Hall v. State

• Decision Date: 30 September 2013
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 12–00657–BAJ–RLB.
• Citation: 974 F.Supp.2d 978
• Parties: Kenneth HALL v. State of LOUISIANA, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Louisiana

974 F.Supp.2d 978

Kenneth HALL

v.State of LOUISIANA, et al.

Civil Action No. 12–00657–BAJ–RLB.

United States District Court,

M.D. Louisiana.

Sept. 30, 2013.

Ronald Ray Johnson, Ron Johnson and Associates, Stephen M. Irving, Steve Irving, LLC, Joel Gerard Porter, Baton Rouge, LA, for Kenneth Hall.

Patricia Hill Wilton, Angelique Duhon Freel, Jessica Marie Field Thornhill, Louisiana Department of Justice, Katherine Krupa Green, William P. Bryan, III, Attorney General's Office, Edmond Wade Shows, John Carroll Walsh, Shows, Cali, Berthelot & Walsh, LLP, Elizabeth Everett, Grant Joseph Guillot, Shows, Cali & Walsh, L.L.P., Christina Berthelot Peck, Roedel, Parsons, Koch, Blache, Balhoff & McCollister, James L. Hilburn, Parish Attorney's Office, Paul H. Spaht, Kantrow, Spaht, Weaver & Blitzer, Mary E. Roper, Baton Rouge, LA, for State of Louisiana, et al.

RULING AND ORDER

BRIAN A. JACKSON, Chief Judge.

Before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss Complaint, First Amending and Supplemental Complaint, and Request for Preliminary and Permanent Injunction Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) (Doc. 40), filed by Defendant Tom Schedler (“Schedler”), seeking an order from this Court dismissing Plaintiffs Kenneth Hall's (“Hall”) claims against him, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). ¹ Hall opposes the motion. (Doc. 50.)

Also before the Court is a Motion Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1973 l(b) (Doc. 42), filed by Schedler, seeking an order from this Court dismissing Hall's claims against him, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Hall opposes the motion. (Doc. 50.)

Also before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss Complaint and First Amending and Supplemental Complaint Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(b) (Doc. 47), filed by Schedler, seeking an order from this Court dismissing Hall's claims against him, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Hall opposes the motion. (Doc. 57.) The Court granted Schedler leave to file a memorandum in response to Hall's memorandum in opposition. (Doc. 119.) The motions were heard with oral argument. The Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1331.

I. Background

Hall ² filed this lawsuit ³ pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1871, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983⁴ (“ Section 1983”), 1986; Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1973; Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ⁵, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1973c; the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, U.S. CONST. amend. I; the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, U.S. CONST. amend. XIV, § 1; the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, U.S. CONST. amend. XV, § 1, and “the democratic principles of majority rule and individualist egalitarianism of the United States Constitution” ⁶ against Defendants the State of Louisiana, Governor Piyush Jindal ⁷, Attorney General James Caldwell ⁸, Secretary of State Tom Schedler ⁹, the City of Baton Rouge, the Parish of East Baton Rouge, the City Court of Baton Rouge, Mayor Melvin Holden ¹⁰, the Louisiana House of Representatives ¹¹, the Louisiana Senate ¹², Judge Laura Davis ¹³, Judge Suzan Ponder ¹⁴, and Judge Alex Wall.¹⁵ (Docs. 1, 13, 74, and 76.) Hall alleges that the current judicial election plan, enacted by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1993, dilutes and diminishes the voting rights of African American voters in the City of Baton Rouge, in violation of the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Hall further alleges that the judicial election plan, codified at La. R.S. § 1(4)(a)(b)(c), which divides the City of Baton Rouge into two election Sections (Sections 1 and 2) and five election Divisions (Divisions A, B, C, D, and E) ¹⁶, impermissibly dilutes the votes of African Americans, who now make up 54.3% of the total City population.¹⁷

According to Hall, the current Judicial Election Plan discriminates against African Americans because African American voters, who make up the majority of Section 1 and the City population, are allotted only two judges, while White voters, who make up the majority of Section 2 but a minority of the City population, are allotted three judges. Hall further alleges that the Defendants' refusal to reapportion the City Court judges and/or redraw the geographic boundaries of the Divisions in accordance with the City of Baton Rouge's 2010 Census demographic data is an intentional attempt to dilute the votes of African Americans.

