Henderson Amusement, Inc. v. Good
| Citation | 172 F.Supp.2d 751 |
| Decision Date | 02 November 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:00CV256-C.,1:00CV256-C. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina |
| Parties | HENDERSON AMUSEMENT, INC.; Kenneth Branch; Kevin Branch, dba Blue Ridge Enterprises; Bell Music Machine Corp.; Harry Honeycutt, dba Games, Sales and Leasing; Tina Peake, dba Legend's Billiards; and Richard Allen McGee, dba 221 Express Lube, Plaintiffs, v. Daniel J. GOOD, Sheriff of Rutherford County, North Carolina, Defendant. |
W. Robinson Deaton, Jr., Shelby, NC, for plaintiffs.
Scott D. MacLatchie, Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, Charlotte, NC, for defendant.
THIS MATTER is before the court upon defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. Having considered that motion and reviewed the pleadings, including plaintiffs' response and defendant's reply, the court enters the following findings, conclusions, and decision.
This action was timely removed from the North Carolina General Court of Justice, Superior Court Division, Rutherford County, under an assertion of federal-question jurisdiction. This court has original jurisdiction over plaintiffs' claim asserted under 42, United States Code, Section 1983,1 and supplemental jurisdiction over the additional state-law claims.2 Inasmuch as the viability of the state-law claims is dependent upon a constitutional violation, the court will first address the federal question.
Having reviewed all the pleadings and evidentiary materials submitted, the court finds no genuine issues of material fact, and the facts underlying plaintiffs' claims are briefly summarized herein to aid the decision-making process. Plaintiffs are owners of video gaming machines. In September 2000, pursuant to state law, defendant, in his capacity as Sheriff of Rutherford County, seized those machines as contraband. In North Carolina, certain devices are excluded from the definition of unlawful slot machines. First, pinball and video arcade amusements are not "slot machines" or "video gaming machines" where they do not produce a record, such as a coupon or receipt, capable of redemption. N.C. Gen.Stat. 14-306(b)(1). Second, gaming machines that may produce a record, receipt, or coupon, but limit the accumulated credits or replays to eight, allow exchange of the credit for merchandise or prizes and do not allow exchange of the credit for cash. N.C. Gen.Stat. 14-306(b)(2). The machines at issue here fall under the second exception, and the new law, Chapter 306.1(a)(1) & (2), clearly is an attempt by the state legislature to cap the number of such machines operating in the state. The undisputed origin of such legislation was that lawmakers foresaw a migration in the summer of 2000 of video gaming machines from South Carolina, where a ban on such machines was scheduled to take effect July 1, 2000.
Under the new legislation, an effort was made to separate machines lawfully operating in the state under Chapter 306(b)(2) and those migrating from South Carolina. To meet the new standard, a game owner would have to show that the machine was
1. "lawfully in operation, and available for play, within this State on or before June 30, 2000"; and
2. "listed in this State by January 31, 2000, for ad valorem taxation for the 2000-2001 tax year."
N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14-306.1(a)(1) & (2). For machines that qualified under such provisions, the owners were required to register them by October 1, 2000, with the sheriff of the county in which such machines were located. N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14-306.1(e).
At issue here are machines that were, without dispute, not listed with the tax assessor by January 31, 2000, as required by Chapter 14-306.1(a)(2), but which plaintiffs attempted to register with defendant, in any event, before October 1, 2001,3 under Chapter 14-306.1(e). In furtherance of their claim that defendant's seizure of their machines violates the fourteenth amendment,4 plaintiffs contend that the sheriff should have approved the registrations rather than seize the machines because the "discovered-property" provision of the state tax code5 would qualify their machines for registration under the state law.
