Sevcik v. Sandoval

• Decision Date: 26 November 2012
• Docket Number: No. 2:12–cv–00578–RCJ–PAL.,2:12–cv–00578–RCJ–PAL.
• Citation: 911 F.Supp.2d 996
• Parties: Beverly SEVCIK et al., Plaintiffs, v. Brian SANDOVAL et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Nevada

911 F.Supp.2d 996

Beverly SEVCIK et al., Plaintiffs,

v.Brian SANDOVAL et al., Defendants.

No. 2:12–cv–00578–RCJ–PAL.

United States District Court,

D. Nevada.

Nov. 26, 2012.

Carla Christofferson, Melanie Cristol, Dawn Sestito, Rahi Azizi, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Jon W. Davidson, Peter C. Renn, Shelbi Day, Tara Borelli, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, Marek P. Bute, Kelly H. Dove, Snell & Wilmer L.L.P., Las Vegas, NV, for Plaintiffs.

C. Wayne Howle, Nevada Attorney General's Office, Carson City, NV, Michael L. Foley, Las Vegas, NV, for Defendants.

ORDER

ROBERT C. JONES, District Judge.

This case arises out of the refusal of the State of Nevada to permit same-sex couples to enter into civil marriages, as well as its refusal to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states as “marriages” under Nevada law. The question before the Court is not the wisdom of providing for or recognizing same-sex marriages as a matter of policy but whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the People of the State of Nevada from maintaining statutes that reserve the institution of civil marriage to one-man-one-woman relationships or from amending their state constitution to prohibit the State from recognizing marriages formed in other states as “marriages” under Nevada law if those marriages do not conform to Nevada's one-man-one-woman civil marriage institution. For the reasons given herein, the Court rules that it does not. To the extent the present challenge is not precluded by U.S. Supreme Court precedent, Defendants are entitled to summary judgment.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The sixteen Plaintiffs in this case comprise eight same-sex couples who desire to marry one another in Nevada or who have validly married one another in other jurisdictions and desire to have their marriages recognized as “marriages” by the State of Nevada. ( See Compl. ¶¶ 5–12, Apr. 10, 2012, ECF No. 1). Defendants are Governor Brian Sandoval, Clark County Clerk and Commissioner of Civil Marriages Diana Alba, Washoe County Clerk and Commissioner of Civil Marriages Amy Harvey, and Carson City Clerk–Recorder Alan Glover. ( See id. ¶¶ 13–16). Except for the fact that they are of the same sex, the unmarried Plaintiff couples are otherwise legally qualified to marry one another in Nevada. ( See id. ¶ 24). Between April 1 and 6, 2012, four of the unmarried Plaintiff couples were denied marriage licenses in Clark County, Washoe County, and Carson City, variously, for this reason. ( See id. ¶¶ 25–28). The other four Plaintiff couples were validly married in other jurisdictions and challenge the State's refusal to recognize their foreign marriages as “marriages,” as opposed to “domestic partnerships,” under Nevada law. ( See id. ¶¶ 29–32).

Plaintiffs sued Defendants in this Court on a single claim under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, requesting declaratory and injunctive relief. The Court granted the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage's (the “Coalition”) motion to intervene after Plaintiffs withdrew their opposition to the motion. The Court has heard oral argument on Governor Sandoval's and Clerk–Recorder Glover's separate motions to dismiss. The Coalition, Clerk–Recorder Glover, Governor Sandoval, and Plaintiffs have since filed cross motions for summary judgment. The Court decides all of these motions via the present Order.

II. LEGAL STANDARDSA. Dismissal

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” in order to “give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) mandates that a court dismiss a cause of action that fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) tests the complaint's sufficiency. See N. Star Int'l v. Ariz. Corp. Comm'n, 720 F.2d 578, 581 (9th Cir.1983). When considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, dismissal is appropriate only when the complaint does not give the defendant fair notice of a legally cognizable claim and the factual grounds upon which it rests. See Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). In considering whether the complaint is sufficient to state a claim, the court will take all material allegations as true and construe them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See NL Indus., Inc. v. Kaplan, 792 F.2d 896, 898 (9th Cir.1986). The court, however, is not required to accept as true allegations that are merely conclusory, unwarranted deductions of fact, or unreasonable inferences. See Sprewell v. Golden State Warriors, 266 F.3d 979, 988 (9th Cir.2001). A formulaic recitation of a cause of action with conclusory allegations is not sufficient; a plaintiff must plead facts pertaining to his own case making a violation plausible, not just possible. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677–79, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955) (“A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.”). In other words, under the modern interpretation of Rule 8(a), a plaintiff must not only specify a cognizable legal theory ( Conley review), but also must plead the facts of his own case so that the court can determine whether he has any plausible basis for relief under the legal theory he has specified, assuming the facts are as he alleges ( Twombly–Iqbal review).

“Generally, a district court may not consider any material beyond the pleadings in ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. However, material which is properly submitted as part of the complaint may be considered on a motion to dismiss.” Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., 896 F.2d 1542, 1555 n. 19 (9th Cir.1990) (citation omitted). Similarly, “documents whose contents are alleged in a complaint and whose authenticity no party questions, but which are not physically attached to the pleading, may be considered in ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss” without converting the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment. Branch v. Tunnell, 14 F.3d 449, 454 (9th Cir.1994). Moreover, under Federal Rule of Evidence 201, a court may take judicial notice of “matters of public record.” Mack v. S. Bay Beer Distribs., Inc., 798 F.2d 1279, 1282 (9th Cir.1986). Otherwise, if the district court considers materials outside of the pleadings, the motion to dismiss is converted into a motion for summary judgment. See Arpin v. Santa Clara Valley Transp. Agency, 261 F.3d 912, 925 (9th Cir.2001).

B. Summary Judgment

A court must grant summary judgment when “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). Material facts are those which may affect the outcome of the case. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute as to a material fact is genuine if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party. See id. A principal purpose of summary judgment is “to isolate and dispose of factually unsupported claims.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323–24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In determining summary judgment, a court uses a burden-shifting scheme:

When the party moving for summary judgment would bear the burden of proof at trial, it must come forward with evidence which would entitle it to a directed verdict if the evidence went uncontroverted at trial. In such a case, the moving party has the initial burden of establishing the absence of a genuine issue of fact on each issue material to its case.

C.A.R. Transp. Brokerage Co. v. Darden Rests., Inc., 213 F.3d 474, 480 (9th Cir.2000) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). In contrast, when the nonmoving party bears the burden of proving the claim or defense, the moving party can meet its burden in two ways: (1) by presenting evidence to negate an essential element of the nonmoving party's case; or (2) by demonstrating that the nonmoving party failed to make a showing sufficient to establish an element essential to that party's case on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. See Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323–24, 106 S.Ct. 2548. If the moving party fails to meet its initial burden, summary judgment must be denied and the court need not consider the nonmoving party's evidence. See Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 159–60, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970).

If the moving party meets its initial burden, the burden then shifts to the opposing party to establish a genuine issue of material fact. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). To establish the existence of a factual dispute, the opposing party need not establish a material issue of fact conclusively in its favor. It is sufficient that “the claimed factual dispute be shown to require a jury or judge to resolve the parties' differing versions of the truth at trial.” T.W. Elec. Serv., Inc. v. Pac. Elec. Contractors Ass'n, 809 F.2d 626, 631 (9th Cir.1987). In other words, the nonmoving party cannot avoid summary judgment by relying solely on conclusory allegations unsupported by facts. See Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir.1989). Instead, the opposition must go beyond the assertions and allegations of the pleadings and set forth specific facts by producing competent evidence that shows a genuine issue for trial. See...