Pub. Interest Legal Found. v. Boockvar
Pub. Interest Legal Found. v. Boockvar
Opinion of the Court
The Public Interest Legal Foundation (the "Foundation") commenced this action against Robert Torres ("Secretary Torres"), in his capacity as then-Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Jonathan Marks ("Commissioner Marks"), in his capacity as Commissioner of the Bureau of Commissions, Elections, and Legislation (the "Bureau") of the Pennsylvania Department of State (the "Department"). The Foundation asserts a claim for violation of the National Voting Registration Act of 1993 ("the NVRA" or "the Act"),
I. Factual Background & Procedural History
The Foundation is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to "promot[ing] the integrity of elections nationwide." (Doc. 1 ¶ 5). In pursuit of this objective, the Foundation expends time and resources "to ensure that voter rolls ... are free from ineligible registrants, noncitizens, individuals who are no longer residents[,] and individuals who are registered in more than one location." (Id. ) In September 2017, the City of Philadelphia reported that a "glitch" at various offices of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had enabled noncitizens to register to vote when acquiring or renewing their driver's licenses. (Id. ¶ 31). The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened hearings on the "glitch" and other issues concerning noncitizen registration and voting. (See
Contemporaneous with the hearings, the Foundation sought access to records "concerning noncitizen registrants, including records related to their removal from the voter registration lists and referrals to law enforcement." (Id. ¶ 68). The Foundation first requested these "voter list maintenance" records from Commissioner Marks by letter dated October 23, 2017. (Id. ¶¶ 67-69; Doc. 1-8 at 1-3). A Foundation representative attempted to inspect the requested records in person at the Bureau two days later. (Doc. 1 ¶¶ 71-75). A Bureau employee denied access to the records, and a representative from the Office of Chief Counsel to the Department indicated that the Foundation's request was under review. (Id. ¶¶ 72-74). On October 30, 2017, agency open records officer Rebecca Fuhrman ("Fuhrman") asked for an additional 30 days to respond. (Id. ¶ 76; Doc. 1-9 at 6-7). When that timeframe elapsed without a response, the Foundation renewed the records request to Commissioner Marks and Fuhrman by letter, indicating that a Foundation representative would visit the Bureau on December 6, 2017 to inspect the records. (Doc. 1 ¶¶ 79-81; Doc. 1-9 at 1-2). The letter contained the following language: "This is your first notice that if you *453fail to make these records available for public inspection, you will be in violation of the NVRA and subject to an action to enforce the public records provisions of the NVRA." (Doc. 1-9 at 2).
On December 5, 2017, Kathleen Kotula ("Kotula"), deputy chief counsel for the Department, emailed the Foundation indicating that the records would not be available for inspection the following day. (Doc. 1 ¶ 82). The Department did not permit the Foundation's representative to inspect the records on December 6, 2017. (Id. ¶¶ 83-84, 86). Kotula emailed a letter to the Foundation from Commissioner Marks which formally denied the Foundation's records request. (Id. ¶¶ 87-88). In the letter, Commissioner Marks explained the Department's position that the Foundation was not entitled to the records under the NVRA. (Id. ¶¶ 88-89).
On December 20, 2017, the Foundation sent Commissioner Marks a letter entitled "NVRA violation notice." (Id. ¶ 96; see Doc. 1-10). Citing to the applicable NVRA provisions, the letter identified the Department's denial of the Foundation's records request as a violation of the statute and stated that "[t]he Department is hereby notified that it now faces federal litigation should it continue to deny access to the requested records." (Doc. 1-10 at 1 (emphasis omitted) ). The Foundation also noted that, because the purported violation occurred within 120 days of an election,
The Foundation commenced this action alleging that defendants violated the Act's public disclosure provision by withholding access to the list maintenance records. Defendants move to dismiss the Foundation's claim for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim. The motion is fully briefed and ripe for disposition. Defendants also request oral argument on their motion under Local Rule of Court 7.9. (Doc. 13). Because we find oral argument unnecessary to disposition of the instant motion, we will deny this request.
II. Legal Standard
A. Rule 12(b)(1)
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) provides that a court may dismiss a claim for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(1). Such jurisdictional challenges take of one two forms: (1) parties may levy a "factual" attack, arguing that one or more of the pleading's factual allegations are untrue, removing the action from the court's jurisdictional ken; or (2) they may assert a "facial" challenge, which assumes the veracity of the complaint's allegations but nonetheless argues that a claim is not within the court's jurisdiction. Lincoln Benefit Life Co. v. AEI Life, LLC,
B. Rule 12(b)(6)
Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides for the dismissal of complaints that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6). When ruling on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the court must "accept all factual allegations as true, construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine *454whether, under any reasonable reading of the complaint, the plaintiff may be entitled to relief." Phillips v. County of Allegheny,
Federal notice and pleading rules require the complaint to provide "the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Phillips,
III. Discussion
Defendants contend that the Foundation cannot assert a claim under the NVRA because the Foundation lacks constitutional standing, falls outside the zone of interests protected by the statute, and failed to provide Secretary Torres with adequate notice before filing suit. Defendants also argue that the records the Foundation seeks are not subject to the Act's public disclosure provision. We review defendants' Article III standing argument under Rule 12(b)(1) and defendants' remaining arguments under Rule 12(b)(6).
