amendment Claim is 20 DENIED AS MOOT, and Plaintiff’s Motion is GRANTED. 1 FACTUAL BACKGROUND 2 This action arises out of alleged sexual assault that occurred in 2013 when
3 Plaintiff was seventeen years old. The following facts are taken from Plaintiff’s 4 complaint. ECF No. 1-2. At the age of seventeen, Plaintiff was arrested for 5 malicious mischief and taken to the Grant County Juvenile Detention Facility
6 (“GCJDF”) on April 4, 2013. ECF No. 1-2 at ¶ 7. Plaintiff alleges that during his 7 first night at the GCJDF, one of the guards woke Plaintiff up and told him to face 8 the wall. Id. at ¶ 8. The guard then had Plaintiff strip off his clothes and 9 proceeded to sexually assault him. Id. at ¶¶ 9,10,12,13. The next evening, the
10 guard returned with another guard, and Plaintiff was again ordered to strip off his 11 clothes. Id. at ¶¶ 14-16. Each guard then took turns sexually assaulting Plaintiff. 12 Id. at ¶ 17.
13 Plaintiff reported the assault to his mother after he was released from the 14 Grant County Juvenile Detention Facility on May 9, 2013. ECF No. 1-2 at ¶¶ 15 18,19. 16 PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
17 Plaintiff filed a complaint in the Yakima County Superior Court on 18 November 5, 2025, bringing claims against Grant County for rape and sexual 19 assault, negligence, violation of the Eighth Amendment, and a deprivation of civil
20 rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. ECF No. 1-2. Defendant removed the action 1 to this Court on December 3, 2025. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff filed an Amended 2 Complaint on April 2, 2026 amending his claims to negligence, violations of the
3 Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”), RCW 49.60, and an Eighth 4 Amendment violation pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. ECF No. 12. 5 Defendant moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s WLAD and Eighth Amendment
6 claims for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7 12(b)(6). ECF Nos. 14, 15. Plaintiff now moves for leave to file a Second 8 Amended Complaint that dismisses the Eight Amendment claim and adds a § 1983 9 Fourteenth Amendment claim. ECF No. 16. Defendant does not oppose Plaintiff’s
10 motion and agrees that if it is granted, Defendant’s motion to dismiss the Eighth 11 Amendment claim would be moot, leaving only the WLAD claim at issue. ECF 12 No. 23. Therefore, the Court grants Plaintiff’s motion (ECF No. 16) and denies
13 as moot Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claim (ECF 14 No. 15). 15 DISCUSSION 16 Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s WLAD claim pursuant to Rule
17 12(b)(6). 18 A. Legal Standard 19 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) provides that a defendant may
20 move to dismiss the complaint for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be 1 granted.” Fed. R. of Civ. P. 12(b)(6). To survive dismissal, a plaintiff must allege 2 “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is
3 plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell 4 Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). This requires the plaintiff to 5 provide “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the
6 elements.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. 7 When deciding, the court may consider the plaintiff’s allegations and any 8 “materials incorporated into the complaint by reference.” Metzler Inv. GMBH v. 9 Corinthian Colleges, Inc., 540 F.3d 1049, 1061 (9th Cir. 2008) (citing Tellabs, Inc.
10 v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322 (2007)). A plaintiff’s 11 “allegations of material fact are taken as true and construed in the light most 12 favorable to the plaintiff[,]” but “conclusory allegations of law and unwarranted
13 inferences are insufficient to defeat a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.” 14 In re Stac Elecs. Sec. Litig., 89 F.3d 1399, 1403 (9th Cir. 1996) (citation and 15 brackets omitted). 16 Generally, filing an amended complaint “moots any pending motion to
17 dismiss unless the amended complaint is substantially identical to the original 18 complaint.” Zimmerman v. PeaceHealth, 701 F. Supp. 3d 1099, 1108 (W.D. 19 Wash. 2023). An amended complaint may still be substantially identical to the
20 original complaint even if new claims are asserted, and a court may consider a 1 motion to dismiss as being addressed to the amended complaint where “the new 2 pleading contains some of the same defects raised in the original motion.” Id.
3 B. Analysis 4 Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint asserts that he was discriminated 5 against in a public accommodation on the basis of sex in violation of the WLAD.
