ELLEN SEGAL HUVELLE, United States District Judge
Plaintiffs, individuals who are either licensed to operate taxicabs in the District of Columbia or who utilize taxicabs as passengers, bring this action against Ronald Linton, Chairman of the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission, and the District of Columbia, challenging various regulations enacted by the Commission as violating the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the United States Constitution, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12132, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"). (See 2d Am. Compl., Nov. 23, 2014 [ECF No. 17] ("2AC").) Before the Court are plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction (Pls.' Mot. for Preliminary Injunction, Nov. 23, 2013 [ECF No. 18] ("PI Mot.")) and defendants' motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. (Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss Pls.' Second Am. Compl. or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment, Jan. 17, 2014 [ECF No. 19] ("Defs.' MTD/SJ Mot.").) For the reasons stated herein, defendants' motion to dismiss will be granted. Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction and defendants' motion for summary judgment will be denied as moot.
In 2012, the D.C. Council enacted the Taxicab Service Improvement Amendment Act of 2012 ("Improvement Act"). 2012 District of Columbia Laws 19-184 (Act 19-437). One section of the Improvement Act addressed the "modernization of taxicabs" in the District, giving the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission
Pursuant to the Improvement Act, the Taxicab Commission issued implementing regulations, which, in relevant part, provide for the collection of a $0.25 passenger surcharge for each trip, 31 D.C. Mun. Regs. § 1103; require licensed taxicab drivers to install a "modern taximeter system" ("MTS"); see 31 D.C. Mun. Regs. § 603 ("MTS Regulation"), and require drivers to install a new standardized dome light, 31 D.C. Mun. Regs. § 605 ("Dome Light Regulation").
The MTS Regulation requires drivers to acquire an MTS from an approved "payment service provider" ("PSP"). The MTS includes a taximeter, a global positioning system, and a payment processing unit. The MTS is turned on when a driver begins a shift and turned off when the shift ends. When it is on, the MTS connects to the PSP, which then receives and processes payment information for each trip in real time. Through the PSP, the MTS is also connected to the Taxicab Commission's Taxicab Information System ("TCIS").
31 D.C. Mun. Regs. § 603.9(c). The MTS is also used to "provide the information necessary to ensure that the passenger surcharge has been assessed for each trip, regardless of how the fare is paid." Id. § 603.9(d). Every seven days, the PSP must remit the passenger surcharges it collects to the District. Id. § 408.15.
The Dome Light Regulation requires drivers to install new "uniform" dome lights. These dome lights differ from prior lights in two material ways. First, instead of being operated by a manual switch, the dome light display is controlled by engaging the MTS. The dome light displays "`Taxi For Hire' at all times when the taxicab is available for hire" and goes
Six individuals who are licensed to operate taxicabs in the District of Columbia (Choudhary M. Azam, Tariq Mahmood, Waleed A. Mohammed, Ahmed Djebbour, Mohammed Akram, and Mohammed Saleem Syed) and two individuals who utilize District of Columbia taxicabs as passengers (Benjamin P. Stewart and Per Kristian Hoel) have filed a complaint against the District of Columbia alleging that the MTS Regulation violates the Fourth Amendment's protection against "unreasonable searches and seizures" and the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection and that the Dome Light Regulation violates the Title II of the ADA and the ADEA (Counts I-IV). The complaint also seeks to hold Linton individually liable for these violations (Counts V-VII) and to hold the District liable for negligence in failing to prevent the violations (Count VIII). Plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction. In response, defendants have opposed plaintiffs' motion and have moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of standing
Count I of plaintiffs' complaint alleges that the Dome Light Regulation violates Title II of the ADA. Title II provides that "no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity." 42 U.S.C.A. § 12132
Defendants' contention that plaintiffs lack standing to challenge the Dome Light Regulation as violating the ADA is without merit. "To establish constitutional standing, a plaintiff must show an injury in fact that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct and that will likely be redressed by a favorable decision on the merits." Muir v. Navy Fed. Credit Union, 529 F.3d 1100, 1105 (D.C.Cir.2008) (citing Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992)).
Here, the complaint alleges injury (that "[t]he new dome light system creates a hazardous condition" for Syed and other drivers with disabilities), causation (the Dome Light Regulation is the reason all drivers have to install the new dome light system), and redressability (if the Dome Light Regulation violates the ADA, disabled drivers could not be required to install the new system). These arguably
Although the ADA count will not be dismissed for lack of standing, it will be dismissed for failure to state a claim. To survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to "state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id., at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955. A pleading that offers "labels and conclusions" or "a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Id. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Nor will a complaint survive if it tenders "naked assertion[s]" devoid of "further factual enhancement." Id., at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955.
