Boardman v. Inslee, CASE NO. C17-5255 BHS
| Decision Date | 10 January 2019 |
| Docket Number | CASE NO. C17-5255 BHS |
| Parties | Bradley BOARDMAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Jay R. INSLEE, et al., Defendants and Campaign to Prevent Fraud and Protect Seniors, Defendant-Intervenors. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Washington |
David M.S. Dewhirst, Caleb Jon Fan Vandenbos, Hannah S. Sells, Freedom Foundation, Olympia, WA, Tara M. O'Hanlon, Susan Kathleen Stahlfeld, Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP, Seattle, WA, for Plaintiffs.
Callie A. Castillo, Washington State Attorney General's Office, Peter B. Gonick, Attorney General's Office, Olympia, WA, for Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, INTERVENOR-DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
This matter comes before the Court on Defendants Governor Jay R. Inslee, Patricia Lashway, Director of the Washington Department of Social and Health Services ("DSHS"), and Ross Hunter, Director of the Washington Department of Early Learning's ("DEL") (collectively "State") motion for summary judgment, Dkt. 47, Defendant-Intervenors the Campaign to Prevent Fraud and Protect Seniors's ("Campaign") motion for summary judgment, Dkt. 48, and Plaintiffs Bradley Boardman ("Boardman"), Deborah Thurber ("Thurber"), Shannon Benn ("Benn"), and Freedom Foundation's ("Freedom Foundation" or "the Foundation") (collectively "Plaintiffs") cross-motion for summary judgment, Dkt. 50. The Court has considered the pleadings filed in support of and in opposition to the motions and the remainder of the file and hereby rules as follows:
I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On June 30, 2014, the Supreme Court decided Harris v. Quinn , 573 U.S. 616, 134 S.Ct. 2618, 189 L.Ed.2d 620 (2014). Harris , in Plaintiffs' framing, held that in-home caregivers who are paid through the Medicaid program to provide in-home care for adults and children ("caregivers") "could not be forced to belong to or otherwise financially support a union because it violated their First Amendment rights." Dkt. 50 at 7. Plaintiffs explain that their interest in contacting caregivers in Washington arose "[i]mmediately after Harris was issued in 2014." Dkt. 50 at 7. On July 2, 2014, two days after the decision, the Freedom Foundation submitted public records requests to DSHS and DEL, seeking a list of caregivers from each. Dkt. 50 at 12 (citing Dkt. 6, Declaration of Maxford Nelson ("Nelson Decl."), at 3–4). DEL provided the requested list, and "[f]or over two and a half years, the Foundation has been using this list to reach Childcare Providers and informing them of their right to leave the union." Nelson Decl. at 4. DSHS "determined that the names of [caregivers] were disclosable information" but, according to Plaintiffs, "delayed disclosure long enough to allow SEIU 775 to sue [DSHS] and the Foundation to prevent disclosure of the records." Id. at 4.1 Though the suit was ultimately unsuccessful, the state trial court granted a temporary restraining order preventing disclosure and kept it in place until the appeal was resolved in 2016 in favor of the Foundation. Dkt. 50 at 12. Additional disputes over public records requests followed. Dkt. 50 at 12.
Washington voters enacted Washington State Initiative 1501 ("the Initiative") in the 2016 general election. Dkt. 47 at 4. The Initiative's text described its intent to:
protect the safety and security of seniors and vulnerable individuals by (1) increasing criminal penalties for identity theft targeting seniors and vulnerable individuals; (2) increasing penalties for consumer fraud targeting seniors and vulnerable individuals; and (3) prohibiting the release of certain public records that could facilitate identity theft and other financial crimes against seniors and vulnerable individuals.
Dkt. 47-1 at 5, Text of the Initiative. Plaintiffs challenge Part Three of the Initiative, which amended Washington's Public Records Act, RCW Chapter 42.56 ("PRA"). The PRA provides for broad public access to state records, see WAC 44-14-01003, but state statutes have also created hundreds of exceptions. See Dkt. 49-5, Declaration of Gregory Wong, Ex. E Table of Exemptions from Public Records Disclosure.2 The Initiative added an exception for "sensitive personal information of vulnerable individuals and sensitive personal information of in-home caregivers for vulnerable populations from inspection and copying" under the Act, and defined sensitive personal information to include names, in addition to addresses, GPS coordinates, telephone numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, driver's license numbers, "or other personally identifying information." Dkt. 47-1 10.
