Abate of Georgia, Inc. v. State of Georgia

• Decision Date: 04 April 2001
• Docket Number: CIV.A. No. 1:00CV1682TWT.
• Citation: 137 F.Supp.2d 1349
• Parties: ABATE OF GEORGIA, INC., and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. STATE OF GEORGIA and Georgia Department of Public Safety, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

137 F.Supp.2d 1349

ABATE OF GEORGIA, INC., and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. STATE OF GEORGIA and Georgia Department of Public Safety, Defendants.

CIV.A. No. 1:00CV1682TWT.

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.

April 4, 2001.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

John A. Roberts, Roberts Law Firm, Atlanta, GA, for plaintiffs.

Beverly Patricia Downing, John C. Jones, Kathleen Mary Pacious, Thurbert E. Baker, Office of State Attorney General, Atlanta, GA, for defendants.

ORDER

THRASH, District Judge.

This is an action challenging the constitutionality of Georgia's motorcycle helmet law. It is brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and is before the Court on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint [Doc. 21] and Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint [Doc.25]. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint is denied as moot, and the Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff ABATE of Georgia, Inc. ("ABATE") brings this suit on behalf of itself and all others similarly situated. ABATE is an acronym for American Bikers Active Toward Education. Its main purposes are to promote motorcycling and the rights of motorcyclists. The named Defendants in this case are Roy E. Barnes, in his official capacity as Governor of Georgia, Commissioner Robert E. Hightower of the Georgia Department of Public Safety in his official and individual capacities, the Georgia Board of Public Safety, and the following members of the Georgia Board of Public Safety in their official and individual capacities: Jim Wetherington, Rooney L. Bowen, III, Hubert L. Smith, Rebecca F. Denlinger, Daniel M. Bryant, Jacquelyn H. Barrett, Bruce Harris, Robert E. Keller, Lydia J. Sartain, W.H. "Dub" Harper, Wayne Abernathy, Donnie Haralson, Gregory T. Coursey and Jamil Saba. Plaintiffs also have named as Defendants "Unknown City, County, and State Law Enforcement Agents."

The Georgia General Assembly has enacted a statute that requires all persons to wear "protective headgear" while operating or riding a motorcycle. At the time this action was filed, the statute, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315, provided:

(a) No person shall operate or ride upon a motorcycle unless he or she is wearing protective headgear which complies with standards established by the Board of Public Safety.

(b) No person shall operate or ride upon a motorcycle if the motorcycle is not equipped with a windshield unless he or she is wearing an eye-protective device of a type approved by the Board of Public Safety.

(c) This Code section shall not apply to persons riding within an enclosed cab or motorized cart. This Code section shall not apply to a person operating a three-wheeled motorcycle used only for agricultural purposes.

(d) The Board of Public Safety is authorized to approve or disapprove protective headgear and eye-protective devices required in this Code section and to issue and enforce regulations establishing standards and specifications for the approval thereof. The Board of Public Safety shall publish lists of all protective headgear and eye-protective devices by name and type which have been approved by it.

O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315 (Supp.1999). The statute was amended in the 2000 session of the Georgia General Assembly to substitute the newly created Commissioner of Motor Vehicle Safety as the applicable regulatory authority, in the place of the Board of Public Safety, effective July 1, 2001. O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315 (Supp.2000).

Pursuant to the authority granted by the statute, the Board of Public Safety has promulgated rules and regulations that establish standards for headgear and eye-protective devices. See Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 570-12-.01 to -.10 (2000) (regulating eye-protective devices); id. at r. 570-13-.01 to .10 (regulating motorcycle headgear). These regulations define technical standards that acceptable headgear and eye-protective devices must satisfy. The regulations also require that manufacturers affix a permanent label showing that the equipment complies with the applicable standard. See id. at r. 570-12-.10 (eye-protective device); id. at r. 570-13-.05 (headgear). Helmets are held to the standards set by the United States Department of Transportation. See id. at r. 570-13-.01(1) ("Future reference to standards as for specifications, statue [sic] or regulations will be the current version of the United States Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Motorcycle Helmets. This will permit automatic adjustment to future revisions or adjustments in the standards."). Compliance requirements for eye-protective devices is determined in accordance with those test methods described in Sections 6.3.4.1.1, 6.3.4.1.2 and 6.3.4.1.3 of the American Standards Institute Standard Z87.1-1968, September 18, 1968, "Eye and Face Protection" and explained in Section 10.1 of the National Bureau of Standards Circular 533, May 20, 1953, "Method for Determining the Resolving Power of Photographic Lenses." Id. at r. 570-12-.05(e). It is undisputed that the Board of Public Safety has not published lists of all protective headgear and eye-protective devices by name and type which have been approved by it.

