Daskalea v. Washington Humane Society

480 F.Supp.2d 16

Sunday DASKALEA, et al., Plaintiffs, v. The WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 03-2074(JGP).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

March 13, 2007.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Paul H. Zukerberg, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

Derek Ludwin, Covington & Burling, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JOHN GARRETT PENN, District Judge.

Plaintiffs are pet owners whose pets were temporarily seized by the Washington Humane Society when it determined the animals were neglected within the meaning of the District of Columbia's animal cruelty statute. See D.C.Code § 22-1001. They bring this putative class action on behalf of all similarly situated pet owners who have had an animal seized by the Washington Humane Society, alleging that the Freedom From Cruelty to Animal Protection Act of 2000, June 8, 2001, D.C. Law § 13-303, § 2, 47 DCR 7307 (codified at D.C.Code § 22-1001 et seq.), is unconstitutional, as written and customarily enforced, because it fails to provide due process of law, is unconstitutionally vague, and is arbitrarily and capriciously enforced. They also allege a number of District of Columbia common law tort claims against the Washington Humane Society, its employees, and the District of Columbia.

This matter comes before the Court on the Humane Society Defendants'¹ Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted [16], a Motion to Dismiss [17] filed by Defendants Sonya Scnoor and H.O. Boozer,² and the District of Columbia's Motion to Dismiss Or, In The Alternative, For Summary Judgement [18].³ Upon consideration of the parties' motions and related filings, and for the reasons explained below, the motions are granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs' amended complaint alleges the following facts.⁴ On May 17, 2002, Plaintiff Sunday Daskalea left her dog unattended in her vehicle while "she went up to her apartment to get some things." First Am. Compl. at ¶¶ 31, 33. The dog, "a full-bred, pedigreed Togo Argentino,'" which she had purchased "for breeding, as well as companionship" purposes, "had just been walked, watered and fed, and was in absolutely no danger." Id. at ¶ 31. It is not clear from the amended complaint how long the animal was left unattended; however, while Ms. Daskalea was in her apartment, Defendant Sonya Scnoor, a Humane Society law enforcement officer, seized the dog from the car. Id. at ¶ 36. Ms. Daskalea's "[r]epeated efforts... to retrieve [her dog] from the Washington Humane Society were unsuccessful," as the Humane Society "refused to return" the animal. Id. at ¶ 39. While in custody of the Humane Society, the dog was "forcibly sterilized... against the will of [Ms. Daskalea]." Id. at ¶ 41. Ms. Daskalea was never given an opportunity to contest the "seizure, detention, sterilization [or] return of her pet." Id. at ¶ 42. Although the animal was eventually returned to Ms. Daskalea, it was "permanently prevented from breeding" and its "personality ha[d] changed." Id. at ¶¶ 43, 45.

On July 19, 2002, Plaintiff Frances Norris left her dog unattended in her car while she "went to [a] nearby sports club." Id. at ¶ 46. Dr. Norris "parked her car under a large shade tree... cracked all four car windows, [and] left food and water for [the animal]." Id. Upon returning to her car, "Dr. Norris found that officer H.O. Boozer ... of the Humane Society had entered her car and seized [her dog] without her permission, knowledge or consent." Id. at ¶ 48. Dr. Norris maintains that her dog "was perfectly fine and in absolutely no danger" at the time of the seizure. Much like Ms. Daskalea, Dr. Norris "was denied the right to notice and hearing to contest the seizure, detention, [and] terms of release" of her pet, and her "[e]fforts... to retrieve [her dog] from the Washington Humane Society were [initially] unsuccessful." Id. at ¶ 54. The Humane Society eventually "agreed to return [the dog], but only if Dr. Norris agreed to pay... [for] unnecessary medical treatment." Id. at ¶ 55. Dr. Norris "reluctantly agreed" to the treatment, realizing it was the "only way" the Humane Society would return her pet. Id. The dog "was in terrible condition" when released. Id. at ¶ 56.