Neither party provides an explicit comparison of which identifying data points were available prior to the passage of the Initiative which are now not available.3 Based on the Court's examination of the text of RCW 42.56.250(4), "[r]esidential addresses, residential telephone numbers, personal wireless telephone numbers, personal electronic mail addresses, social security numbers, and emergency contact information of employees or volunteers of a public agency" in personnel records or public employment related records have been excluded from public inspection and copying since at least 2006,4 and driver's license numbers and identicard numbers have been excluded since 2014.5 Comparing this information to § 8(2)(b) of the Initiative, it appears that for caregivers, the only additional information the Initiative withholds is their names. See Dkt. 47-1 10.
The Initiative continues to allow some entities to access caregiver identities, including the certified bargaining representative under RCW 41.56.080, see § 11(d), parties to contracts with the state where the contract requires disclosure, see § 11(f), or entities under contract with the state to provide services to or conduct research about vulnerable residents, see § 11(g).
The argument for the Initiative in the Voters' Guide noted that seniors and vulnerable people were particularly at risk of identity theft and other financial exploitation or scams. Dkt. 49-2 at 6–7. The argument against the Initiative in the Guide claimed the Initiative's goal "is to rewrite the Public Records Act to prevent in-home caregivers and childcare providers from learning they no longer can be forced to pay dues to the union." Id.
On April 5, 2017, Plaintiffs filed a complaint against the State alleging that the Initiative violates Plaintiffs' rights to free speech and free association under the First Amendment, and right to equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment, seeking a permanent injunction enjoining the State from enforcing the Initiative. Dkt. 1, ¶¶ 89–132.
Also on April 5, Plaintiffs filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against the State, seeking to enjoin the Initiative. Dkt. 2. Plaintiffs raised their First Amendment and Equal Protection claims, as well as Thurber and Benn's desire to call an election to replace SEIU 925 with another union for child caregivers. Dkt. 2 at 12. To call an election at that time, they would have had to "convince 30% of Childcare Providers to call for an election during the month of April" to meet the deadline, sixty days prior to the expiration of the then-current collective bargaining agreement for child caregivers. Dkt. 2 at 12. On April 10, 2017 the State responded, Dkt. 15, and the Court held a hearing. The Court denied the temporary restraining order due to Plaintiffs' failure to show a likelihood of success on the merits and delay in bringing the motion. Dkt. 21. Also on April 10, the Campaign filed a motion to intervene as a defendant. Dkt. 17. On May 11, 2017, the Court granted the Campaign's motion to intervene. Dkt. 31.
On July 17, 2018, the State and the Campaign each filed motions for summary judgment. Dkts. 47, 48. On July 18, 2018, Plaintiffs filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. Dkt. 50. On August 6, 2018, the parties responded. Dkts. 60, 61, 63. On August 10, 2018, the parties replied. Dkts. 65, 67, 68.6
II. DISCUSSION
In this case, the dispute centers on whether Part Three of the Initiative violates the Constitution. Both sides agree the dispute is primarily legal rather than factual. Dkts. 47 at 3, 48 at 14, 63 at 7. The primary legal question is whether a statute enacted by Washington voters is constitutional. As a threshold matter, legislative classifications are presumed constitutional, and "the burden of showing a statute to be unconstitutional is on the challenging party." N.Y. State Club Ass'n, Inc. v. City of New York , 487 U.S. 1, 17, 108 S.Ct. 2225, 101 L.Ed.2d 1 (1988).
Regarding the merits, Plaintiffs assert two Equal Protection claims and three First Amendment claims. The Court considers the First Amendment claims first, concluding that Plaintiffs have failed to establish any violation of a fundamental right. Based on that conclusion, the Court grants the State and the Campaign's motions for summary judgment on Plaintiffs' First Amendment claims and first Equal Protection claim, which is based on interference with a fundamental right. The Court then considers Plaintiffs' second Equal Protection claim under rational basis review and concludes that Plaintiffs have failed to establish any constitutional violation.
Summary judgment is proper only if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law when the nonmoving party fails to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of a claim in the case on which the nonmoving party has the burden of proof. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). There is no genuine issue of fact for...
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