6 ECF No. 17-1 at ¶¶ 35-45. Plaintiff’s asserted WLAD violations are substantially 7 similar to Plaintiff’s WLAD claim in his Amended Complaint. ECF No. 17-1. 8 Therefore, the Court will consider Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s 9 WLAD claim as addressed to the WLAD claim in the Second Amended
10 Complaint. 11 WLAD prohibits discrimination based on a person’s membership in a 12 protected class in places of public accommodation. RCW 49.60.215, 49.60.010;
13 see also Floeting v. Group Health Cooperative, 192 Wash. 2d 848, 852 (2019). To 14 establish a prima facie case of discrimination in a place of public accommodation, 15 a plaintiff must prove 16 (1) the plaintiff is a member of a protected class, (2) the defendant’s establishment is a place of public accommodation, (3) the defendant 17 discriminated against the plaintiff when it did not treat the plaintiff in a manner comparable to the treatment it provides to persons outside that 18 class, and (4) the plaintiff’s protected status was a substantial factor that caused the discrimination. 19 Floeting, 192 Wash. 2d at 853. 20 1 The element at issue here is whether the Grant County Juvenile Detention 2 Facility constitutes a public accommodation. Plaintiff asserts in his Second
3 Amended Complaint that the facility “constitutes a governmental service and a 4 place of public accommodation within the meaning of RCW 49.60.040 and RCW 5 49.60.215.” ECF No. 17-1 at ¶ 37. Defendant argues that numerous federal courts
6 in Washington have held that a jail/detention facility is not a place of public 7 accommodation. ECF No. 14 at 3-8. 8 Plaintiff responds that juvenile detention facilities, similar to public schools, 9 are government-operated institutions providing education to minors. ECF No. 19
10 at 5. Plaintiff contends that juvenile detention facilities are not the same as a 11 traditional prison or correctional facility but fall within the category of public 12 libraries, educational institutions, facilities for the “rendering of personal services,”
13 and other service-based settings. Id. The Court disagrees. As Defendant correctly 14 notes, RCW 9.94.049(1)(a) defines the term “correctional institution” to mean “any 15 place designated by law for the keeping of persons held in custody under process 16 of law, or under lawful arrest, including state prisons, county and local jails,
17 juvenile detention centers, and other facilities operated . . . primarily for the 18 purposes of punishment, correction, or rehabilitation following conviction or 19 adjudication of a criminal offense.” RCW 9.49.049(1)(a) (emphasis added).
20 Juvenile detention centers are excluded from the definition of “correctional 1 institution” only for the purposes of RCW 9.49.010—penalties for prison riots. 2 Otherwise, the GCJDF falls squarely within the category of a correctional
3 institution as defined under Washington law. Plaintiff points to RCW 4 9.49.049(2)’s definition of a “state correctional institution” to make the leap that 5 juvenile detention centers are excluded from the definition of “correctional
6 facility” applicable to adults. ECF No. 19 at 5. The Court rejects this argument. 7 The definition of “correctional institution” plainly includes both adult and juvenile 8 facilities other than for purposes of RCW 9.94.010, which is inapplicable here. 9 Plaintiff does not cite to, nor is the Court aware of any Washington case law
10 holding that a correctional facility may be a place of public accommodation. On 11 the contrary, Defendant cites to several federal cases out of this district and the 12 Western District of Washington that have held correctional facilities to not be
13 places of public accommodation. ECF No. 14 at 5-8; see, e.g., Picciano v. Clark 14 Cnty., No. C20-06106-DGE, 2022 WL 1624717, at *2 (W.D. Wash. May 23, 15 2022) (“Jail is not a place of public accommodation subject to the WLAD.”); Kral 16 v. King Cnty., No. C10-1360-MAT, 2012 WL 726901, at *18 (W.D. Wash. Mar. 6,
17 2012) (“[Plaintiff] provides an absence of any authority for the conclusion that 18 correctional facilities are considered places of public accommodation under the 19 WLAD.”); Kral v. Benton Cnty., No. CV-09-5014-RHW, 2009 WL 3856918, at *4
20 (E.D. Wash. Nov. 10, 2009), aff'd, 465 F. App'x 685 (9th Cir. 2012) (“[E]xtending 1 RCW 49.60.215 to courthouses and jails would be a significant and wholly 2 unsupported leap from the types of facilities identified in the case law to date.”).
3 Furthermore, even if the Court were to consider Plaintiff’s argument that 4 GCJDF constituted a public educational facility, his argument still fails. WLAD 5 does not define “educational institution,” however, the Washington Court of
6 Appeals defined it in the context of unemployment compensation benefits as 7 facilities “where the primary objective . . . is the learning of academic skills in a 8 classroom setting.” Alexander v. Emp. Sec. Dep't of State of Wash., 38 Wash. App. 9 609, 623 (1984). Correctional facilities are operated for the primary purposes of
10 “punishment, correction, or rehabilitation.” RCW 9.94.049(1)(a). The Court does 11 not find that any offered educational services, even if statutorily obligated, 12 converts GCJDF into an educational institution where its primary purpose is
13 otherwise clearly defined. 14 Second, Plaintiff’s argument that GCJDF falls within the scope of a public 15 accommodation because it offers services to a class of persons entitled to receive 16 them is similarly unavailing. ECF No. 19 at 6-7. WLAD prohibits discrimination
17 in “publicly offered services,” i.e., services made available to the public. A.S. v. 18 Provail, 36 Wash. App. 2d 34, 47 (2025). Nothing in Plaintiff’s Second Amended 19 Complaint supports the idea that GCJDF offers services available to the public.
20 The court in Picciano v. Clark County reached the same conclusion in rejecting the 1 || same argument as applied to a jail. 2022 WL 1624717, at *2 (“A jail does not 2|| offer any services, medical or otherwise, to the public.”). 3 For these reasons, the Court concludes GCJDF is not a place of public accommodation subject to the WLAD. Plaintiffs WLAD claim is DISMISSED 5|| WITH PREJUDICE. 6|| ACCORDINGLY, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 7 1. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss WLAD Claim (ECF No. 14) is 8 GRANTED. Plaintiff's WLAD claim is DISMISSED WITH 9 PREJUDICE. 10 2. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Eighth Amendment Claim (ECF No. 15) 11 is DENIED AS MOOT. 12 3. Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint (ECF 13 No. 16) is GRANTED. Plaintiff shall promptly file his Second 14 Amended Complaint. 15 The District Court Executive is directed to enter this Order and furnish 16|| copies to counsel. 17 DATED July 6, 2026.
<> United States District Judge\ 20