Accordingly, Hall seeks a ruling and judgment declaring, inter alia, that the 1993 Judicial Election Plan violates: (1) the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech, made applicable to the States by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; (2) Hall's fundamental right to vote, as protected by the Fourteenth Amendment; (3) the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; (4) the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; (5) the Fifteenth Amendment; (6) Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and (7) the “democratic principles of majority rule and individualistic egalitarianism” related to the “one person, one vote” principle of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Further, Hall requests an injunction forbidding Defendants from enforcing the 1993 Judicial Election Plan, including enjoining Defendants from “calling, holding, supervising, or certifying” any future elections. Hall also seeks a ruling and judgment holding Defendants liable under Section 1983, and granting him attorney's fees, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988.

As to the instant motion, Schedler seeks an order from this Court dismissing Hall's claims against him, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6).¹⁸ Schedler contends that the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate claims brought against him, as he is protected by Eleventh Amendment immunity. In the alternative, Schedler argues that Hall has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under the Voting Rights Act because Hall has failed to establish that Schedler violated Louisiana law, or that he engaged in discriminatory conduct.¹⁹ Schedler further contends that he not proper party to provide relief. Rather, Schedler asserts that the Louisiana Attorney General is the proper defendant in this matter. Thus, Hall's claims against Schedler must be dismissed.²⁰

Hall opposes the motion and argues that the Court has subject matter jurisdiction, as Schedler is not immune from suit. He further contends that he has sufficiently pled claims upon which relief can be granted under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.²¹ Thus, Hall argues that his claims against Schedler should not be dismissed.

II. Standard of Review

Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction; without jurisdiction conferred by statute, they lack the power to adjudicate claims. In re FEMA Trailer Formaldehyde Prods. Liab. Litig., 668 F.3d 281, 286–287 (5th Cir.2012) (citing Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994); Stockman v. FEC, 138 F.3d 144, 151 (5th Cir.1998)). Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 12(b)(1), a claim is “properly dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction when the court lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate” the claim. Id. (quoting Home Builders Ass'n, Inc. v. City of Madison, 143 F.3d 1006, 1010 (5th Cir.1998)). A court should consider a Rule 12(b)(1) jurisdictional attack before addressing any attack on the merits. Id. (citing Ramming v. United States, 281 F.3d 158, 161 (5th Cir.2001), cert. denied,536 U.S. 960, 122 S.Ct. 2665, 153 L.Ed.2d 839 (2002)). Considering a Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss first “prevents a court without jurisdiction from prematurely dismissing a case with prejudice.” Id. (citing Ramming, 281 F.3d at 161).

A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1) is analyzed under the same standard as a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). Benton v. U.S., 960 F.2d 19, 21 (5th Cir.1992). A complaint is subject to dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) if it fails “to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). In reviewinga Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a court must accept all well-pleaded facts in the complaint as true and view them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. City of Clinton v. Pilgrim's Pride Corp., 632 F.3d 148, 152–53 (5th Cir.2010) (“Under the Rule 12(b)(6) standard, all well-pleaded facts are viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff....”); Baker v. Putnal, 75 F.3d 190, 196 (5th Cir.1996). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)).

In ruling on a Rule 12(b)(1) motion, however, “the court is permitted to look at evidence in the record beyond simply those facts alleged in the complaint and its proper attachments.” Ambraco, Inc. v. Bossclip B. V., 570 F.3d 233, 238 (5th Cir.2009), cert. denied,558 U.S. 1111, 130 S.Ct. 1054, 175 L.Ed.2d 883 (2010); Ramming, 281 F.3d at 161 (stating that a court ruling on a Rule 12(b)(1) motion may evaluate “(1) the complaint alone, (2) the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts evidenced in the record, or (3) the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts plus the court's resolution of disputed facts.”) ²² A motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction should only be granted if it appears certain that the plaintiff cannot prove any set of facts in support of his claims entitling him to relief. Wagstaff v. United States Dep't of Educ., 509 F.3d 661, 663 (5th Cir.2007).

However, “[t]he burden of proof for a Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss is on the party asserting jurisdiction.” Celestine v. TransWood,...