Seibel, United States District Judge.
Before the Court are the Motion for Summary Judgment of Plaintiffs New York Youth Club ("NYYC"), Miguel B. and Kelvonte C. (collectively "Plaintiffs"), (Doc. 30), and the Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment of Defendants Town of Harrison, Village of Harrison (together, "the Town"), Supervisor of the Town of Harrison and Mayor of the Village of Harrison Ron Belmont, Members of the Town Board of the Town of Harrison Fred Sciliano, Steve Malfitano, Marlane Amelio and Joseph Cannella, and the Office of the Town Clerk of the Town of Harrison (collectively "Defendants"), (Doc. 26). For the following reasons both motions are GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART, in that the claims against the office of the Town Clerk and the individual Defendants other than Belmont are dismissed, and the statute at issue is unconstitutional.
The following facts, which are based on the parties' Local Rule 56.1 statements and supporting materials, are undisputed unless noted.
Plaintiff NYYC is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that recruits "at-risk" teens from "very challenging environments" to become members. (Ps' 56.1 Response ¶¶ 24-25; Marinelli Aff. Ex. M, at 7-8, 30.)
In 1934, the Town passed an ordinance, codified as Chapter 183 of the Town's Code, regulating door-to-door solicitation by establishing a permitting scheme for individuals wishing to solicit or peddle. (Ps' 56.1 Response ¶ 1.)
(See Ps' 56.1 Response ¶ 7; Marinelli Aff. Ex. E.)
The cost of fingerprinting and the concomitant criminal history check is approximately $87.00. (Ps' 56.1 Response ¶ 22.) Permits granted under Chapter 183 expire after one year, at which point, if the individual wishes to continue to solicit or peddle in the Town, the permit must be renewed, and the cost of the fingerprint check paid again. (See Marinelli Aff. Ex. E, at 183:9.) Chapter 183 was also amended to add a "Do Not Knock Registry," which allows a property owner to designate his or her address as prohibited for soliciting and peddling purposes. (See id. 183:11; Ps' 56.1 Response ¶ 6.)
Chapter 183, as it stands today, was enacted with the stated purpose of
(Marinelli Aff. Ex. E, at 183:2.)
The impetus for the challenged Amendments apparently came about sometime
Additionally, Mayor Belmont discussed proposed amendments to Chapter 183 with a Town Attorney responsible for drafting legislation after it became apparent during his 2011 mayoral campaign that "people were concerned about peddlers and people knocking on their doors." (Marinelli Aff. Ex. I, at 5, 10, 12-14.) Mayor Belmont understood the concern to be that citizens "didn't feel that people should be able to knock on their door at any time and solicit," but people did not have specific objections to the types or classes of people knocking on their doors, (id. 11), or express concerns that door-to-door solicitors had criminal backgrounds, (id. 14, 21). Mayor Belmont never had a discussion with anyone from the Town public safety office or Town police department regarding solicitors or peddlers. (Id. 21.)
Since the enactment of Chapter 183's fingerprinting requirement in 2012, neither the individually named Plaintiffs nor other non-plaintiff NYYC members have solicited in the Town, allegedly due to the prohibitively high cost of the requisite fingerprinting. (Jackson Aff. ¶¶ 18-21, 29.)
Plaintiffs filed their Complaint in this action on Oct. 9, 2012, and a Second Amended Complaint ("SAC"), (Doc. 19), on October 30, 2013, alleging that Chapter 183's fingerprinting requirement abridges their rights guaranteed under the First Amendment because, among other things, it: (1) imposes an unconstitutional financial burden, (Ps' Mem. 8); (2) fails to leave open other opportunities to engage in First Amendment-protected activity, (id. at 10); (3) invades Plaintiffs' privacy, (id. at 11); and (4), in any event, is not reasonably related to an important governmental purpose, (id. at 11). Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that the ordinance has prohibited them from "perform[ing] the fundraising and advocacy in the Town and Village of Harrison that they performed prior to the passage of the Ordinance, because of the threat of the Defendants to enforce it." (SAC ¶ 53.) Accordingly, Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief with respect
Summary judgment is appropriate when "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). "[T]he dispute about a material fact is `genuine' ... if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A fact is "material" if it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.... Factual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary will not be counted." Id. On a motion for summary judgment, "[t]he evidence of the non-movant is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor." Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The movant bears the initial burden of demonstrating "the absence of a genuine issue of material fact," and, if satisfied, the burden then shifts to the non-movant to present "evidence sufficient to satisfy every element of the claim." Holcomb v. Iona Coll., 521 F.3d 130, 137 (2d Cir.2008) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). "The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [non-movant's] position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [non-movant]." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Moreover, the non-movant "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts," Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986), and he "may not rely on conclusory allegations or unsubstantiated speculation," Fujitsu Ltd. v. Fed. Express Corp., 247 F.3d 423, 428 (2d Cir.2001) (internal quotation marks omitted).
