Nollet v. Justices of Trial Courts of Com. of Ma
| Decision Date | 27 January 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ.A.99-11861-EFH.,Civ.A.99-11861-EFH. |
| Citation | 83 F.Supp.2d 204 |
| Parties | James NOLLET, James Carroll, David Merchant, Donald Roine, Richard Scanlon, Earl Sholley, and the Fatherhood Coalition/CPF, Plaintiffs, v. JUSTICES OF THE TRIAL COURT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts |
David C. Grossack, Hull, MA, for Plaintiffs.
Adam Simms, Assistant Attorney General, Robert Quinan, Assistant Attorneys General, Government Bureau, Boston, MA, for Defendants.
This matter is before the Court on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss the Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The defendants assert four bases for dismissal: (1) that this Court does not have jurisdiction under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine; (2) that this Court should abstain from exercising its jurisdiction under the Younger abstention doctrine; (3) that the defendants are immune from suit; and (4) that the plaintiffs have failed to state a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. For the reasons stated below, the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is granted.
The individual plaintiffs in this case, James Nollet, James Carroll, David Merchant, Donald Roine, Richard Scanlon and Earl Sholley, are all men who have been litigants in domestic relations and/or abuse prevention matters in the trial courts of Massachusetts. The Fatherhood Coalition/CPF, which is also named as a plaintiff, is an unincorporated advocacy organization comprised of males who have been involved in custody and visitation issues in Massachusetts courts.1 The defendants comprise the 345 state court judges who currently make up the Superior Court, District Court and Family and Probate Courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The plaintiffs bring this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking both declaratory and injunctive relief. Specifically in Count I, plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief declaring Mass.Gen.L. ch. 209A, § 4 unconstitutional because it permits the granting of temporary restraining orders at ex parte hearings and enjoining the judicial defendants from further enforcement of said statute. In Count II, plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief commanding the judicial defendants to adopt measures to prevent discrimination against men in the Probate and Family Court. In Count III, plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief declaring Mass.Gen.L. ch. 209A, § 3B unconstitutional as constituting an impermissible restriction on the plaintiffs' Second Amendment right to bear arms and enjoining the judicial defendants from further enforcement of said statute. When a sole federal district court judge is required to consider declaring an act of a state legislature, the representative of all the people of that state, as null and void, that judge must approach this awesome task with grave deliberation and prudent caution. In a representative democracy a judge does not lightly declare an act of the people's representatives unconstitutional.
Statutory Scheme: Mass.Gen.L. ch. 209A
The law being challenged in this case, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 209A (the Massachusetts Abuse Prevention Law), was enacted in 1978 in response to a growing public awareness of domestic violence and the legal system's ineffectiveness in dealing with such violence. Chapter 209A provides that a person suffering abuse from a family or household member may file a complaint in the Superior, Probate and Family, or District/Municipal court requesting protection against such abuse. See Mass.Gen.L. ch. 209A, § 3.
If the 209A petitioner proves the existence of such abuse by a preponderance of the evidence, see Frizado v. Frizado, 420 Mass. 592, 596-97, 651 N.E.2d 1206, 1210 (Mass.1995), the court may then issue an order imposing significant restrictions on the defendant. See Mass.Gen.L. ch. 209A, § 3. Although the Court is free to fashion whatever remedy it deems appropriate, the statute enumerates a number of specific orders which the Court may issue, including: ordering the alleged abuser to vacate the household abode, see id. Section 3(c), and ordering the alleged abuser to refrain from contacting any children in the petitioner's care regardless of the alleged abuser's relationship to such children. See id. Section 3(h).
A court can issue a temporary order granting the remedies provided in ch. 209A, § 3, without giving the alleged abuser notice and an opportunity to be heard, provided that the petitioner files a complaint and demonstrates "a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of abuse." See Mass.Gen.L. ch. 209A, § 4. If the court does issue an ex parte temporary order under Section 4, the court must then give the defendant the opportunity to be heard on the question of continuing the temporary order within ten (10) business days after the issuance of the ex parte order. See id. In addition, if the petitioner in a Chapter 209A proceeding demonstrates a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of abuse, then the court is mandated to order the defendant to relinquish immediately for confiscation by the police any firearms and ammunition in the defendants' control, ownership or possession, and to surrender any license to carry firearms. See Mass.Gen.L. ch. 209A, § 3B.
With regard to the plaintiffs in this case, it has been asserted both at oral argument and through subsequent correspondence to the Court that Messrs. Nollet, Carroll, Merchant, and Sholley have all been subject to both temporary restraining orders issued ex parte, as well as permanent restraining orders issuing after a full hearing. While the permanent restraining orders against Messrs. Nollet and Sholley have expired, Messrs. Carroll and Merchant are still subject to permanent restraining orders. In addition, counsel for the plaintiffs have asserted that Plaintiff Merchant was required to relinquish a firearm pursuant to ch. 209A, § 3B. Plaintiffs Roine and Scanlon have never been subject to a restraining order issued under Chapter 209A, but they allege that in the course of their divorce and support proceedings they were denied the equal protection of the law because of their sex.
At this point in the litigation, "[a] court may dismiss a complaint only if it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations." Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984). In considering a motion to dismiss, whether on the ground of lack of subject matter jurisdiction or for failure to state a claim, the complaint is construed in the light most favorable to the pleader and all allegations therein are taken as true. See Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); see also 5A Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 2d §§ 1350, 1357. However, with regard to a 12(b)(1) motion, the party asserting subject matter jurisdiction has the burden of proving that the court has jurisdiction over the claims. See Viqueira v. First Bank, 140 F.3d 12, 16 (1st Cir.1998).
When ruling on a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the court may consider only the facts alleged in the pleadings, documents attached as exhibits or incorporated by reference in the complaint, and matters of which judicial notice may be taken. See Samuels v. Air Transp. Local 504, 992 F.2d 12, 15 (2d Cir.1993). In deciding such a motion, the Court must merely determine whether the allegations of the complaint constitute a statement of claim under the liberal pleading requirements of Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Badillo Santiago v. Andreau Garcia, 70 F.Supp.2d 84, 86 (D.P.R.1999).
Before deciding any other issue, this Court must first determine whether it has subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' claims. See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 523 U.S. 83, 89-102, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 1010-16, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998) (). In their brief in support of their motion to dismiss, the defendants raise three specific challenges to this Court's jurisdiction over this case: (1) the Rooker-Feldman doctrine; (2) the Younger abstention doctrine; and (3) judicial immunity. However, this Court has jurisdiction over the claims set forth in Count I and Count III pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343 (), although it does not have jurisdiction over the claim in Count II, as Count II essentially seeks injunctive relief against judicial officers which is barred by the very language of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
The essential import of the Rooker-Feldman doctrine is that no federal court, other than the United States Supreme Court, has been given jurisdiction to directly review state-court decisions under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1257.2 See ASARCO Inc. v. Kadish, 490 U.S. 605, 622, 109 S.Ct. 2037, 2048, 104 L.Ed.2d 696 (1989). However, the plaintiffs are not attempting to challenge or appeal any particular state court decision, rather they are challenging the constitutionality of a broad statutory scheme which they claim deprives individuals of significant property and liberty interests without due process of law. The Rooker-Feldman doctrine does not bar this type of suit where a party is challenging the constitutionality of a state statute on its face. See Schneider v. Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico, 917 F.2d 620, 628 (1st Cir.1990), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1029, 112 S.Ct. 865, 116 L.Ed.2d 772 (1992). See also Wright & Miller, § 4469.1. Since the plaintiffs' case is not a direct attack on any particular state court judgment, the...
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