Ganulin v. U.S., C-1-98-557.

• Decision Date: 06 December 1999
• Docket Number: No. C-1-98-557.,C-1-98-557.
• Citation: 71 F.Supp.2d 824
• Parties: Richard GANULIN, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant, and Jeffrey Niemer, et al. Defendant-Intervenors.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio

Page 824

71 F.Supp.2d 824

Richard GANULIN, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant, and Jeffrey Niemer, et al. Defendant-Intervenors.

No. C-1-98-557.

United States District Court, S.D. Ohio, Western Division.

December 6, 1999.

Richard Ganulin, Cincinnati, OH, pro se.

Donetta Donaldson Wiethe, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Cincinnati, OH, Joseph Steven Justice, Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, Cincinnati, OH, for U.S., defendant.

Joseph Steven Justice, Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, Cincinnati, OH, for Jeffery Niemer, Patty Hempstead, Anne Dolan, intervenors.

ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS TO DISMISS

DLOTT, District Judge.

THE COURT WILL ADDRESS PLAINTIFF'S SEASONAL CONFUSION ERRONEOUSLY BELIEVING CHRISTMAS MERELY A RELIGIOUS INTRUSION.

WHATEVER THE REASON CONSTITUTIONAL OR OTHER CHRISTMAS IS NOT AN ACT OF BIG BROTHER!

CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT JOY AND GIVING AND SHARING IT IS ABOUT THE CHILD WITHIN U.S. IT IS MOSTLY ABOUT CARING!

ONE IS NEVER JAILED FOR NOT HAVING A TREE FOR NOT GOING TO CHURCH FOR NOT SPREADING GLEE!

THE COURT WILL UPHOLD SEEMINGLY CONTRADICTORY CAUSES

DECREEING "THE ESTABLISHMENT" AND "SANTA" BOTH WORTHWHILE "CLAUS(es)!"

WE ARE ALL BETTER FOR SANTA THE EASTER BUNNY TOO AND MAYBE THE GREAT PUMPKIN TO NAME JUST A FEW!

AN EXTRA DAY OFF IS HARDLY HIGH TREASON IT MAY BE SPENT AS YOU WISH REGARDLESS OF REASON.

THE COURT HAVING READ THE LESSONS OF "LYNCH"¹ REFUSES TO PLAY THE ROLE OF THE GRINCH!²

THERE IS ROOM IN THIS COUNTRY AND IN ALL OUR HEARTS TOO FOR DIFFERENT CONVICTIONS AND A DAY OFF TOO!

This matter is before the Court on the Defendant United States' Motion to Dismiss (doc. # 21) and Defendant-Intervenors Jeff Neimer's, Anne Dolan's, and Patty Hemsath's Motion to Dismiss (doc. # 22), pursuant to Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Defendant and Defendant-Intervenors seek dismissal of Plaintiff Ganulin's Amended Complaint, which challenges the constitutionality of 5 U.S.C. § 6103. Section 6103 declares Christmas Day to be a legal public holiday. Plaintiff Ganulin has filed briefs opposing dismissal and the Christian Coalition has filed an amicus curiae brief in favor of dismissal. The Court has carefully considered all the filings and the relevant case law. Upon consideration of the law, the Motions to Dismiss are hereby GRANTED.

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Ganulin filed a Complaint against the United States of America on August 4, 1998 alleging that the statute making Christmas Day a legal public holiday violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution ("the Establishment Clause"). Jeffrey Niemer, Patty Hemsath, and Anne Dolan moved to intervene pursuant to Rule 24(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on November 2, 1998 and were granted status as defendant-intervenors on November 6, 1998. Defendant-Intervenors are federal employees seeking to protect their interest in the employment benefit of a Christmas holiday.

Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint on November 25, 1998 claiming that a legal public holiday on Christmas Day pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 6103 violates the Establishment Clause and interferes with his rights to equal protection and freedom of association protected by the United States Constitution. Defendant and Defendant-Intervenors then filed their Motions to Dismiss and the Christian Coalition filed an amicus curiae brief. They argue that Plaintiff lacks standing to bring this action and that he has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

II. LEGAL STANDARD FOR MOTIONS TO DISMISS

The purpose of a motion to dismiss or a motion for judgment on the pleadings is to allow a defendant to test whether, as a matter of law, the plaintiff is entitled to legal relief even if all facts and allegations in the complaint are true. See Mayer v. Mylod, 988 F.2d 635, 638 (6th Cir.1993). For purposes of dismissal under Rules 12(b)(6) or 12(c), the complaint must be construed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and its allegations taken as true. See Miller v. Currie, 50 F.3d 373, 377 (6th Cir.1995). To survive a motion for judgment on the pleadings, "a ... complaint must contain either direct or inferential allegations respecting all the material elements to sustain a recovery under some viable legal theory." Scheid v. Fanny Farmer Candy Shops, Inc., 859 F.2d 434, 436 (6th Cir.1988) (citations and internal quotations marks omitted); accord Columbia Natural Resources, Inc. v. Tatum, 58 F.3d 1101, 1109 (6th Cir.1995). The test for dismissal, however, is a stringent one. "[A] complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); see also Monette v. Electronic Data Systems Corp., 90 F.3d 1173, 1189 (6th Cir.1996).

