Working America, Inc. v. City of Bloomington

142 F. Supp. 3d 823, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151524, 2015 WL 6756089
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedNovember 4, 2015
DocketCivil No. 14-1758 ADM/SER
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 142 F. Supp. 3d 823 (Working America, Inc. v. City of Bloomington) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Working America, Inc. v. City of Bloomington, 142 F. Supp. 3d 823, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151524, 2015 WL 6756089 (mnd 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ANN D. MONTGOMERY, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

I. INTRODUCTION

On August 20, 2015, the undersigned United States District Judge heard oral argument on Plaintiff Working America, Inc.’s (“Working America”) Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket No. 14] and Defendant City of Bloomington (“Bloom-ington” or the “City”) Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket No. 20].1 For the reasons set forth below, Working America’s motion is granted.

II. BACKGROUND

Working America, an advocacy organization focusing on labor issues, challenges Bloomington’s ordinance that requires certain door-to-door solicitors to obtain a “solicitor’s license” prior to soliciting. Working America seeks a declaratory judgment that Bloomington’s ordinance unconstitutionally infringes on Working America’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

A. The Ordinance

Spurred by citizen complaints, Bloom-ington began regulating door-to-door solicitation in 1993. Reuvers Aff. [Docket No. 23] Ex. 3. A decade later, motivated by residents’ concerns of privacy, aggressive sales tactics, theft, and burglary, the City proposed amendments to its solicitation regulations, which took effect in December 2003. Id. Exs, 4, 7. For the first time, the City imposed restrictions on all citywide solicitation and established an 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. solicitation curfew. Id. Ex. 7. The City also implemented a licensing system, which required certain solicitors to have a license before engaging in any form of solicitation. Id.

The current regulations, largely unchanged from the 2003 amendments, are codified at Division R in Chapter 14 of the City Code (the “Ordinance”). The purpose of Division R is expressed as:

to prevent fraud and criminal activity, such as burglary, theft, and assault and to protect the privacy of residents in their homes by requiring commercial solicitors to be licensed and to impose narrowly tailored restrictions on the activity of all solicitors operating within the City that balance the City’s legitimate concern with crime prevention and the health, safety and welfare of its residents against thé right of persons to engage in solicitation as a form of constitutionally protected free expression or religious proselytizing. It is not the purpose of this ordinance to burden interstate commerce or interfere with constitutionally protected rights under the [827]*827First Amendment of the United States Constitution or Art. I, Sec. 3 of the Minnesota Constitution.

Bloomington,- Minn., Code § 14.352.2

The Ordinance defines “Regulated Activity” as “Going from place-to-place (1) advertising or selling any product, service, or procuring orders for the sale of merchandise or personal services for future delivery or future performance; or. (2) seeking donations of money, or property on behalf of any person, organization or cause.” Compl. [Docket No. 1] Ex. A; Bloomington, Minn., Code § 14.354. The Ordinance defines a “solicitor” as:

an individual who goes from place-to-plaee, including private property and private residences, without an invitation from the owner or occupant, for the purpose of: (1) advertising, promoting, selling, leasing, installing or explaining any product, service, organization or cause; (2) seeking donations of money or property on behalf of any nonprofit, political or educational organization or for the purpose of procuring orders for the sale of merchandise or personal services for future delivery or future performance, whether or not the individual has a sample of the merchandise or is collecting advance payments for the orders. “Solicitor” shall also include the activity which has as its ultimate purpose the obtaining of orders.

Id. An individual may be a solicitor that does not engage in Regulated Activity — for example someone volunteering for an environmental organization seeking signatures for a clean water petition — but all individuals who engage- in Regulated- Activity are solicitors. Solicitors are permitted to engage in Regulated Activity only between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Id. § 14.363Q.

While Bloomington generally requires individuals to obtain a license prior to engaging in Regulated Activity, individuals are not required to be licensed if they:

solicit[ ] money, donations, or financial assistance of any kind or tak[e] orders for goods sold by an exempt organization, or sell[ ] or distributee] literature or merchandise for which a fee is charged or solicited on behalf of such an organization. ¡

Compl. Ex. B; Bloomington, Minn., Code § 14.356(a). Generally, “Exempt Organizations” are those organizations registered under either §§ 501(c)(3) or 527 of the Internal Revenue Code.3 There is, however, an exception to the exemption: the exemption “does not 'include individuals who are paid to engage in regulated activity.” Id. Therefore, individuals who áre paid to partake in regulated activity on behalf of an Exempt Organization must still be licensed. It is a misdemeanor to engage in regulated activity without the required license. Id. § 14.367.

The City’s solicitor’s license application requésts 18 areas of information. Information is requested about the individual solic[828]*828itor’s name, physical description, and a recent photograph. Id § 14.357.- The City additionally requests general information about the proposed solicitation, such as when and where the solicitation will occur, and other information the City Council or licensing authority requires. Id. The application is required to be submitted at least one week prior to soliciting and there is an application fee of $33. Id. §§ 14.358,, 14.03. The City states it will accept or deny a license application within seven working days. Id. § 14.361. .

The Ordinance expressly provides 11 reasons for denial of a license, such, as individuals who are not legally allowed to work under federal or state labor laws, non-United States citizens or resident aliens, or individuals who are “not of good moral character and repute.” Id. § 14.362.

B. Working America and this Lawsuit

. Working America is ■ a nonprofit § 501(c)(5) labor organization that is a chartered affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Towne Deck [Docket No. 18] ¶ 2, Working America has over three million members who are encouraged, but not required, to contribute $5 in annual dues. Id. ¶¶ 4, 5. New members are primarily recruited through door-to-door . canvassing operations, in which professional canvassers speak.with individuals about Working America’s interests and goals and ask for their membership. Id. ¶ 5. Under the Ordinance, Working, America is classified as an Exempt Organization.

Door-to-door canvassing, while costly compared to seeking- membership by phoné calling or mailings, is Working America’s most effective way of encouraging political engagement.' Id. ¶¶ 7-8. To this end, Working America typically canvasses for new members in the late afternoon and evening until 9:00 p.m. Id. ¶ 6. Since canvassing requires residents to be present in their homes, Working America has found, canvassing prior to -7:00 p.m. to be largely ineffective. Id. ¶ 9. Thus, requiring door-to-door activities to cease at 8:00 p.m. would substantially diminish the effectiveness of Working America’s canvassing operations. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
142 F. Supp. 3d 823, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151524, 2015 WL 6756089, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/working-america-inc-v-city-of-bloomington-mnd-2015.