To state a claim under Title II of the ADA, a plaintiff must allege: (1) that he is a "qualified individual with a disability"; (2) who "was either excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of a public entity's services, programs, or activities, or was otherwise discriminated against by the public entity"; and (3) that "such exclusion, denial of benefits, or discrimination was by reason of his disability." Alston v. D.C., 561 F.Supp.2d 29, 37 (D.D.C.2008). The complaint alleges that plaintiff Syed has a "certified medical disability as a result of a brain hemorrhage and stroke he suffered"
Count IV of the complaint alleges that the Dome Light Regulation violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"). Under the ADEA, it is "unlawful for an employer to ... discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's age." 29 U.S.C.A. § 623(a)(1). The complaint alleges that the Dome Light Regulation "places an undue burden on taxicab drivers over the age of forty and puts them at an unfair disadvantage to drivers who are younger than forty." (2AC ¶¶ 121-134.) The complaint further alleges that this burden amounts to discrimination in violation of the ADEA. Five of the named plaintiffs (Azam, Mohammed, Akram, Djebbour, and Mahmood) are licensed taxi drivers who "are over the age of forty." Defendants have moved to dismiss each count for lack of standing and failure to state a claim.
The District's challenge to plaintiffs' standing is again without merit. Plaintiffs allege that the Dome Light Regulation puts drivers over the age of forty at an unfair disadvantage and, if they were to prevail on their ADEA challenge to the Dome Light Regulation, that injury would be redressed. As previously noted, whether plaintiffs will prevail does not bear on their standing to bring a claim. Accordingly, just as with the ADA count, plaintiffs have adequately alleged the elements of Article III standing.
The ADEA count will, however, be dismissed for failure to state a claim. First, neither the District itself nor the Taxicab Commission qualifies as plaintiffs' "employer" under the ADEA. See, e.g., Bonaby v. New York City Taxi & Limousine Comm'n., No. 02-cv-5423, 2003 WL 21649453, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. July 14, 2003) ("The plain meaning and statutory definitions of "employer" ... in ... the ADEA indicate that those terms are not intended to apply to the type of licensing activity in which the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission engages.") Second, the allegation that the Dome Light Regulation "places an undue burden" on drivers over the age of 40 without any indication of what that burden is or how it is linked to the drivers' age fails to provide sufficient "factual content" to "allow the court to draw the reasonable inference" that the Dome Light Regulation violates the ADEA. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Finally, the complaint does not allege that the taxicab drivers' age was the "but-for" cause of the decision to enact the Dome Light Regulation. See Gross v. FBL Fin. Servs., Inc., 557 U.S. 167, 176, 129 S.Ct. 2343, 174 L.Ed.2d 119 (2009) ("To establish a disparate-treatment claim under the plain language of the ADEA, therefore, a plaintiff must prove that age was the "but-for" cause of the employer's adverse decision.") Accordingly, plaintiffs' have failed to plausibly allege that the Dome Light Regulation violates the ADEA.
Count III challenges the MTS Regulation on equal protection grounds. It alleges that under the MTS Regulation (and related rules), licensed taxicab drivers are subjected to "draconian" requirements that impose greater burdens on them than are imposed on any other individual or
"The Equal Protection Clause protects against arbitrary and irrational classifications, and against invidious discrimination stemming from prejudice and hostility."
Here, plaintiffs' equal protection challenge is premised on the application of the strict scrutiny test. However, strict scrutiny will only be applied to a facially neutral law, if the law "has been applied differently on the basis of race, see Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 373-74, 6 S.Ct. 1064, 30 L.Ed. 220 (1886), or if it is "in fact, motivated by discriminatory intent and has a racially discriminatory impact." See Village of Arlington Heights v. Metro. Hous. Dev. Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 265-66, 97 S.Ct. 555, 50 L.Ed.2d 450 (1977); City of Mobile v. Bolden, 446 U.S. 55, 113, 100 S.Ct. 1519, 64 L.Ed.2d 47 (1980) ("a showing of discriminatory purpose is necessary to impose strict scrutiny on facially neutral classifications having a racially discriminatory impact"); Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339, 81 S.Ct. 125, 5 L.Ed.2d 110 (1960); Smith v. Henderson, No. 13-cv-420, 982 F.Supp.2d 32, 2013 WL 5592905 (D.D.C.2013); In re Navy Chaplaincy, 738 F.3d 425, 428 (D.C.Cir.2013) ("equal protection attack on ... facially neutral policy could prevail only if [plaintiffs] ... [could] prov[e] an intent to discriminate"); Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 242, 96 S.Ct. 2040, 48 L.Ed.2d 597 (1976) ("Disproportionate impact is not irrelevant, but it is not the sole touchstone of an invidious racial discrimination forbidden by the Constitution. Standing alone, it does not trigger the rule that racial classifications are to be subjected to the strictest scrutiny and are justifiable only by the weightiest of considerations.")
