Michigan Wolfdog Ass'n, Inc. v. St. Clair County, 00-40370.

• Decision Date: 30 November 2000
• Docket Number: No. 00-40370.,00-40370.
• Citation: 122 F.Supp.2d 794
• Parties: MICHIGAN WOLFDOG ASSOCIATION, INC., a not-for-profit Michigan corporation, Cathy Sterling, an individual, Plaintiffs, v. ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

122 F.Supp.2d 794

MICHIGAN WOLFDOG ASSOCIATION, INC., a not-for-profit Michigan corporation, Cathy Sterling, an individual, Plaintiffs, v. ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Defendant.

No. 00-40370.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

November 30, 2000.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Christopher A. Cornwall, Kotz, Sangster, Detroit, MI, for plaintiff.

Peter R. George, St. Clair County Prosecutor's Office, Port Huron, MI, for defendant.

Danielle N. Mammel, Kotz, Sangster, Detroit, MI, for plaintiff.

Randall W. Whitworth, Michigan Department of Attorney General, Finance and Development Section, Lansing, MI, for movant.

ORDER DENYING PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

GADOLA, District Judge.

Before the Court is Plaintiffs' Motion for Temporary Restraining Order filed on October 30, 2000. A hearing on Plaintiffs' motion was held in open court on November 20, 2000, the Honorable Paul V. Gadola presiding, and all parties were given an opportunity to present arguments in support of or in opposition to that motion. Pursuant to the agreement of the all parties, this Court will consider Plaintiffs' motion to be a motion for a preliminary injunction rather than a motion for a temporary restraining order. For the reasons set forth below, this Court will deny Plaintiffs' motion.

Factual Background

This civil action challenges the constitutionality of the Michigan Wolf-Dog Cross Act (the "Act"), M.C.L. §§ 287.1001-287.1023, which became effective on June 29, 2000 and which included a 120-day grace period prior to the beginning of its enforcement on October 29, 2000.¹ The Act was "enacted in memory of Angie Nickerson," M.C.L. § 287.1001, a five-year-old girl from National Mine in the Upper Peninsula who was mauled, killed, and partially consumed by an alleged wolf-dog cross in March, 1989. (See Pls.Ex. 2; Att'y Gen.Exs. 8-11 (autopsy photographs of Angie Nickerson).)

Plaintiffs are the Michigan Wolfdog Association, Inc. and Cathy Sterling. Plaintiff Michigan Wolfdog Association, Inc. "is a not-for-profit corporation incorporated in the State of Michigan which undertakes activities for the advancement and betterment of Wolfdogs and their owners." (Compl.¶ 1.) Plaintiff Michigan Wolfdog Association, Inc. has approximately 130 members, most of whom own wolf-dog crosses. (See Pls.Ex. 3 (Van Scoik Aff.) ¶ 1.) Plaintiff Cathy Sterling "resides in Emmet, Michigan, and has, at all material times, been the owner of one or more animals known as Wolfdogs." (Compl. ¶ 2; see Pls.Ex. 4 (Sterling Aff.) ¶¶ 1-2.)

Defendant St. Clair County is a Michigan municipal corporation empowered to enforce the laws of the State of Michigan such as the Act at issue in the instant civil action.

The Department of the Attorney General, on behalf of the State of Michigan, has filed a motion to intervene, as is its right pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2403.

Procedural History

On October 23, 2000, Plaintiffs filed their Complaint in this civil action. On October 30, 2000, Plaintiffs' filed a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order.

On October 31, 2000, this Court dismissed without prejudice Counts VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X of Plaintiffs' Complaint as these counts alleged state law claims for relief. Only Counts I, II, III, IV, and V — which are federal law claims for relief — remain before this Court. Those claims are summarized as follows:

Count I: Section 287.1002(p) of the Act is unconstitutionally vague and therefore deprives Plaintiffs of property without due process of law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1871,² as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1983;³

Count II: Section 287.1013 of the Act permits entry onto private property without a search warrant or probable cause in violation of Plaintiffs' rights against unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment⁴ of the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1871, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1983;

Count III: Sections 287.1016 and 287.1017 of the Act provide for the civil forfeiture of "wolf-dogs" without a prior judicial hearing thereby depriving Plaintiffs of property without due process of law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1871, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1983;

Count IV: the Act "discriminates against Plaintiffs by treating them and their animals differently from other similarly situated owners of animals without a rational basis" in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1871, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1983; and,

Count V: Section 287.1015(1)(c) of the Act imposes a criminal penalty for violations of the Act in violation of the due process and equal protection requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1871, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

(See Compl. at 3-6.)

