De La Fuente v. Arizona, State of et al

Filing 18

ORDER that Plaintiff's Motion to Amend (Doc. 11 ) is denied; that Defendant Reagan's Partial Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 7 ) is granted. Plaintiffs claim for injunctive relief in the form of an order requiring that he be placed on the 2016 presidential ballot is dismissed; and that Defendants shall answer the remainder of Plaintiff's Complaint within the time frame provided by Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Signed by Magistrate Judge John Z Boyle on 1/9/17.(KGM)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Roque De La Fuente,
Plaintiff,

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ORDER

v.

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No. CV-16-02419-PHX-JZB

State of Arizona, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend (Doc. 11) and Defendant

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Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 7). For the

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reasons below, the Court will deny Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend and grant Defendant

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Reagan’s Motion to Dismiss.

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I.

Background

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On July 20, 2016, Plaintiff filed his initial Complaint in this matter. (Doc. 1.) In

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his Complaint, Plaintiff asserts claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of his

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First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

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constitutionality of Arizona state election laws, A.R.S. § 16-801, A.R.S. § 16-803, and

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A.R.S. § 16-341, which impose petition requirements to establish a new political party in

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Arizona and to allow an independent political candidate to appear on a ballot. (Id.)

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Plaintiff’s Complaint seeks judgment (1) declaring that the Arizona statutory provisions

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he challenges are unconstitutional, (2) enjoining Defendants from enforcing each of the

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provisions, and (3) ordering that Plaintiff be placed on the 2016 presidential ballot in

More specifically, Plaintiff challenges the

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Arizona. (Id. at 7-8.)

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On September 23, 2016, Defendant Reagan filed a Partial Motion to Dismiss,

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requesting the Court dismiss Plaintiff’s claim for injunctive relief in the form of a Court

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order requiring that he be placed on the 2016 presidential ballot in Arizona because such

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relief is barred by the doctrine of laches. (Doc. 7.) On September 30, 2016, the Court

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issued an Order directing Plaintiff to respond to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss on or

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before October 31, 2016, and warning him of the consequences of his failure to respond.

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(Doc. 10.) Specifically, the Court cautioned Plaintiff that it “may, in its discretion, treat

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your failure to respond to Defendant’s Partial Motion to Dismiss as consent to the

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granting of that Motion without further notice,” and “[i]f the Court grants the Partial

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Motion to Dismiss, your claim for injunctive relief will be dismissed.”

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Plaintiff has not responded to the Motion to Dismiss.

However,

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Instead, on November 2, 2016, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Amend his Complaint.

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(Doc. 11.) Plaintiff’s proposed First Amended Complaint asserts the same claims and

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allegations against Defendants as his initial Complaint (see Docs. 1, 12). However,

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Plaintiff, appearing to acknowledge that his case would not be litigated in time for him to

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appear on the 2016 presidential ballot, seeks to amend his Complaint to add a claim for

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compensatory damages he asserts resulted from Arizona’s unconstitutional statutory

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scheme. (Doc. 11 at 2.) On November 16, 2016, Defendants State of Arizona and

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Reagan filed a Response in Opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend. (Doc. 13.)

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Plaintiff has not filed a reply, and the time to do so has passed. LRCiv. 7.2(d).

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II.

Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend

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Plaintiff seeks to amend his Complaint to include a claim for compensatory

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damages resulting from Defendants’ enforcement of the statutory provisions Plaintiff

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challenges. (Docs. 11, 12.)

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Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that “the court should

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freely give leave [to amend] when justice so requires.” However, a district court has the

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discretion to grant or deny a motion to amend. See, e.g., Ventress v. Japan Airlines, 603

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F.3d 676, 680 (9th Cir. 2010); Chappel v. Laboratory Corp. of Amer., 232 F.3d 719, 725

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(9th Cir. 2000). Factors that may justify denying a motion to amend are undue delay, bad

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faith or dilatory motive, futility of amendment, undue prejudice to the opposing party,

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and whether the plaintiff has previously amended his or her pleadings. Foman v. Davis,

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371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962); Bonin v. Calderon, 59 F.3d 815, 845 (9th Cir. 1995). “Futility

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of amendment can, by itself, justify the denial of a motion for leave to amend.” Bonin,

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59 F.3d at 845; see also Lockheed Martin Corp. v. Network Solutions, Inc., 194 F.3d 980,

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986 (9th Cir. 1999) (“Where the legal basis for a cause of action is tenuous, futility

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supports the refusal to grant leave to amend.”).

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Defendants oppose Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend on the basis that the proposed

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amendment is futile. (Doc. 13.) More specifically, Defendants contend that Plaintiff’s

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request for monetary damages against Defendants is barred by the Eleventh Amendment.

