Vo v. Gee
Vo v. Gee
Opinion of the Court
Before the court are "Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, Declaratory Judgment, and Permanent Injunction" (Rec. Doc. 84), "Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, Declaratory Judgment and Permanent Injunction"(Rec. Doc. 91), "Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment"(Rec. Doc. 89), "Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, Declaratory Judgment and Permanent Injunction" (Rec. Doc. 90), "Reply in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, Declaratory Judgment and Permanent Injunction" (Rec. Doc. 94) and "Notice of Changed Circumstances Regarding HB 439" (Rec. Doc. 95). For the reasons set forth below, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motions for Partial Summary Judgment, Declaratory Judgment and Permanent Injunction are GRANTED.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Plaintiff, Viet "Victor" Anh Vo was born in an Indonesian refugee camp after his parents (both Vietnamese nationals) fled Vietnam as refugees (Rec. Doc. 1). Given this circumstance, Indonesian and Vietnamese authorities have never recognized his birth and consequently he has never been issued a birth certificate from a government entity (Rec. Doc. 1). Plaintiff has resided in Louisiana since he was three months old and became a naturalized citizen when he was eight years old (Rec. Doc. 1). In 2016, Plaintiff and his girlfriend (a fellow United States citizen) decided to get married and applied for a marriage license from the State of Louisiana (Rec. Doc. 1).
Plaintiff was denied a marriage license pursuant to Act 436 which requires that all applicants for a marriage license provide a certified birth certificate, a valid and unexpired passport, or an unexpired visa accompanied by a Form I-94 (Rec. Doc. 1). Act 436 has a waiver of the birth certificate requirement but in order to qualify for the waiver an applicant must be a U.S. citizen that was born in the United States or one of its territories. Plaintiff was born outside of the United States and is naturalized *664citizen and therefore did not qualify for the waiver (Rec. Doc. 1). Plaintiff provided other official documents to the Clerk of Court including a social security number and a Louisiana state driver's license, but without a birth certificate as required by Act 436, the state of Louisiana refused to issue him a marriage license (Rec. Doc. 1).
Plaintiff brought this complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against Defendants Rebekah Gee, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals for the State of Louisiana, Devin George, State Registrar and Director of the Office of Vital Records, Michael Thibodeaux, Clerk of Court for Iberia Parish, Diane Meaux Broussard, Clerk of Court for Vermilion Parish and Louis J. Perret, Clerk of Court for Lafayette Parish.
After hearing oral argument, this Court in its March 23, 2017 Order and Reasons granted the Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Rec. Doc. 77).
FACTUAL AND LEGAL FINDINGS
A. Plaintiff's Motion for Permanent Injunction
The legal standard for obtaining a permanent injunction mirrors the legal standard for obtaining a preliminary injunction. Lionhart v. Foster ,
1. Actual Success on the Merits
Plaintiff seeks to demonstrate actual success on the merits through his Motion for Partial Summary Judgment regarding Counts I and II of the First Amended Complaint (Rec. Doc. 82). Count I alleges that Act 436 violates the Plaintiff's Equal Protection rights (Rec. Doc. 82). Count II alleges that Act 436 violates the Plaintiff's Due Process rights (Rec. Doc. 84). These are inherently purely questions of law and not fact and therefore this Court can adjudicate the summary judgment motion even in the absence of discovery. Brazos Valley Coalition for Life, Inc. v. City of Bryan Texas ,
Summary judgment is proper if the pleadings, depositions, interrogatory answers, and admissions, together with any affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 ; see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett ,
The moving party bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion. Celotex , 477 U.S. at 323,
Throughout this litigation the record has not revealed any disputed issues of material fact. Both Plaintiff and Defendant agree upon the essential facts leading up to and including Plaintiff's attempt to get a marriage license and the subsequent denial of the same by the State of Louisiana. Consequently, when deciding whether or not Plaintiff's Partial Summary Judgment Motion is appropriate, we must analyze the basic legal questions involved, namely Equal Protection and Due Process claims.
a. Equal Protection
Under the United States Constitution, the Equal Protection Clause protects all individuals from state discrimination. Plyler v. Doe ,
The Supreme Court has held that classifications, such as the one made by the State of Louisiana pursuant to Act 436 "must be analyzed by a reviewing court under strict scrutiny, that is, such classifications are constitutional only if they are narrowly tailored measures that further compelling governmental interests." Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Mineta ,
b. Due Process
In addition, Act 436 is unconstitutional because it violates Plaintiff's due process rights by denying him the fundamental right to marriage. Obergefell v. Hodges , --- U.S. ----,
Nonetheless, Defendants argue that on June 8, 2017, the Louisiana Legislature passed HB 439 that allows marriage license applicants unable to provide the required documentation to seek a judicial waiver. Defendants argue that HB 439 makes the current controversy moot. Furthermore, Defendants also argue that the existing preliminary injunction order rendered Plaintiff's claims moot and any additional relief would just replicate that prior decree. Moreover, Defendants also argue that any declaratory judgment should only apply to Mr. Vo.
None of these contentions are persuasive. First, the new law, HB 439, referenced in Defendants' oppositions, does not remedy the constitutional deficiencies of Act 436 (Re. Doc. 95). Even though it addresses the judicial waiver issue in Act 436, Act 439 leaves intact other provisions of Act 436 such as passport and visa requirements that only foreign born or naturalized citizens have to provide. These documentary requirements also pose constitutional issues with Act 436 that the revised statute does not cure. Defendants' notion that the preliminary injunction moots further actions is incorrect. Univ. of Tex. v. Camenisch ,
2. Threat of Irreparable Injury
Plaintiff has demonstrated that he faces the threat of irreparable injury. The *667Fifth Circuit clarified and explained, "an injury is irreparable only if it cannot be undone through monetary remedies." Deerfield Medical Center v. Deerfield Beach ,
3. Weighing of the harms
Plaintiff has demonstrated the threatened injuries outweigh any damage that the permanent injunction will cause the Defendants. Sells v. Livingston,
4. Whether the injunction will disserve the public interest
The Fifth Circuit has held that injunctions protecting constitutional freedoms are always in the public interest. Texans for Free Enter. v. Tex. Ethics Comm'n ,
PERMANENT INJUNCTION
Under the equitable powers of this Court IT IS ORDERED that Defendants and their officers, agents, servants and employees are permanently ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from enforcing Act 436 insofar as it unconstitutionally deprives U.S. citizens like Plaintiff and similarly situated U.S. citizens the right to marry based on national origin.
Willful violation of this Order and Permanent Injunction may subject any person who commits such an act to criminal and/or civil prosecution for contempt of this Court. Any violation of this Order and Permanent Injunction will result in immediate issuance of an order to show cause for service on the violator, who after appropriate hearings and findings, will be dealt with within the sanctions provided by law.
The Court shall retain jurisdiction of this action for all purposes, including without limitation, all proceedings involving the interpretation, enforcement or amendment of this Order and Permanent Injunction.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- VIET ANH VO v. Rebekah E. GEE, Secretary of the Department of Health
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published