"A party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must support the assertion by ... citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials...." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1). Where an affidavit is used to support or oppose the motion, it "must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show that the affiant ... is competent to testify on the matters stated." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(4); see Major League Baseball Props., Inc. v. Salvino, Inc., 542 F.3d 290, 310 (2d Cir.2008). In the event that "a party fails ... to properly address another party's assertion of fact as required by Rule 56(c), the court may," among other things, "consider the fact undisputed for purposes of the motion" or "grant summary judgment if the motion and supporting materials — including the facts considered undisputed — show that the movant is entitled to it." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)(2), (3).
"[T]he government may impose reasonable restrictions on the time, place, or manner of ... speech" that is protected under the First Amendment, as long as the restrictions "are justified without reference to the content of the regulated speech, ... are narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, and... leave open ample alternative channels for communication of the information." Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 791, 109 S.Ct. 2746, 105 L.Ed.2d 661 (1989) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Although preventing crime and "preserving the private property [and] peace" of municipal residents, (Marinelli Aff. Ex. E at 183:2), have been found to be significant government interests, see, e.g., Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc'y of N.Y., Inc. v. Vill. of Stratton, 536 U.S. 150, 163, 122 S.Ct. 2080, 153 L.Ed.2d 205 (2002) (crime prevention is legitimate interest that can justify door-to-door soliciting regulations); Ward, 491 U.S. at 796, 109 S.Ct. 2746 (municipalities have significant interest in protecting "the well-being, tranquility, and privacy of the home") (internal quotation marks omitted); Jobe v. City of Catlettsburg, 409 F.3d 261, 268 (6th Cir. 2005) (individuals' desire to have their private property left alone constituted significant government interest); N.J. Citizen Action v. Edison Twp., 797 F.2d 1250, 1265 (3d Cir.1986) (deterring crime is an "indisputably substantial" interest in context of regulating solicitation), here the Town has failed to set forth sufficient documentary or testimonial evidence to show that its interests in crime-prevention and/or the tranquility of private property are actually served by or justify the fingerprinting requirements in Chapter 183. Rather, Defendants have provided generalizations about Town residents' concern with permissible hours of solicitation, (Marinelli Aff. Ex. I, at 10-11; Ex. R); pointed to meeting minutes from a public Town Board hearing that offer no insight as to why fingerprint background checks are necessary, (id. Ex. R);
Further, Defendants have offered nothing to show that any meaningful or significant research regarding fingerprinting ordinances was conducted prior to the commencement of this suit. Indeed, Defendants fail to identify concerns actually voiced or recognized prior to the enactment of the Amendments that would evince a basis for a fingerprinting requirement. In other words, while the fingerprinting requirement would identify solicitors or peddlers with criminal records, in
In sum, the Town has not carried its burden. It has simply not shown either the existence of a significant government interest justifying the provision or how the provision addresses the concerns that actually existed. That is, the Town has not established a factual basis for concluding that it reasonably believed that criminals were engaging in door-to-door solicitation, that a problem with criminal-solicitors ever existed in the past, or that residents possessed a real concern that criminals were engaging in door-to-door solicitation. Although this Court can imagine a fingerprinting requirement like the one in Chapter 183 potentially being justifiable in other circumstances, the Defendants in this case have not shown any connection between a legitimate, significant government interest and the restriction imposed by the fingerprinting requirement that justifies the infringement on speech it causes. In addressing the legitimate concerns of its citizens, the Town painted with too broad a brush and enacted an ordinance that was not narrowly tailored to serve those interests. Accordingly, I find Chapter 183 unconstitutional to the extent that it requires individuals wishing to solicit or peddle door-to-door to submit to, and pay for, fingerprinting checks. In the absence of genuine disputes of material fact regarding the constitutionality of Chapter 183, Plaintiffs' motion for declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to Chapter 183's fingerprinting requirement is granted, and Defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint in its entirety is denied.
Defendants argue that the complaint should be dismissed as against the individual Members of the Town Board and Mayor Belmont because they are entitled to legislative immunity, (Ds' Mem. 19), and that in any event, to the extent those Defendants are being sued in their official capacities, they are not proper parties as the Town is the real party in interest, (id. 20-21).
Plaintiffs do not squarely address Defendants' legislative immunity argument, but "acknowledge that they cannot seek damages against the individual defendants," and assert that the Mayor and Town Board members are proper defendants because Plaintiffs seek only declaratory and injunctive relief as to them. (See Ps' Mem. in Opp., at 11.) It is evident, then, from Plaintiffs' clarification as to the type of relief sought, that they wish to proceed against Defendants in their official capacities only. "[O]fficial-capacity suits generally represent only another way of pleading an action against an entity of which an officer is an agent." Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 690 n. 55, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). It follows that when a plaintiff prevails in an official-capacity suit, it must look to the municipality as the real party in interest.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, government officials may be sued in their official capacities for prospective declaratory or injunctive relief. See Glass v. Coughlin, No. 91-CV-193, 1991 WL 102619, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. May 29, 1991). To succeed on
Defendants also argue, correctly, that the Office of the Town Clerk cannot be sued because it is an administrative arm of a municipality and, under New York law, does not have a legal identity separate and apart from the municipality. See Robischung-Walsh v. Nassau Cty. Police Dep't, 699 F.Supp.2d 563, 565 (E.D.N.Y.2010); see also Smith v. Westchester Cty., 769 F.Supp.2d 448, 454 n. 1 (S.D.N.Y.2011) ("[W]here both the municipality and the municipal agency have been named as defendants, courts have dismissed the claims against the agency.") (collecting cases). Accordingly, the claims against the Town Clerk are dismissed.