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The Eleventh Amendment prohibits Plaintiff from bringing a claim for damages

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against the State of Arizona or the Secretary in her official capacity. See Pennhurst State

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Sch. & Hosp. v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 100 (1984) (“This Court’s decisions thus

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establish that ‘an unconsenting State is immune from suits brought in federal courts by

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her own citizens as well as by citizens of another state.’” (internal citations omitted));

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Cortez v. Cty. of L.A., 294 F.3d 1186, 1188 (9th Cir. 2001) (“a state and its officials sued

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in their official capacity are not considered ‘persons’ within the meaning of § 1983, due

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to the sovereign immunity generally afforded states by the Eleventh Amendment.”).

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There is, however, an exception to this general rule for claims seeking prospective relief.

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See Will v. Mich. Dep’t of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 71 (1989).

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Here, Plaintiff’s proposed amendment seeks damages against the State and a State

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official in her official capacity. Therefore, Plaintiff’s proposed amendment is barred by

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the Eleventh Amendment and is futile. Plaintiff has not provided any basis for the Court

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to find otherwise. Accordingly, the Court will deny Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend.

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III.

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Defendant Reagan’s Partial Motion to Dismiss
Also pending before the Court is Defendant Reagan’s Partial Motion to Dismiss.

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(Doc. 7.) Defendant requests the Court dismiss Plaintiff’s claim for an order requiring

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Defendants to place Plaintiff on the 2016 presidential ballot in Arizona because his claim

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is barred by the doctrine of laches.

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The Court will grant Defendant’s Motion. As an initial matter, and as Plaintiff

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concedes, Plaintiff’s request for an order requiring he placed on the 2016 presidential

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ballot is now moot as the election has already occurred. (Doc. 11 at 3.) Further, even if

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the request was not moot, the Court finds that the requested relief is barred by laches.

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“Laches—unreasonable and prejudicial delay—requires denial of injunctive relief,

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including preliminary relief.” Ariz. Pub. Integrity All. Inc. v. Bennett, No. CV-14-01044-

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PHX-NVW, 2014 WL 3715130, at *2 (D. Ariz. June 23, 2014). “In the context of

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election matters, the laches doctrine seeks to prevent dilatory conduct and will bar a

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claim if a party’s unreasonable delay prejudices the opposing party or the administration

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of justice.” Ariz. Pub. Integrity All. Inc., 2014 WL 3715130, at *2 (citation omitted).

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The Court considers the justification for the delay, the extent of Plaintiff’s advance

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knowledge of the basis for the challenge, and whether Plaintiff exercised diligence in

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preparing and advancing his case. Ariz. Lib. Party v. Reagan, No. CV-16-01019-PHX-

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DGC, 2016 WL 3029929, at *2 (D. Ariz. May 27, 2016); Harris v. Purcell, 973 P.2d

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1166, 1169-70 (Ariz. 1998).

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Here, Plaintiff’s delay is unreasonable and has prejudiced Defendants and the

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administration of justice. Plaintiff filed this action on July 20, 2016, approximately four

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months after the March 2016 deadline for filing a petition to be recognized as a new

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party.

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Defendant Reagan, which was only one week before the deadline for filing nomination

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petitions to run for President as an independent candidate. (Doc. 8); A.R.S. § 16-341(G).

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Plaintiff did not move for preliminary injunctive relief, even after receiving Defendant

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Reagan’s September 23, 2016 Motion to Dismiss based on laches. (Doc. 7.) Notably, the

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statutes that Plaintiff challenges in this action are not new. See A.R.S. §§ 16-801, 16-

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803, 16-341.

(Doc. 1); A.R.S. § 16-803(A).

Plaintiff waited another six weeks to serve

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Plaintiff has not provided any explanation or basis for his delay. And, Plaintiff’s

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delay is greater and more unreasonable than in the delay in other cases where courts have

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found laches bars injunctive relief. See Ariz. Lib. Party v. Reagan, 2016 WL 3029929, at

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*4 (plaintiffs request for injunctive relief was barred by laches because plaintiffs were

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aware of the basis for their challenge to the relevant statutory requirements by August

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2015, but did not file their complaint until April 12, 2016, and did not move for a

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temporary restraining order until May 12, 2016, less than three weeks before the deadline

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for nomination petitions); Ariz. Pub. Integrity All. Inc., 2014 WL 3715130, at *2-3

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(plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction was barred by laches because plaintiffs

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waited until two weeks before the Secretary began signature validation to file their

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motion for a preliminary injunction, even though the statute they challenged was not

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new).

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transmitting absentee ballots to uniformed service voters and overseas voters and the

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deadlines related to preparing ballots for early voting. (Doc. 7 at 4.) For these reasons,

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the Court will grant Defendant Reagan’s Motion to Dismiss.

Finally, Plaintiff’s delay has caused prejudice in light of the deadline for

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Accordingly,

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IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend (Doc. 11) is denied.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant Reagan’s Partial Motion to

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Dismiss (Doc. 7) is granted. Plaintiff’s claim for injunctive relief in the form of an order

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requiring that he be placed on the 2016 presidential ballot is dismissed.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants shall answer the remainder of

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Plaintiff’s Complaint within the time frame provided by Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of

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Civil Procedure.

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Dated this 9th day of January, 2017.

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Honorable John Z. Boyle
United States Magistrate Judge

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