Hunters United for Sunday Hunting v. Pa. Game Comm'n

• Decision Date: 18 June 2014
• Docket Number: No. 1:13–cv–01939.,1:13–cv–01939.
• Citation: 28 F.Supp.3d 340
• Parties: HUNTERS UNITED FOR SUNDAY HUNTING, et al., Plaintiffs, v. PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania

28 F.Supp.3d 340

HUNTERS UNITED FOR SUNDAY HUNTING, et al., Plaintiffs
v.
PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION, et al., Defendants.

No. 1:13–cv–01939.

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania.

Filed June 18, 2014.

28 F.Supp.3d 342

Peter J. Russo, Law Offices of Peter J. Russo, PC, Mechanicsburg, PA, for Plaintiffs.

Gregory R. Neuhauser, Office of Attorney General, Harrisburg, PA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

YVETTE KANE, District Judge.

Defendants, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl Roe, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, move the Court to dismiss Plaintiffs Kathy Davis and Hunters United for Sunday Hunting's amended complaint. (Doc. No. 10.) For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant Defendants' motion.

I. BACKGROUND¹

This case concerns the constitutionality of Section 2303(a) of the Pennsylvania Game and Wildlife Code, which makes it “unlawful for any person to hunt for any furbearer or game on Sunday.” 34 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2303(a). Plaintiffs challenge the restriction as unconstitutional under the First, Second, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, as well as under state law, and seek an order permanently enjoining Defendant Pennsylvania Game and Wildlife Commission from enforcing Section 2303(a). (Doc. No. 8 at 14.)

As set forth in their complaint, Plaintiffs are currently permitted to hunt furbearer, big game, and small game on public and private lands within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during established seasonal periods, with the exception of Sundays. (Id. ¶ 20.) Big game consists of white-tailed deer, black bear, elk and wild turkey, whereas small game consists of woodcock, rabbit, pheasant, northern bobwhite, quail, ruffled grouse, groundhog, and squirrel. (Id. n. 1–2.) However, by statute, foxes, coyotes, crows, and feral hog are excepted from the Sunday hunting restriction, meaning that these animals may be taken on Sunday.² (Id. ¶ 21 (citing 34 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2303(b)(1)-(2).) Non-commercial

28 F.Supp.3d 343

hunting grounds³ are also excepted from the Sunday hunting restriction, meaning that furbearer and game may be taken on noncommercial hunting grounds on Sunday. (Id. ¶ 22 (citing 34 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2303(b)(3).) Apart from these exceptions, however, Section 2303(a) prohibits Plaintiffs from taking furbearer and game on Sundays. If an individual violates Section 2303(a), he or she potentially faces prosecution of a summary offense of the fifth degree, and, adverse administrative action against his or her hunting license. (Id. ¶ 26.)

On July 16, 2013, Plaintiffs filed a complaint in this Court, seeking declaratory relief and a permanent injunction enjoining Defendant Pennsylvania Game Commission from enforcing Section 2303(a). (Doc. No. 1.) Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) on the grounds that the Court lacked jurisdiction over the claims, and, that Plaintiffs' complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. (Doc. No. 5.) Defendants also submitted they were entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity, and that Pennsylvania Attorney General Kane should be dismissed as an improper party-defendant. Plaintiffs subsequently filed an amended complaint, which Defendants again moved to dismiss. (Doc. Nos. 8, 10.) The motion has been fully briefed and is now ripe for disposition.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1)

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) allows a party to move for dismissal of a complaint on the grounds that a court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over the claims. A motion to dismiss a case for lack of standing is properly brought under Rule 12(b)(1), because standing is a jurisdictional matter. Ballentine v. United States, 486 F.3d 806, 810 (3d Cir.2007). When evaluating a Rule 12(b)(1) motion, a court must first determine whether the movant presents a facial or factual attack. In re Schering Plough Corp. Intron/Temodar Consumer Class Action, 678 F.3d 235, 243 (3d Cir.2012) (citation omitted). A facial challenge contests the sufficiency of the pleadings, meaning a court must consider the allegations of the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Gould Elec., Inc. v. United States, 220 F.3d 169, 176 (3d Cir.2000). By contrast, when reviewing a factual attack, a court may consider evidence outside the pleadings. Id. (citation omitted). Although Defendants do not specify whether their challenge is facial or factual, their arguments in support of dismissal under Federal Rule 12(b)(1) assume that Plaintiffs' allegations are true, and do not reference any evidence outside the pleadings. Thus the Court will treat Defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of standing as a facial challenge.

Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), the Court must accept as true all material allegations set forth in the complaint, and must construe those facts in favor of the non-moving party. Ballentine, 486 F.3d at 810 (citations omitted). When evaluating whether a complaint adequately pleads the elements of standing, a court applies the same standard of review as on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

28 F.Supp.3d 344

In re Schering Plough, 678 F.3d at 243 (citation omitted).⁴ Accordingly, a plaintiff must assert facts that affirmatively and plausibly suggest that the pleader has the rights he claims (here, the right to jurisdiction), rather than facts that are merely consistent with such a right. See Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). At the pleadings stage, it is the plaintiffs' burden to establish standing. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). Although general factual allegations of injury resulting from the defendant's conduct may suffice, the complaint must still clearly and specifically set forth facts sufficient to satisfy Article III's standing requirement. Reilly v. Ceridian Corp., 664 F.3d 38, 41 (3d Cir.2011) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).

B. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)

Federal notice and pleading rules require the complaint to provide the defendant notice of the claim and the grounds upon which it rests. Phillips v. Cnty. of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 232 (3d Cir.2008). The plaintiff must present facts that, if true, demonstrate a plausible right to relief. Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a). Although Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires “only a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,” a complaint may nevertheless be dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for its “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).

When ruling on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court must accept as true all factual allegations in the complaint and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn therefrom, and view them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See In re Ins. Brokerage Antitrust Litig., 618 F.3d 300, 314 (3d Cir.2010). The Court's inquiry is guided by recent developments in pleading standards, which commenced with the United States Supreme Court's announcement of the “plausibility” standard in Bell Atlantic Corporation v. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ; see also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Under Twombly and Iqbal, pleading requirements have shifted from simple notice pleading under Conley' s “no set of facts” standard to a “more heightened form of pleading.” See Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203, 210 (3d Cir.2009). Now, to prevent dismissal, all civil complaints must set out “sufficient factual matter” to show that the claim is facially plausible. Id. Accordingly, to determine the sufficiency of a complaint under Twombly and Iqbal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has identified the following steps a district court must take when determining the sufficiency of a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) : (1) identify the elements a plaintiff must plead to state a claim, (2) identify any conclusory allegations contained in the complaint “not entitled” to the assumption of truth, and (3) determine whether any “well-pleaded factual allegations” contained in the complaint “plausibly give rise to an entitlement for relief.” See Santiago v. Warminster Tp., 629 F.3d 121, 130 (3d Cir.2010) (citation and quotation marks omitted).

III. DISCUSSION

Defendants move the Court to dismiss Plaintiffs' amended complaint under

28 F.Supp.3d 345

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), arguing that the Court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction because Plaintiffs do not have standing; and, that Plaintiffs' amended complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. (Id. ) Defendants further argue that were Plaintiffs to prevail on any of their claims, Defendants are entitled to...