A. Article III Standing
Article III of the United States Constitution limits federal court jurisdiction to "cases" or "controversies." U.S. CONST. art. III, § 2. To establish Article III standing, a plaintiff must demonstrate "(1) an injury in fact, (2) a sufficient causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of, and (3) a likel[ihood] that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision."
*455Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus,
A plaintiff sufficiently pleads an injury in fact by claiming "that he or she suffered 'an invasion of a legally protected interest' that is 'concrete and particularized' and 'actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.' " Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. ----,
When Congress "elevates intangible harms into concrete injuries," a plaintiff need not allege "any additional harm beyond the one Congress has identified."
Congress identified several purposes of the NVRA within the statute itself. These include, inter alia , "to protect the integrity of the electoral process" and "to ensure that accurate and current voter registration rolls are maintained."
B. Zone of Interests
Defendants also assert that the Foundation is not a "person aggrieved" under the NVRA; hence, the Foundation's interests are not within the "zone of interests" sought to be protected by the statute. (Doc. 12 at 15-17). A statutorily-created cause of action is available only to plaintiffs whose interests "fall within the zone of interests protected by the law invoked." Lexmark, 572 U.S. at 129,
The NVRA identifies four principal objectives which "can sometimes be in tension with one another." Am. Civil Rights Union v. Phila. City Comm'rs,
The Foundation's mission is not discordant with all of the NVRA's stated goals. Per contra , ensuring the voter rolls are free from all manner of ineligible registrants "protect[s] the integrity of the electoral process" and furthers the Act's objective of ensuring the accuracy and currency of voter registration rolls. See
C. Notice
Notice is a precondition to filing suit under the NVRA. A person aggrieved by a violation of the Act "may provide written notice of the violation to the chief election official of the State involved."
In Pennsylvania, the Department is charged with the administration of the state's elections. See 71 PA. STAT. AND CONS. STAT. ANN. § 273. The Secretary of the Commonwealth heads the Department and its bureaus, see
Defendants aver that the Foundation's claim must be dismissed because it failed to provide "direct notice of any alleged violation to [then] Acting Secretary Torres." (Doc. 17 at 15). We agree. The complaint is devoid of any allegations that the Foundation sent Secretary Torres, or that he received, written notice of the violation. (See Doc. 1). The Foundation directed all communications regarding the purported NVRA violation to Commissioner Marks. (Doc. 1-8 at 1; Doc. 1-9 at 1; Doc. 1-10 at 1). Secretary Torres is not mentioned in any of the Foundation's communications appended to the complaint. (See Doc. 1-8; Doc. 1-9; Doc. 1-10). Accordingly, the Foundation failed to comply with the Act's clear directive that a state's chief election official must receive notice of a violation before the aggrieved party may file suit.
The Foundation asseverates that the Secretary received constructive notice of the violation, noting that the deputy chief counsel for the Department facilitated communications between the Foundation and Commissioner Marks and that the chief counsel was carbon copied on pertinent emails. (See Doc. 14 at 21). The Foundation received a letter from the deputy chief counsel on December 20, 2017, wherein Commissioner Marks indicated that "[T]he Department does not agree that the NVRA entitles you to access the records." (Doc. 1 ¶¶ 87-88 (alteration in original); Doc. 1-10). However, the Foundation's allegations only establish that the Office of Chief Counsel for the Department was representing or responding on behalf of Commissioner Marks. The Act requires written notice be provided to a state's "chief election official,"
IV. Conclusion
The court will grant defendants' motion (Doc. 10) to dismiss the Foundation's complaint. An appropriate order shall issue.
The governor of Pennsylvania selected March 13, 2018 for a special election to fill the state's vacant 18th congressional district. (Doc. 1 at 26 n.3).
Defendants posit that application of the zone of interests standard deprives the court of subject matter jurisdiction. (Doc. 12 at 15-17). The zone-of-interests analysis focuses on whether a plaintiff has a cause of action under a particular statute and "is not a constitutional or prudential standing inquiry meant to ensure federal court jurisdiction." Marathon Petroleum Corp. v. Sec'y of Fin. for Del.,
Defendants correctly note that litigation expenses alone, including costs incurred to investigate an alleged violation, are insufficient to constitute an injury in fact. See Blunt v. Lower Merion Sch. Dist.,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The PUBLIC INTEREST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. Kathy BOOCKVAR, in Her Official Capacity as Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Jonathan M. Marks, in His Official Capacity as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Commissions, Elections, and Legislation
- Cited By
- 12 cases
- Status
- Published