Parham v. Dist. of Columbia

648 F.Supp.3d 99

Evelyn PARHAM, et al., Plaintiffs, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 22-2481 (CKK)

United States District Court, District of Columbia

Signed December 27, 2022

Ariel Levinson-Waldman, Tzedek DC, Washington, DC, Seth A. Rosenthal, Benjamin E. Horowitz, Venable LLP, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

Honey C. Morton, Richard P. Sobiecki, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Civil Litigation Division, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, United States District Judge

District of Columbia residents Evelyn Parham, Nichole Jones, Carlotta Mitchell, Dominique Roberts, and Victor Hall ("Plaintiffs") filed a Complaint against the District of Columbia; Gabriel Robinson, Director of the District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles; and Glen Lee, Chief Financial Officer for the District of Columbia ("Defendants") alleging that the District of Columbia's Clean Hands Law violates the Fifth Amendment guarantees of procedural due process, equal protection, the convergence thereof, and substantive due process.

D.C.'s Clean Hands Law, D.C. Code § 47-2861, et seq., disqualifies applicants from obtaining or renewing a driver's license if they owe more than $100 in parking, traffic, or other fines and fees. Compl. ¶ 1. Plaintiffs fall within this category of applicants. Each Plaintiff had a driver's license until the Clean Hands Law prevented renewal, Pls.' Reply at 1, and as a result, they now struggle with daily activities including keeping a job, caring for family members, and receiving health care, Pls.' Mot. at 1.

Now before the Court is Plaintiffs' [4] Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Plaintiffs ask the Court to enjoin enforcement of the Clean Hands Law, which will enable Plaintiffs to be considered for driver's licenses. See Pls.' Mot. at 1. Upon consideration of the pleadings,¹ the relevant legal authorities, and the record as it currently stands, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction.

I. BACKGROUND

A. D.C. Clean Hands Law

As relevant here, D.C.'s Clean Hands Law provides that "[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law, the District government shall not issue or reissue a license or permit to any applicant for a license or permit if the applicant: . . . [o]wes the District more than $100 in outstanding fines, penalties, or interest assesses pursuant to the following acts or any regulations promulgated under the authority of the following acts," which includes code sections governing littering, dumping, consumer violations, car insurance laws, and parking and traffic violations; "[o]wes the District more than $100 in past due taxes;" or "[o]wes the District more than $100 in outstanding fines, penalties or interest." D.C. Code § 47-2862(a). The Clean Hands Law was first passed in 1996 and expanded in 2001 to include parking and moving infractions with the goal of generating additional revenue. See Pls.' Mot. at 4-5; Pls. Mot. Ex. A at 5.

D.C. enforces the Clean Hands Law through the Department of Motor Vehicles ("DMV") and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer ("OCFO"). When D.C. residents apply to obtain or renew a driver's license, the DMV checks an OCFO database to determine whether that resident owes more than $100 to the District. Pls.' Mot. at 5; Pls.' Mot. Ex. B. If they do, their application transaction is automatically terminated and application denied. Pls.' Mot. Ex. B.

B. Impact of Clean Hands Law

A report from the D.C. Council Committee on Business and Economic Development indicated that the number of D.C. residents impacted by the Clean Hands Law when attempting to obtain or renew a driver's license is, conservatively, in the tens of thousands. Pls.' Mot. Ex. B at 46. These residents, unable to afford the fines and fees imposed by the District, must now also contend with additional burdens imposed by not having licenses. Dropping children off at childcare, attending doctor's appointments, caring for elderly relatives, running errands, and even traveling to and from a place of employment become challenges.

Plaintiffs are among the D.C. residents facing such challenges. Plaintiff Evelyn Parham received numerous tickets, despite being assured otherwise by government officials, after her car was damaged by a pothole in D.C. Pls.' Mot. at 9-10. Her license expired in April 2019 and she has not driven since. Id. at 10. The DMV has informed her that she cannot renew her license until she pays over $900 to the District, although she is unable to pay these outstanding fines and fees. Id. Without a license, she struggles to run errands, conduct other daily tasks, and care for her elderly, disabled mother. Id.; Compl. ¶ 79.

Plaintiff Nichole Jones held a career in public service before being seriously injured in an accident. Pls.' Mot. at 10. She is now unable to work, receives no government assistance, and has unstable housing. Id. Ms. Jones is unable to pay her outstanding debt—accumulated through driving-related tickets—and therefore no longer has a driver's license. Id. at 11. Despite a cyst on her foot causing limited mobility, she tries to venture throughout the city on foot. Id.