Much like Ms. Daskalea and Dr. Norris, Plaintiff Willie Jackson also had his dog seized by the Humane Society. Mr. Jackson alleges that on October 11, 2003, members of the Humane Society "entered [his] family['s] home and illegally seized [his dog]," which had "developed terminal cancer." Id. at ¶¶ 59, 61. "[D]espite numerous demands" to free the animal, the Humane Society "refused to return [his dog]" until Mr. Jackson would "consent to, and pay for... major cancer surgery." Id. at ¶¶ 61, 64. In an attempt to appease the Humane Society, Mr. Jackson provided his pet's veterinary records "for the prior four years, [which] document[ed the animal's] exemplary medical treatment." Id. at ¶ 61. The Humane Society was not satisfied, however, and demanded that the animal undergo "radical treatment." Id. at ¶ 64. "[U]nder compulsion from the Humane Society Mr. Jackson was compelled to agree to the cancer surgery." Id. at ¶¶ 65. The treatment was unsuccessful and the animal died. Id. at ¶ 64. At no time during this process was Mr. Jackson given an opportunity to contest the seizure and terms of release of his pet, including the reasonableness of the cancer treatment.⁵ Id. at ¶ 70.

LEGAL STANDARDS

This matter comes before the Court on Defendants' motions to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) for "failure to state claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). "When adjudicating a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the Court must view all the allegations and facts in the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, and it must grant the plaintiffs the benefit of all inferences that can be derived from those facts." Lindsey v. United States, 448 F.Supp.2d 37, 44 (D.D.C.2006) (citing Barr. v. Clinton, 361 U.S.App. D.C. 472, 475, 370 F.3d 1196, 1199 (D.C.Cir.2004)). "However, the court need not accept inferences drawn by plaintiffs if such inferences are unsupported by the facts set out in the complaint. Nor must the court accept legal conclusions cast in the form of factual allegations." Kowal v. MCI Commc'ns Corp., 305 U.S.App. D.C. 60, 65, 16 F.3d 1271, 1276 (D.C.Cir.1994) (citing Papas an v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 2944, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986)). "The court is limited to considering facts alleged in the complaint, any documents attached to or incorporated in the complaint, matters of which the court may take judicial notice, and matters of public record." Johnson v. Long Beach Mortg. Loan Trust 2001-4, 451 F.Supp.2d 16, 27 (D.D.C.2006) (citing EEOC v. St. Francis Xavier Parochial Sch., 326 U.S.App. D.C. 67, 70, 117 F.3d 621, 624 (D.C.Cir.1997)) (other citation omitted). "[A] complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff[s] can prove no set of facts in support of [their] claim which would entitle [them] to relief." Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 102, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957) (footnote omitted). "The complaint need only set forth a short and plain statement of the claim, giving the defendant fair notice of the claim and the grounds upon which it rests." Runkle v. Gonzales, 391 F.Supp.2d 210, 220 (D.D.C.2005) (citations omitted).

Because the District of Columbia has moved to dismiss the amended complaint or, in the alternative, for summary judgment, the Court is mindful of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b) ("If... matters outside the, pleading are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in Rule 56, and all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56."). The Court will grant a motion for summary judgment "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). "Rule 56 also mandates summary judgment if a party fails, to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. In such a situation, there is no genuine issue of material fact since there is a failure of proof concerning an essential element of the non-moving party's case that renders all other facts immaterial." Hazward v. Runyon, 14 F.Supp.2d 120, 122 (D.D.C.1998) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)).

"When ruling on a motion for summary judgment, this Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Am. Cargo Transp. v. Natsios, 429 F.Supp.2d 139, 145 (D.D.C. 2006) (citing Bayer v. United States Dep't of Treasury, 294 U.S.App. D.C. 44, 47, 956 F.2d 330, 333 (D.C.Cir.1992)). "The court must accept evidence provided by nonmovants as true, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in their favor." Hazward, 14 F.Supp.2d at 122 (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). "[T]he judge's function is not himself to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2511. "[T]here is no issue for trial unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party." 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2510 (citing First Nat'l Bank of Arizona v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288-89, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 1502, 20...