Defendants argue that Plaintiffs Miguel B. and Kelvonte C. fail to establish that they have standing because: (1) both fail to identify a particularized injury; (2) neither is a minor nor an "at-risk" youth; and (3) both "had no knowledge of this action" and "had never read the Complaint." (Ds' Mem. 23.)
Article III, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution restricts federal court jurisdiction to "Cases" and "Controversies." U.S. Const. art. III, § 2; Vt. Right to Life Comm., Inc. v. Sorrell, 221 F.3d 376, 381 (2d Cir.2000). "Constitutional standing is the threshold question in every federal case, determining the power of the court to entertain the suit." Leibovitz v. N.Y.C. Transit Auth., 252 F.3d 179, 184 (2d Cir. 2001) (internal quotation marks omitted). To establish standing within the meaning of Article III,
Field Day, LLC v. Cnty. of Suffolk, 463 F.3d 167, 175 (2d Cir.2006) (alterations in original) (quoting Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992)).
The Town in fact enforces Chapter 183 against individuals who solicit door-to-door without permits. (See Marinelli Aff. Ex. H.) Plaintiffs Kelvonte and Miguel, and non-plaintiff NYYC members, solicited door-to-door in the Town every eight to twelve weeks prior to the passage of Chapter 183's fingerprinting requirement. (Marinelli Aff. Ex. K, at 41-42; Ex. L, at 32; Ex. N, at 22-23.) Since the enactment of the fingerprinting requirement, however, no NYYC members, including the individual Plaintiffs, have solicited in the Town. (Jackson Aff. in Support, ¶ 29.) "A litigant who suffers an ongoing injury resulting from [a] statute's chilling effect on his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights does have standing to sue." Pac. Frontier v. Pleasant Grove City, 414 F.3d 1221, 1229 (10th Cir.2005) (internal quotation marks omitted) (holding plaintiffs demonstrated injury-in-fact where failure to submit to fingerprinting and refusal to pay fee would necessarily lead to denial of door-to-door soliciting license). If Plaintiffs Kelvonte and Miguel were to attempt to solicit, once again, in the Town, they would be subject to the effects and harms of Chapter 183's constitutionally infirm fingerprinting provision. The ordinance, in effect, forces them to choose between foregoing door-to-door solicitation in the Town altogether, in violation of their First Amendment rights, or soliciting in the Town in violation of the law. Plaintiffs' decision to stop engaging in protected speech in the Town constitutes harm sufficient to satisfy Article III's injury-in-fact requirement.
Second, Defendants argue that the individual Plaintiffs lack standing because they "had no knowledge of this action, [and] had never read the Complaint...." (Ds' Mem. 23; Ps' 56.1 Response ¶ 42.) While the Court finds this fact disturbing, Defendants again fail to cite authority or otherwise explain why this deprives Plaintiffs of standing.
Nevertheless, this argument raises questions regarding Plaintiffs' counsel's professional and ethical obligations to both the Court and their clients. If, as Miguel and Kelvonte testified, and as their reply affidavits seem to confirm, counsel filed the complaint without consulting them, then it is entirely unclear how counsel could have met their obligations under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b) or New York Rule of Professional Conduct 1.4. Plaintiffs' counsel are directed to write the Court, within 14 days of the date of this Order, to explain the circumstances of counsel's filing this lawsuit on behalf of Miguel and Kelvonte, including the degree of consultation with them.
For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED IN PART, in that the claims against the individual Defendants, other than Belmont, and the Office of the Town Clerk are dismissed, and otherwise DENIED, and Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED as to the remaining Defendants in that the statute at issue is unconstitutional, and DENIED as to the dismissed Defendants. The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to terminate the pending motions. (Docs. 26, 30.) The parties are directed to confer and submit, no later than
The parties have not suggested that Plaintiffs' activities in the Town might constitute commercial speech subject to a different constitutional test. This may be due to the fact that Plaintiffs seem to be bringing a facial challenge to the fingerprinting requirement (in that they argue that the problem is the ordinance itself, not how it is being applied to them specifically), and on its face, the ordinance applies to solicitation of both charitable contributions and commercial transactions. The former may be subject to a higher level of constitutional protection than the latter, see id., at 680, but even if this were a challenge to a restriction on purely commercial speech, the fingerprinting requirement would still fail the test set out in Central Hudson Gas & Elec. Corp. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n of N.Y., 447 U.S. 557, 564, 100 S.Ct. 2343, 65 L.Ed.2d 341 (1980), for regulations of commercial speech. This is so because, for the same reasons (detailed below) that it fails the Ward test, the regulation does not directly advance the substantial state interest said to have justified its enactment.