Plaintiff Carlotta Mitchell is a college graduate and former elementary school teacher and business consultant. Id. She is now unemployed and lacks stable housing. Id. Ms. Mitchell could not afford to renew her car's registration, leading to parking tickets issued during her stay in various shelters. Id. She could not afford to pay these debts in order to renew her driver's license and must therefore rely on taxis, rideshares, and public transportation to even do seemingly mundane tasks such as visit the grocery store, as there are few in her area. Id. at 12.

Plaintiff Dominique Roberts is a single mother of three children and a nurse at Washington Hospital Center. Id. She owes the District fines and fees from two parking tickets and two speeding tickets, issued when she drove between eleven and twenty miles over the posted limit. Id. Her driver's license expired in 2019 and she was barred renewal. Id. She is currently paying off her debt incrementally. Id. Ms. Roberts struggles to raise her children and afford them the opportunities she wishes; she also struggles to care for her mother. Id.

Plaintiff Victor Hall served as a reservist with the D.C. National Guard and in active duty as an Army sergeant. Id. He has not worked in his field of HVAC maintenance and repair since an injury two years ago. Id. at 13. His driver's license expired in 2013 and he was unable to pay his outstanding debt to renew it. Id. If issued a driver's license, Mr. Hall would actively look for work, visit family, and consistently attend medical and physical therapy appointments. Id.

As noted above, these five Plaintiffs are just some of the tens of thousands of D.C. residents who have been barred from receiving driver's licenses under the Clean Hands Law. In addition to the specific and grave harms suffered by each resident, the law has had broader societal impacts. For example, D.C. Council's Office of Racial Equity found that ending the application of the Clean Hands Law to driver's licenses "will likely improve . . . [the] quality of life outcomes for Black residents who have a debt to the District government." Pls.' Mot. Ex. B at 117. Doing so would also mitigate the burden on D.C. residents with disabilities, those who lack stable housing, and those who are struggling to maintain steady employment. See Pls.' Mot. at 13-16.

The D.C. Council has recognized these and other harms enacted by the Clean Hands Law and taken action. In 2018, the Council ended the automatic suspension of driver's licenses based on fines and fees and required the DMV to restore all licenses suspended solely on that basis. Id. at 18-19. Once that law went into effect, the DMV restored the licenses of 15,521 residents. Id. at 19 (citing D.C. Dep't of Motor Vehicles, DC DMV Communication Related to Reinstating Suspended Driver Licenses and Driving Privileges (Dec. 10, 2018), at 57, https://dccouncil.us/wpcontent/uploads/2019/02/dmv19.pdf). More recently, the Council voted unanimously to enact the Clean Hands Certification Equity Amendment Act of 2022, which repeals the Clean Hands Act's provision regarding issuance and renewal of driver's licenses. Id. at 20 (citing Council of the District of Columbia, Voting Information for B24-0237, https://lims.dccouncil.us/Legislation/B24-0237). The change will become effective no earlier than October 1, 2023. Id. at 21 (citing Clean Hands Certification Equity Amendment Act of 2022, DC B24-0237 (2021)). Until then, Plaintiffs and thousands of other D.C. residents remain unable to renew their driver's licenses.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Motion for Preliminary Injunction

Preliminary injunctive relief is "an extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief." Sherley v. Sebelius, 644 F.3d 388, 392 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (quoting Winter v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 22, 129 S.Ct. 365, 172 L.Ed.2d 249 (2008)). A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction "must establish [1] that he is likely to succeed on the merits, [2] that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, [3] that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and [4] that an injunction is in the public interest." Aamer v. Obama, 742 F.3d 1023, 1038 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (quoting Sherley, 644 F.3d at 392 (quoting Winter, 555 U.S. at 20, 129 S.Ct. 365) (alteration in original; quotation marks omitted)). When seeking such relief, " 'the movant has the burden to show that all four factors, taken together, weigh in favor of the injunction.' " Abdullah v. Obama, 753 F.3d 193, 197 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (quoting Davis v. Pension Benefit Guar. Corp., 571 F.3d 1288, 1292 (D.C. Cir. 2009)). "The four factors have typically been evaluated on a 'sliding scale.' " Davis, 571 F.3d at...