Insofar as Plaintiffs are seeking to have this Court "declar[e] and adjudg[e]" the Act "unconstitutional and null and void in its entirety," Plaintiffs also appear to be seeking relief under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202.

Because Counts I, II, III, IV, and V draw in question the constitutionality of the Act, this Court certified that fact to the Attorney General of the State of Michigan pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2403(b). Section 2403 permits the State of Michigan "to intervene for presentation of evidence, if evidence is otherwise admissible in the case, and for argument on the question of constitutionality." See 28 U.S.C. § 2403(b). The Department of the Attorney General filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the State of Michigan, and this Court will grant that motion.

Discussion

Before addressing the merits of Plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction, this Court must review the preliminary issues of whether Plaintiffs have standing, whether the instant civil action is ripe for review, and whether this Court should abstain under a federal abstention doctrine, as requested by the Attorney General.

1. Whether Plaintiffs Have Standing

Standing is a doctrine of justiciability that concerns whether a specific person is the proper party to bring a particular action for adjudication in federal court. See Erwin Chemerinsky, Federal Jurisdiction § 2.3.1 (3d ed.1999). In general, standing requires that the plaintiff have suffered an injury that is fairly traceable to the defendant's allegedly unlawful conduct and is likely to be redressed by the requested relief. Peoples Rights Organization, Inc. v. City of Columbus, 152 F.3d 522, 527 (6th Cir.1998) (citing Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992) and Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 751, 104 S.Ct. 3315, 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984)).

As mentioned above, Plaintiffs have brought this pre-enforcement challenge pursuant to the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201, 2202. In general, a civil action seeking a declaratory judgment is brought before an injury has occurred. Peoples Rights Organization, 152 F.3d at 527; National Rifle Association v. Magaw, 132 F.3d 272, 279 (6th Cir.1997). Therefore, "when seeking declaratory or injunctive relief, the plaintiff must demonstrate actual present harm or a significant possibility of future harm to justify pre-enforcement relief." Peoples Rights Organization, 152 F.3d at 527; see National Rifle Association, 132 F.3d at 279. If the injury is impending, a plaintiff who may be injured does not have to wait until he actually is injured to obtain preventive relief. See Babbitt v. United Farm Workers Union, 442 U.S. 289, 298, 99 S.Ct. 2301, 60 L.Ed.2d 895 (1979); Peoples Rights Organization, 152 F.3d at 527.

An association, such as Plaintiff Michigan Wolfdog Association, Inc., can have standing as a representative of its members. Peoples Rights Organization, 152 F.3d at 527; American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Local 506 v. Private Industry Council of Trumbull County, 942 F.2d 376, 378 (6th Cir.1991). According to the Supreme Court, an association must satisfy three requirements to have standing: "(a) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (b) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization's purpose; and (c) neither the claim asserted, nor the relief requested, requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit." Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission, 432 U.S. 333, 343, 97 S.Ct. 2434, 53 L.Ed.2d 383 (1977); see Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 515, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975); Peoples Rights Organization, 152 F.3d at 527.

Several courts reviewing similar cases have held that a plaintiff does not have standing to bring a vagueness challenge if that plaintiff admits that the statute clearly applies to him. See Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733, 756, 94 S.Ct. 2547, 41 L.Ed.2d 439 (1974); Vanater v. Village of South Point, 717 F.Supp. 1236, 1243 (S.D.Ohio 1989); State v. Ferguson, 57 Ohio St.3d 176, 566 N.E.2d 1230, 1231 (1991); Hearn v. Overland Park, 244 Kan. 638, 772 P.2d 758, 760 (1989); Singer v. City of Cincinnati, 57 Ohio App.3d 1, 566 N.E.2d 190 (1990); Garcia v. Village of Tijeras, 108 N.M. 116, 767 P.2d 355, 358 (App.1988). But see State v. Peters, 534 So.2d 760, 766 n. 10 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1988) (assuming, arguendo, that the relevant party had standing because she admitted that her dog was a pit bull but did not admit that her dog was a pit bull covered by the ordinance). See generally Russell G. Donaldson, Validity and Construction of Statute, Ordinance, or Regulation Applying to Specific Dog Breeds, Such as "Pit Bulls" or "Bull Terriers," 80 A.L.R.4th 70, 80-83 (1990). Furthermore, "[a] plaintiff who engages in some conduct that is clearly proscribed cannot complain of the vagueness of the law as applied to the conduct of others." Village of Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc., 455 U.S. 489, 495, 102 S.Ct. 1186, 71 L.Ed.2d...