Plaintiffs filed this action to challenge the constitutionality of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315. First, Plaintiffs contend that the Board of Public Safety's failure to publish a list of approved headgear and eye protection devices violates Plaintiffs' rights under the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Second, Plaintiffs contend that the requirements that motorcyclists wear headgear and eye-protective devices are unconstitutionally vague. Plaintiffs argue that the failure of the Board of Public Safety to publish lists of approved gear has prevented ABATE's members and others similarly situated from knowing what equipment satisfies the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315. Consequently, Plaintiffs claim they have been issued citations for allegedly violating the statute resulting in points being placed on their driver's licenses, suspension of driving privileges, and other sanctions.

Plaintiffs filed suit in this court on July 5, 2000, against the State of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Public Safety. Plaintiffs also filed a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and/or in the Alternative a Preliminary Injunction [Doc. 3]. Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint on August 4, 2000 [Doc. 7]. The Amended Complaint removed the State of Georgia and Department of Public Safety as Defendants and named in their stead Governor Barnes, Commissioner Hightower, the Board of Public Safety, Public Safety Board member Jim Wetherington, and Unknown City, County, and State Law Enforcement Officers. The Court held a hearing on the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction motion on August 7, 2000. At the conclusion of that hearing, the Court denied Plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order. The Court also denied Defendants' Motion to Dismiss the original Complaint in light of Plaintiffs having three days before filed an Amended Complaint. Thereafter, on August 25, 2000, the Court entered a written Order [Doc. 9] explaining its decision at the August 7 hearing. On September 20, 2000, Plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint [Doc. 10]. The Second Amended Complaint named as Defendants Governor Barnes, Commissioner Hightower, Mr. Wetherington, all additional members of the Board of Public Safety not previously named, the Board itself as an entity, and Unknown City, County, and State Law Enforcement Agents. Plaintiffs seek declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, compensatory damages, $10 million in punitive damages, and attorneys' fees and costs. Defendants have filed motions to dismiss both the Amended Complaint and Second Amended Complaint. In light of the Plaintiffs having filed a Second Amended Complaint, the Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint is moot. This Order consequently addresses only the Second Amended Complaint and Defendants' motion that it should be dismissed.

II. MOTION TO DISMISS STANDARD

A complaint should be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) only where it appears beyond doubt that no set of facts could support the plaintiff's claims for relief. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6); Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); Linder v. Portocarrero, 963 F.2d 332, 334 (11th Cir.1992). In ruling on a motion to dismiss, the court must accept the facts pleaded in the complaint as true and construe them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Quality Foods de Centro America, S.A. v. Latin American Agribusiness Dev. Corp., S.A., 711 F.2d 989, 994-95 (11th Cir.1983). Notice pleading is all that is required for a valid complaint. Lombard's, Inc. v. Prince Mfg., Inc., 753 F.2d 974, 975 (11th Cir.1985). Under notice pleading, the plaintiff need only give the defendant fair notice of the plaintiff's claim and the grounds upon which it rests. Id.

III. DISCUSSION

Many states have enacted statutes that require motorcyclists to wear protective headgear. See generally, Alan S. Wasserstrom, Annotation, Validity of Traffic Regulation Requiring Motorists to Wear Helmets or Other Protective Gear, 72 A.L.R.5th 607, 607 (1999). Motorcycle helmet laws generally require motorcyclists to wear helmets or other protective devices that have been approved by a state agency. Id. at 619-20. The statutes "reflect a widespread effort to combat the rising death and injury toll of accidents that involve motorcyclists." Id. at 620. Motorcyclists have mounted a variety of challenges to the constitutional validity of these statutes. See, e.g., Picou v. Gillum, 874 F.2d 1519, 1520 (11th Cir.1989) ("This appeal presents us with the latest in a long line of challenges to the constitutionality of mandatory helmet laws."). Plaintiffs in ...