Myslewski v. City of Rehoboth Beach
Myslewski v. City of Rehoboth Beach
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (D.I. 5) filed on June 24, 2013. The motion is fully briefed (D.I. 6, 8 & 9) and oral argument was held on October 2, 2013. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant the Defendants’ motion to dismiss.
I. BACKGROUND
On May 20, 2013, Lawrence G. Myslewski (“Plaintiff’) filed a Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the City of Rehoboth, its Board of Commissioners, and several other employees (collectively “Defendants”). (D.I. 1). The Complaint asserts an “as applied” challenge to Ordinance 0313-02 (“Ordinance”), which regulates the parking of motor scooters
II. LEGAL STANDARD
In order to survive a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). The analysis turns on the application of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to this case.
The Equal Protection Clause commands that no State shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
III. DISCUSSION
As an initial matter, the Plaintiff has asserted only an as applied challenge, and does not contest the facial validity of the Ordinance. (D.I. 8 at 9). “A facial challenge to a legislative Act is, of course, the most difficult challenge to mount successfully, since the challenger must establish that no set of circumstances exists under which the Act would be valid.” United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 745, 107 S.Ct. 2095, 95 L.Ed.2d 697 (1987). By contrast, an as applied challenge is one in which “the plaintiff argues that a statute, even though generally constitutional, operates unconstitutionally as to him or her because of the plaintiffs particular circumstances.” Tex. Workers’ Comp. Comm’n v. Garcia, 893 S.W.2d 504, 518 n. 16 (Tex. 1995); see also Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 88, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986) (noting Court has “found a denial of equal protection where the procedures implementing a neutral statute operated” in discriminatory fashion).
The Ordinance in this case neither burdens a fundamental right nor targets a suspect class.
The Ordinance is also rationally related to the legitimate objective of promoting public safety. The basis for the Plaintiffs as applied challenge is that “the Ordinance is unconstitutional as applied to residents of Rehoboth Beach who, as a result of the Ordinance, may park their cars and motorcycles on the street in front of their homes without charge, but may not so park their motor scooters.” (D.I. 8 at 9). But motor scooters are distinct from other vehicles in that motor scooters “are the only types of vehicles which can easily access and be driven on sidewalks.” (D.I. 6 at 11). Indeed, the Defendants made a conscious decision to classify motor scooters separately from other modes of transportation, including cars and motorcycles, because of this unique threat posed by motor scooters. (Id.).
Moreover, the Plaintiff focuses on one portion of the Ordinance the part requiring a permit to park a motor scooter on a public street in a residential area but not requiring a permit to park a car in the same spot-in his analysis of the rational basis standard. The permit requirement in residential areas, he claims, “does not promote safety on the boardwalk, the sidewalks, the streets or anywhere else.” (D.I. 8 at 13). But the Defendants believed that the creation of a dedicated parking area for motor scooters with permits, paid for by the permitting fees contained in the Ordinance, would disincentivize scooter owners from parking and driving on the sidewalk. The Defendants envisioned that the Ordinance would “push[ ] motor scooter owners to get permits by limiting their permit-less on-street parking opportunities ... in order to incentivize scooter owners to get permits and park in the permit-required scooter-only parking areas as opposed to on City sidewalks.” (D.I. 9 at 4). In this regard, the Ordinance’s permit requirement represents an “important first step to getting motor-scooters off the sidewalks and into these new parking areas.” (Id.). This holds true even if the Plaintiff only parked his motor scooter out front of his house in the residential area.
The issue is not whether the Ordinance is the most effective means to achieve the Defendants’ end of improving public safety. It is not even whether the chosen means will be marginally effective. The Court is only required to ask whether a rational basis exists for the Ordinance’s classification. The Court holds that the use of a parking permit system is rationally related to the legitimate objective of preventing motor scooters from parking on the sidewalks and in bicycle racks. The inquiry ends there. Therefore, the Ordinance is constitutionally valid as applied, and the Plaintiff’s Complaint must be dismissed.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the Defendants’ motion to dismiss is granted.
ORDER
The Court having considered Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (D.I. 5), as well as the papers filed in connection therewith;
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss IS GRANTED and the Complaint is DISMISSED.
. "Motor Scooter” is defined as "A vehicle having two tandem wheels and a step-through chassis that is powered by a motor that is capable of propelling the device without human propulsion. 'Motor scooter' shall in-elude any device included within the definition of 'moped,' but shall not include any device that is included within the definition of 'motorized skateboard or scooter,’ 'motorized
. The permit parking area is defined as "[a]ny parking space not controlled by a meter,” which would include the public streets in Rehoboth. (D.I. 8-2 at § 92-261). The parking of motor scooters on private property, however, is not covered by the Ordinance.
. For purposes of the Equal Protection Clause analysis, municipalities are considered to be State actors. See United Bldg. & Constr. Trades Council of Camden County & Vicinity v. Mayor of Camden, 465 U.S. 208, 215, 104 S.Ct. 1020, 79 L.Ed.2d 249 (1984) ("[A] municipality is merely a political subdivision of the State.from which its authority derives. It is as true of the Privileges and Immunities Clause as of the Equal Protection Clause that what would be unconstitutional if done directly by the State can no more readily be accomplished by a city deriving its authority from the State.” (internal citations omitted)); Fitzgerald v. Barnstable Sch. Comm., 555 U.S. 246, 257, 129 S.Ct. 788, 172 L.Ed.2d 582 (2009) (recognizing that "§ 1983 equal protection claims may be brought against individuals as well as municipalities and certain other state entities”).
. The Plaintiff appears to concede that motor scooter owners are not a suspect classification and that the right to park one's motor scooter on a public street is not a fundamental right because his brief only addresses the rational basis standard. (D.I. 8 at 9-13).
. The Ordinance gives the Plaintiff the opportunity to take advantage of the benefits provided by the new permit-only scooter parking areas, should he so desire.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Lawrence G. MYSLEWSKI v. The CITY OF REHOBOTH BEACH, Samuel R. Cooper, Stan Mills, Mark Hunker, Patrick Gossett, Lorraine Zellers, Pat Coluzzi, Willis Sargent, Gregory J. Ferrese, and Keith W. Banks
- Status
- Published