Wilson v. Thomas

43 F. Supp. 3d 628, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115935, 2014 WL 4162526
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedAugust 20, 2014
DocketNo. 5:14-CV-85-BO
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 43 F. Supp. 3d 628 (Wilson v. Thomas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilson v. Thomas, 43 F. Supp. 3d 628, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115935, 2014 WL 4162526 (E.D.N.C. 2014).

Opinion

[631]*631 ORDER

TERRENCE W. BOYLE, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on defendants’ motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and (6). [DE 17]. A hearing was held on this matter in Raleigh North Carolina on August 5, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. For the reasons stated herein, defendants’ motion to dismiss is DENIED.

BACKGROUND

This action is brought by six individually named plaintiffs and an organization, Disability Rights North Carolina (“Disability Rights”) and alleges claims under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Rehabilitation Act”), and the North Carolina Constitution. Disability Rights is a North Carolina nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of individuals with disabilities. Each individual plaintiff in this case holds a current, valid, North Carolina driver’s license. Each individual plaintiff has various restrictions on their licenses pertaining to the various physical disabilities and medical conditions they have. Plaintiffs allege that the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”) requires plaintiffs to undergo repeated medical reviews in spite of medical evidence that these reviews are unnecessary, the DMV requires plaintiffs to take road tests when others are not required to do so and when there is no objective basis for doing so, the DMV imposes restrictions of plaintiffs’ licenses that are unsupported by medical evidence, and that the DMV frequently acts outside of its statutory authority in taking these actions and violates federal laws requiring that purported “safety” measures must be “necessary ... [and] based on actual risks, not on mere speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about individuals with disabilities.” 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(h).

Specifically, plaintiffs object to defendants’ behavior including: requiring unwarranted road testing, medical reviews, and behind-the-wheel assessments; imposing arbitrary license restrictions on plaintiffs and other constituents of Disability Rights; relying on discriminatory policies contained in the Examiners Manual and the Physician’s Guide; forcing plaintiffs to bear the cost and burden of additional testing; and the lack of administrative rules promulgated to govern defendants’ administration of the North Carolina driver medical review program.

DISCUSSION

I. 12(b)(1).

A motion pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) is treated in a manner similar to a motion for summary judgment in that the question before the Court is whether there is a genuine issue of material fact as to the Court’s jurisdiction. Richmond, F. & P. R.R. Co. v. United States, 945 F.2d 765, 768 (4th Cir.1991). “The moving party should prevail on if the material jurisdictional facts are not in dispute and the moving party is entitled to prevail as a matter of law.” Id.

Defendants argue that the individual plaintiffs have not established standing because they have not established the existence of a redressable injury. Similarly, defendants also argue that plaintiff Disability Rights does not have standing because it cannot show that it has suffered any injury.

A. Individual Plaintiffs’ Standing.

Standing to invoke federal jurisdiction requires plaintiffs to show: (1) injury in fact; (2) a casual connection between the injury and the challenged actions of the defendant; and (3) that is more likely than speculative that a favorable decision [632]*632would remedy the injury. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). “At the pleading stage, general factual allegations of injury resulting from the defendant’s conduct may suffice.” Id. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130. When the plaintiffs themselves are the object of the challenged government action, “there is ordinarily little question that the action [ ] has caused [them] injury and that a judgment preventing [ ] the action will redress it.” Id. at 561-62, 112 S.Ct. 2130. “The standing doctrine [ ] depends not upon the merits, but on whether the plaintiff is the proper party to bring the suit.” White Tail Park, Inc. v. Stroube, 413 F.3d 451, 460-61 (4th Cir.2005) (citations and quotations omitted). At the pleading stage, an allegation of injury to the plaintiff resulting from the defendant’s conduct meets the evidentiary burden of demonstrating standing to sue. Id. at 460.

Here, the individual plaintiffs allege that defendants discriminated against them based on their disabilities, and seek relief from the Court that, if granted, would redress the injuries they have experienced. Therefore, they have standing.

B. Disability Rights’s Standing.

There are two types of organizational standing: associational standing, where the organization represents the interests of constituents who would otherwise have standing; and organizational standing, where the organization itself has interests relating to the alleged wrong. Hunt v. Wash. State Apple Adver. Comm’n, 432 U.S. 333, 343-47, 97 S.Ct. 2434, 53 L.Ed.2d 383 (1977). Associational standing may be asserted by an organization where:

(a) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (b) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization’s purpose; and (c) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit.

Id. at 343, 97 S.Ct. 2434. A non-membership organization has associational standing where it possesses the “indicia of membership.” Id. at 344, 97 S.Ct. 2434.

Here, the individual plaintiffs have standing as discussed supra Part I.A. Disability Rights seeks to protect interests that are germane to the organization’s purpose. Because Disability Rights’s primary function is to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities, its challenge to the defendants’ allegedly discriminatory practices is germane to the organization’s purpose. Disability Rights seeks the nondiscriminatory administration of the driver licensing program to benefit all eligible constituents of Disability Rights and declaratory and injunctive relief furthering that goal. This is clearly relief that does not require the participation of any individuals. Finally, Disability Rights meets the last requirement for associational standing for a non-membership organization because it possesses the “indicia of membership.” Disability Rights is a protection and advocacy organization whose characteristics are similar to the Washington State Apple Advertising Commission which the Supreme Court found to have associational standing in Hunt, 432 U.S. at 337, 344-45, 97 S.Ct. 2434.

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43 F. Supp. 3d 628, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115935, 2014 WL 4162526, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilson-v-thomas-nced-2014.