The regulations at issue are "facially neutral" and there is no suggestion that they have been discriminatorily applied. As for the third path to strict scrutiny, the complaint arguably alleges a racially disparate impact (by alleging that the requirements are unique to the taxicab industry and that the drivers are a "suspect class" because they are all either foreign born or African-American), but it fails to allege any basis upon which to infer a plausible inference of discriminatory intent could be drawn. The sole allegation pertaining to intent is that the regulation "intentionally targets" licensed taxicab drivers. But the same could presumably be alleged as to every regulation enacted by the Taxicab Commission. As the Supreme Court explained in Iqbal,
129 S.Ct. at 1948. Considering the "spare facts and allegations" in the complaint, the Court cannot reasonably infer that defendants were "motivated by discriminatory intent or purpose." Atherton v. Dist. of Columbia Office of the Mayor, 567 F.3d 672, 688 (D.C.Cir.2009); Ekwem v. Fenty, 666 F.Supp.2d 71, 78-79 (D.D.C.2009). Absent an adequate allegation of discriminatory purpose or intent, strict scrutiny is not warranted. As there is no allegation
Count II alleges that the MTS Regulation violates the Fourth Amendment right of taxicab drivers and passengers to be protected from "unreasonable searches and seizures."
Plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment claim fails because requiring licensed taxicab drivers in the District to install a MTS with a GPS tracking device does not constitute a Fourth Amendment search. A search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment occurs when the government trespasses on private property, United States v. Jones, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 945, 949, 181 L.Ed.2d 911 (2012), or when it infringes on an individual's "reasonable expectation of privacy." See Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 351, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967); Maryland v. Macon, 472 U.S. 463, 469, 105 S.Ct. 2778, 86 L.Ed.2d 370 (1985); see also Jones ("the Katz reasonable-expectation-of-privacy test has been added to, not substituted for, the common-law trespassory test"). Here there has been no trespass and no infringement of a reasonable expectation of privacy. As recently explained by another federal district court, confronted with a Fourth Amendment challenge to similar taxicab requirements, "mandating the installation of [a taximeter system with GPS tracking] and installing the system in compliance with regulations do not constitute a common-law trespass: taxi drivers are aware of the system, the system is installed pursuant to regulations, and the taxicabs in which the system is installed are not truly private vehicles." See El-Nahal v. Yassky, No. 13-cv-03690, 993 F.Supp.2d 460, 467, 2014 WL 333463, at *7 (S.D.N.Y.2014). In addition, neither the taxicab drivers nor passengers have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the pick-up and drop-off data collected by the GPS tracking aspect of the MTS. In 1983, the Supreme Court held that "[a] person traveling in an automobile on public thoroughfares has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his movements from one place to another." See United States v. Knotts, 460 U.S. 276, 281, 103 S.Ct. 1081, 75 L.Ed.2d 55 (1983). Applying Knotts, other courts have held, and this Court agrees, that requiring a taxicab driver to install a GPS tracking
Counts V, VI, and VII allege that Linton is "individually liable" pursuant 42 U.S.C. 1983 for each of the statutory and constitutional claims against the District. (See 2AC ¶¶ 135-138 (constitutional violations); ¶¶ 139-143 (ADA violation); ¶¶ 144-148 (ADEA violation).) In each instance, the complaint alleges that "Linton, in his capacity as Chairman of the Commission, is responsible for supervising the conduct of commission members in relation to constitutional and other violations that the defendants committed against the plaintiffs" (2AC ¶¶ 136, 140, 145) and for "ensur[ing] that the Commission's policies and regulations do not violate" the law (2AC ¶¶ 141, 146)
All of these claims are meritless. First, in each instance Linton's liability depends on the existence of an underlying constitutional or statutory violation, but the Court has determined that all of the claims against the District must be dismissed. Second, there is no individual liability under either Title II of the ADA or the ADEA. See, e.g., Smith v. Janey, 664 F.Supp.2d 1, 8 (D.D.C.2009)("no individual liability under ... the ADEA or the ADA"), aff'd sub nom. Smith v. Rhee, No. 09-7100, 2010 WL 1633177 (D.C.Cir. Apr. 6, 2010); Sindram v. Merriwether, 506 F.Supp.2d 7, 11 (D.D.C.2007) ("Title II of the ADA does not permit lawsuits against individuals."). Accordingly, plaintiffs' claims against Linton will be dismissed.
Count VIII of the complaint alleges that the District is liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for "fail[ing] to effectively train, supervise discipline, and control the personnel
Having concluded that plaintiffs' complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim, plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction is moot.
For the reasons stated above, the Court will grant defendants' motion to dismiss and deny as moot defendants' motion for summary judgment and plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction. A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.