Hason v. Medical Bd. of California
| Decision Date | 12 February 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 00-55784.,No. 00-55980.,00-55784.,00-55980. |
| Parties | Michael J. HASON, M.D., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA; Department of Consumer Affairs, State Of California; Arlene Adams, the Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs of the State of California; Neil Fippin, individually, & as the Manager, Licensing Program of the Medical Board of the State of California; Melinda Acosta, individually & as an official of the Medical Board of the State of California; Ron Joseph, individually & as Executive Director of the Medical Board of the State of California & as Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs of the State of California; Bruce Hasenkamp, individually & as President of the Division of Licensing of the Medical Board of the State of California; Ira Lubell, M.D., individually & as President of the Division of Medical Quality of the Medical Board of the State of California; Carole H. Hurvitz; Anabel A. Imbert; Raquel D. Arias, Dr.; Klea D. Bertakis, Dr.; Jack Bruner, Dr.; Daniel Livingston; Karen McElliot; Alan E. Shumacher, Dr.; Kip S. Skidmore, individually & as Member of the Medical Board of the State of California's Division of Medical Quality; Thomas A. Joas, Dr.; Karen McElliott, individually & as Officer of the Medical Board of the State of California & its Division of Licensing; Bernard Alpert, individually & as Officer of the Medical Board of the State of California & its Division of Licensing; Michael I. Sidley, individually & as Executive of the Medical Board of the State of California's Division of Licensing; Raja Toke, Dr., individually & as Executive of the Medical Board of the State of California's Division of Licensing; The State of California & Senior Investigator, Defendants-Appellees. Michael J. Hason, M.D., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Medical Board of the State of California; Department of Consumer Affairs, State of California; Arlene Adams, the Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs of the State of California; Neil Fippin, individually and as the Manager, Licensing Program of the Medical Board of the State of California; Melinda Acosta, individually and as an official of the Medical Board of the State of California; Ron Joseph, individually and as Executive Director of the Medical Board of the State of California and as Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs of the State of California; Bruce Hasenkamp, individually and as President of the Division of Licensing of the Medical Board of the State of California; Ira Lubell, M.D., individually and as President of the Division of Medical Quality of the Medical Board of the State of California; Carole H. Hurvitz; Anabel A. Imbert; Raquel D. Arias, M.D.; Klea D. Bertakis, M.D.; Jack Bruner, M.D.; Daniel Livingston; Karen Mcelliott; Alan E. Schumacher, M.D.; Kip S. Skidmore, individually and as Members of the Medical Board of the State of California's Division of Medical Quality; Thomas A. Joas, M.D.; Karen Mcelliott, individually and as Officer of the Medical Board of the State of California and its Division of Licensing; Bernard Alpert, individually and as Officer of the Medical Board of the State of California and its Division of Licensing; Michael I. Sidley, individually and as Executive of the Medical Board of the State of California's Division of Licensing; Raja Toke, M.D., individually and as Executive of the Medical Board of the State of California's Division of Licensing; The State of California; Senior Investigator; Medical Board of California, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Erwin Chemerinsky, University of Southern California Law School, Los Angeles, CA, for the plaintiff-appellant.
Joel A. Davis, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Los Angeles, CA, for the defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California, A. Howard Matz, District Judge, Presiding.
Before: GOODWIN, WALLACE and THOMAS, Circuit Judges.
Dr. Michael J. Hason appeals the dismissal of his pro se complaint alleging discrimination based on disability in violation of the United States Constitution and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act ["ADA"]. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. For the reasons that follow we reverse and remand.
In March of 1995, Michael J. Hason, M.D., applied for a license to practice medicine in the state of California. In April of 1998, the California Medical Board denied, for reasons of mental illness, Dr. Hason's application for a medical license. Dr. Hason subsequently filed a pro se complaint in federal district court alleging violations of his rights under the United States Constitution (brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983) and Title II of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12132. The complaint also alleged state law tort claims which are not at issue on this appeal.
Dr. Hason's complaint named as defendants The Medical Board of the State of California ["The Medical Board"], the Department of Consumer Affairs of the State of California and its director, and various other individuals that were either members of or otherwise affiliated with the Medical Board (in both their official and personal capacities). Dr. Hason sought both damages and injunctive relief.
