Vaduva v. City of Xenia
| Decision Date | 04 September 2018 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 3:17-cv-41 |
| Parties | VIRGIL VADUVA, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF XENIA, OHIO, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio |
This civil rights case arises out of the arrest of Plaintiff Virgil Vaduva ("Vaduva") on February 13, 2015 in Xenia, Ohio for violation of Xenia Codified Ordinance § 648.12, which places restrictions on where individuals may engage in panhandling. Vaduva was cited with panhandling within 20 feet of the City Hall building, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. A jury found Vaduva guilty of violating the statute, a verdict that Vaduva appealed. On appeal, Vaduva successfully argued that the Ordinance did not prohibit the solicitation of funds for the benefit of others, i.e., charitable donations. State v. Vaduva, 2016-Ohio-3362, ¶ 23, 66 N.E.3d 212, 218. The court of appeals vacated his conviction and remanded the matter to the trial court for a new trial. On remand, however, the prosecutor dismissed the case against Vaduva.
Approximately eight months after the Ohio court of appeals' decision, on February 9, 2017, Vaduva brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Xenia and a number of its officials and employees for alleged violations of his right to freedom of speech under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. On motions directed to the pleadings, the Court dismissed all but Vaduva's claims against Xenia. (Doc. 28.) This case is now before the Court on Vaduva's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 33) and Xenia's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 34). Vaduva seeks summary judgment against Xenia as to its liability under Section 1983 for violating his right to freedom of speech. (Doc. 33 at 1.) Xenia seeks summary judgment against Vaduva on all of his remaining claims. Both Motions are fully briefed and ripe for review. (Docs. 33, 36, 38; 34, 35, 37.)
For the reasons below, the Court finds that Vaduva lacks standing to assert his facial and as applied challenge to Xenia's panhandling ordinance; those claims are therefore dismissed and Vaduva's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 33) on those claims is DENIED. Vaduva also fails to present evidence sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact concerning his failure-to-train, Equal Protection, and Due Process claims. Accordingly, Xenia's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 34) as to those claims is GRANTED.
As mentioned, this case arises out of Vaduva's arrest for panhandling in violation of Xenia Codified Ordinance § 648.12. That ordinance provides, in pertinent part:
Xenia Cod. Ordinance § 648.12.
"Panhandling" under § 648.12 is defined as follows:
To request verbally, in writing, or by gesture or other actions, money, items of value, a donation, or other personal financial assistance. Further, panhandling shall include any request for a person to purchase an item for an amount that a reasonable person would consider to be in excess of its value.
Xenia Cod. Ordinance § 604.01.
On February 13, 2015, Vaduva challenged the ordinance in front of Xenia City Hall by asking for money from passersby for charity and using a sign that said "HELP THE POOR NEED $ FOR FOOD." (Doc. 33 at 5, ¶ 5 (); https:/vimeo.com/119646554.) A video was made of this event, which can be viewed at https:/vimeo.com/119646554. Xenia police officers met with Vaduva and explained that there was an ordinance prohibiting his conduct. Vaduva replied that he believed the ordinance was unconstitutional. The police officers left, but later returned and issued Vaduva a citation for panhandling in violation of § 648.12(b)(13).
After a jury trial, Vaduva was convicted of violating § 648.12(b)(13) and sentenced to a suspended thirty-day jail term on the condition that Vaduva completed 100 hours of community service within 90 days and had no future violations within two years. State v. Vaduva, 2016-Ohio-3362, ¶ 15, 66 N.E.3d 212, 216. The trial court also ordered Vaduva to pay a $500 fine and court costs. Id.
As discussed in more detail below, on appeal, the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Second District vacated Vaduva's conviction and remanded the case for a new trial. On remand, the prosecutor declined to re-try Vaduva for violation of § 648.12.
Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c), summary judgment "shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The moving party bears the initial burden to inform the court of the basis for its motion and to identify the sections of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, along with any affidavits that it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). The adverse party then bears the burden to "set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250 (1986). However, "the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact." Id. at 24 (emphasis in original).
In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the court should not weigh the evidence, make credibility determinations, or judge the truth of the matter asserted, but it must draw all "justifiable inferences" in the light most favorable to the non-movant. Weaver v. Shadoan, 340 F.3d 398, 405 (6th Cir. 2003) (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255). This does not require the court to "wade through and search the entire record for some specific facts that might support the nonmoving party's claim." InterRoyal Corp. v. Sponseller, 889 F.2d 108, 111 (6th Cir. 1989), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1091 (1990). In sum, based on the evidence called to the court's attention, it must decide whether reasonable jurors could find by a preponderance of the evidence that the nonmovant is entitled to a verdict. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252.
Liberally construed, Vaduva's Complaint contains four claims against Xenia. First, Vaduva asserts that § 648.12 should be declared unconstitutional on its face and as applied. (Doc. 1 at 5-9.) Second, Vaduva alleges that Xenia violated his Fourteenth Amendment rights by failing to train and supervise the police officers who arrested him pursuant to the unconstitutional policy against panhandling set forth in § 648.12. Third, Vaduva alleges that Xenia selectively enforced § 648.12 against him in violation of the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Fourth, and lastly, Vaduva alleges that Xenia deprived him of Due Process under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Court considers each of Vaduva's claims in turn below.
Before considering Vaduva's claim that Xenia's panhandling ordinance is unconstitutional, the Court must address—based on its review of the undisputed facts—the issue of standing. "'No principle is more fundamental to the judiciary's proper role in our system of government than the constitutional limitation of federal-court jurisdiction to actual cases or controversies.'" Raines v. Byrd, 521 U.S. 811, 818 (1997) (quoting Simon v. Eastern Ky. Welfare Rights Organization, 426 U.S. 26, 37 (1976)). "[O]ne of the controlling elements in the definition of a case or controversy under Article III" is standing. ASARCO Inc. v. Kadish, 490 U.S. 605, 613 (1989). Federal courts "have an independent duty 'to inquire sua sponte whenever a doubt arises as to the existence of federal jurisdiction.'" Kentucky Press Ass'n, Inc. v. Kentucky, 454 F.3d 505, 508 (6th Cir. 2006) (quoting Mt. Healthy City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Ed. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 278 (1977)).
Pursuant to Article III, "a plaintiff must demonstrate standing for each claim he seeks topress." Davis v. Fed. Election Comm'n, 554 U.S. 724, 734 (2008) (quoting DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno, 547 U.S. 332, 335 (2006)); see also Phillips v. DeWine, 841 F.3d 405, 414 (6th Cir. 2016), cert. denied sub nom. Tibbetts v. DeWine, 138 S. Ct. 301, 199 L. Ed. 2d 53 (2017); Murray v. U.S. Dep't of Treasury, 681 F.3d 744, 748 (6th Cir. 2012). To have standing, a plaintiff must establish (1) an "injury in fact," meaning "an invasion of a legally protected interest [that] is (a) concrete and particularized and (b) 'actual or imminent, not "conjectural" or "hypothetical"'"; (2) "a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of," i.e., the injury complained of must be "fairly ... trace[able] to the challenged action of the defendant, and not ... th[e] result [of] the independent action of some third party not before the court"; and (3) that it is "'likely,' as opposed to merely 'speculative,' that the injury will be 'redressed by a favorable decision.'" Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 (1992) (alterations in original) (citations omitted). These elements are commonly referred to as the "injury-in-fact," "causation," and "redressability" requirements. See Sprint Commc'ns Co., L.P. v. ...
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