Finally, the law provided that unless a video gaming machine was both lawfully in operation and available for play in North Carolina by June 30, 2000, and listed by January 31, 2000, for ad valorem property taxation, it was unlawful to operate, or possess for purpose of operation, any such machine, N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14-306.1(a); and the warehousing of unregistered video gaming machines was also made unlawful under the new legislation. N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14-306.1(h). To be lawful, qualifying machines must have been registered with the sheriff of the county in which the machines were located no later than October 1, 2000. N.C.G.S. § 14-306.1(e). Violation of such law is a criminal offense, punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor for the first offense, a Class 1 felony for the second violation, and a Class H felony for a third or subsequent violation. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-309.
On a motion for summary judgment, the moving party has the burden of production to show that there are no genuine issues for trial. Upon the moving party's meeting that burden, the nonmoving party has the burden of persuasion to establish that there is a genuine issue for trial.
When the moving party has carried its burden under Rule 56(c), its opponent must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts. In the language of the Rule, the nonmoving party must come forward with "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving [sic] party, there is no "genuine issue for trial."
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (citations omitted; emphasis in the original) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56). There must be more than just a factual dispute; the fact in question must be material and readily identifiable by the substantive law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The possibility that plaintiffs may have alleged a constitutional violation merits more than bald denials and summary dismissals. Wooten v. Shook, 527 F.2d 976, 977-78 (4th Cir.1975).
By reviewing substantive law, the court may determine what matters constitute material facts. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, supra. "Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment." Id., at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A dispute about a material fact is "genuine" only if the evidence is such that "a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Id.
[T]he court is obliged to credit the factual asseverations contained in the material before it which favor the party resisting summary judgment and to draw inferences favorable to that party if the inferences are reasonable (however improbable they may seem).
Cole v. Cole, 633 F.2d 1083, 1092 (4th Cir.1980). Affidavits filed in support of defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment are to be used to determine whether issues of fact exist, not to decide the issues themselves. United States ex rel. Jones v. Rundle, 453 F.2d 147 (3d Cir.1971). When resolution of issues of fact depends upon a determination of credibility, summary judgment is improper. Davis v. Zahradnick, 600 F.2d 458 (4th Cir.1979).
A. Fourth-Amendment Claim
Section 1983 "is not itself a source of substantive rights," but provides litigants with a procedure that allows them to vindicate "federal rights elsewhere conferred." Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 144, n. 3, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979). In considering a Section 1983 claim, the court must first identify the specific constitutional right purportedly infringed. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 394, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989). Plaintiffs contend that the seizure of their video gaming machines was unreasonable; therefore, the source of the applicable federal right is the fourth amendment, which provides, as follows:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
U.S. Const., Amend. IV. The Supreme Court held that the fourth amendment applies to Section 1983 claims concerning seized property:
[S]eizures of property are subject to Fourth Amendment scrutiny even though no search within the meaning of the Amendment has taken place. More generally, an officer who happens to come across an individual's property in a public area could seize it only if Fourth Amendment standards are satisfied — for example, if the items are evidence of a crime or contraband.
Soldal v. Cook County, Ill., 506 U.S. 56, 68, 113 S.Ct. 538, 121 L.Ed.2d 450 (1992) (citations and footnote omitted). The fourth amendment affords protection from unreasonable seizures. As to real or personal property, a seizure occurs whenever there is any "meaningful interference" with an individual's possessory interests in such property. United States v. Jacobsen, 466 U.S. 109, 113, 104 S.Ct. 1652, 80 L.Ed.2d 85 (1984); Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 107 S.Ct. 1149, 94 L.Ed.2d 347 (1987).
Having established the asserted right, the next task for the court is to determine exactly how plaintiffs contend such right was violated by defendant. The four claims for injunctive relief have given this court pause, because, if allowed, they would require,...
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...B, Order of Superior Court Judge Dennis J. Winner, attached to Defendant Good's Motion, at 2; see also, Henderson Amusement, Inc. v. Good, 172 F.Supp.2d 751, 754 (W.D.N.C. 2001) ("The undisputed origin of such legislation was that lawmakers foresaw a migration in the summer of 2000 of video......
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