Consequently, a complaint will not be dismissed pursuant to a motion for judgment on the pleadings unless there is no law to support the claims made, the facts alleged are insufficient to state a claim, or there is an insurmountable bar on the face of the complaint. Because a motion for judgment on the pleadings is directed solely to the complaint, the focus is on whether the plaintiff is entitled to offer evidence to support the claims, rather than on whether the plaintiff will ultimately prevail. See Roth Steel Prods. v. Sharon Steel Corp., 705 F.2d 134, 155 (6th Cir.1983); Haffey v. Taft, 803 F.Supp. 121, 127 (S.D.Ohio 1992).

III. ANALYSIS

A. Standing

Defendant and Defendant-Intervenors both move for dismissal on the grounds that Ganulin lacks standing to pursue these claims in federal court. A review of the basic precepts of standing and the special precepts for standing in Establishment Clause cases and taxpayer cases is in order before discussing the arguments of the parties.

The jurisdiction of the federal courts is limited by Art. III of the Constitution to "Cases" and "Controversies." Inherent in the case-or-controversy limitation are two concerns. First, "those words limit the business of the federal courts to questions presented in an adversary context and in a form historically viewed as capable of resolution through the judicial process." Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83, 95, 88 S.Ct. 1942, 20 L.Ed.2d 947 (1968). Second, "those words define the role assigned to the judiciary in a tripartite allocation of power to assure that the federal courts will not intrude into areas committed to other branches of government." Id. The dual limitation imposed by the case-or-controversy requirement is often referred to as justiciability. See id.

The concept of standing is one aspect of justiciability. See id. at 98, 88 S.Ct. 1942. At an irreducible minimum, the Constitution requires that the party invoking jurisdiction bear the burden of proving the following three elements: First, the plaintiff must have suffered an injury in fact-an actual injury which is concrete and particularized. Second, there must be a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of — the injury has to be fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant. Third, it must be likely, and not merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision. See Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992); Briggs v. Ohio Elections Comm'n, 61 F.3d 487, 491 (6th Cir.1995).

On a motion to dismiss "general factual allegations of an injury resulting from the defendant's conduct may suffice [because] we `presum[e] that general allegations embrace those specific facts that are necessary to support the claim.'" Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130 (quoting Lujan v. National Wildlife Fed., 497 U.S. 871, 889, 110 S.Ct. 3177, 111 L.Ed.2d 695 (1990)).

1. Standing in First Amendment and Establishment Clause Cases

There are special concerns in First Amendment and Establishment Clause cases regarding standing. Plaintiffs bringing claims pursuant to the Establishment Clause or other First Amendment rights must meet all three aspects of the Lujan test to establish standing. However, the Sixth Circuit has noted that First Amendment plaintiffs do not bear a heavy burden, see Briggs, 61 F.3d at 492, and the standing inquiry in Establishment Clause cases can be tailored to reflect the type of injury Establishment Clause plaintiffs are likely to suffer, see Suhre v. Haywood Cty., 131 F.3d 1083, 1086 (4th Cir. 1997). Plaintiffs must allege more than an abstract injury, but actual injury to individual values of an abstract or esoteric nature can provide the basis for standing. See id. In conducting its standing inquiry, the courts must be careful not to find standing for a plaintiff on the assumption that no one will be found to have standing if the plaintiff at bar lacks standing. See Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, 454 U.S. 464, 489, 102 S.Ct. 752, 70 L.Ed.2d 700 (1982). The federal courts are not always the proper vehicle for seeking to correct constitutional wrongs. See id.

The Supreme Court has "consistently held that a plaintiff raising only a generally available grievance about government — claiming only harm to his and every citizens's interest in the proper application of the Constitution and the laws, and seeking relief that no more directly and tangibly benefits him than it does the public at large" lacks standing. Lujan, 504 U.S. at 573-74, 112 S.Ct. 2130. For example, a plaintiff would not have standing if his or her sole complaint was that a government act or policy violated the Constitution. See Valley Forge, 454 U.S. at 485, 102 S.Ct. 752. The respondents in Valley Forge sought the district court to declare unconstitutional a decision of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to convey a tract of land to the Valley Forge Christian College. See id....