On April 25, 2000, the District Court dismissed Dr. Hason's complaint without prejudice as to the individual defendants in their personal capacities, and with prejudice as to the two named state agencies and the individual defendants in their official capacities. The Report and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge, which was affirmed in its entirety by the District Court, stated three reasons for dismissing Dr. Hason's complaint. First, the Report concluded that Dr. Hason's claims were barred by the Eleventh Amendment. Second, the Report concluded that Dr. Hason failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted under Title II of the ADA. Third, the Report concluded that Dr. Hason's claims against the individual defendants in their personal capacities should be dismissed for failure to prosecute.
We review de novo the District Court's dismissal of a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See NL Indus. v. Kaplan, 792 F.2d 896, 898 (9th Cir.1986).
We begin by considering whether the District Court erred in holding that Dr. Hason's claims were barred by the Eleventh Amendment. The Eleventh Amendment prohibits a private party from suing a nonconsenting state or its agencies in federal court.1 See Board of Trustees of Univ. of Alabama v. Garrett, 531 U.S. 356, 363, 121 S.Ct. 955, 148 L.Ed.2d 866 (2001); Kimel v. Florida Bd. of Regents, 528 U.S. 62, 72-73, 120 S.Ct. 631, 145 L.Ed.2d 522 (2000); Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44, 54, 116 S.Ct. 1114, 134 L.Ed.2d 252 (1996); Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1, 15, 10 S.Ct. 504, 33 L.Ed. 842 (1890). The Eleventh Amendment does not, however, prevent a private litigant from suing a state or its agencies in federal court where Congress has abrogated state sovereign immunity acting pursuant to section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. We have previously held that in enacting Title II of the ADA Congress validly abrogated state sovereign immunity, and thus states and their agencies may be sued pursuant to Title II. See Dare v. California, 191 F.3d 1167, 1175 (9th Cir.1999); Clark v. California, 123 F.3d 1267, 1270-71 (9th Cir.1997); see also Patricia v. Lemahieu, 141 F.Supp.2d 1243, 1248 (D.Haw.2001) ().
Appellees contend, however, that the Supreme Court's recent decision in Garrett overrules both Clark and Dare. In Garrett, the Court held that Congress did not validly abrogate state sovereign immunity in enacting Title I of the ADA. See Garrett, 531 U.S. at 360, 121 S.Ct. 955. The Garrett Court expressly declined to decide whether Congress validly abrogated state sovereign immunity in enacting Title II of the ADA. See id. at 360 n. 1, 121 S.Ct. 955. We therefore conclude that Garrett does not overrule either Clark or Dare, and that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar Dr. Hason's Title II claims.
The District Court also erred in its treatment of Dr. Hason's federal civil rights claims, brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against the various individual state officials. The District Court held that Dr. Hason's section 1983 claims were barred by the Eleventh Amendment. In so holding, the District Court failed to recognize the long-established exception to Eleventh Amendment immunity carved out by Ex Parte Young, 209 U.S. 123, 28 S.Ct. 441, 52 L.Ed. 714 (1908). The Ex Parte Young, doctrine provides that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar suits for prospective injunctive relief brought against state officers "in their official capacities, to enjoin an alleged ongoing violation of federal law." Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Hardin, 223 F.3d 1041, 1045 (9th Cir.2000); see also Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho, 521 U.S. 261, 269, 117 S.Ct. 2028, 138 L.Ed.2d 438 (1997); Seminole Tribe of Florida, 517 U.S. at 73, 116 S.Ct. 1114; Children's Hosp. and Health Ctr. v. Belshe, 188 F.3d 1090, 1095 (9th Cir.1999); Armstrong v. Wilson, 124 F.3d 1019, 1025 (9th Cir.1997). Dr. Hason's complaint clearly seeks prospective injunctive relief to enjoin the individual defendants' refusal to issue Dr. Hason a medical license. Thus, under the doctrine of Ex Parte Young, Dr. Hason's section 1983 claims seeking prospective injunctive relief from the individual defendants are not barred by the Eleventh Amendment. The District Court erred in concluding otherwise.
We next consider the District Court's...
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