COAST Candidates PAC et al v. Ohio Elections Commission et al

Filing 49

ORDER granting 42 Motion for Summary Judgment; denying 44 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge Michael R. Barrett on 9/22/15. (ba)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
WESTERN DIVISION

COAST Candidates, PAC, et al.,

Case No. 1:11-cv-775
Judge Michael R. Barrett

Plaintiff,
V.
Ohio Elections Commission, et al.,
Defendant.

OPINION & ORDER
This matter is before the Court upon Plaintiffs COAST Candidates PAC and
Coalition Opposed To Additional Spending & Taxes’ Motion for Summary Judgment.
(Doc. 42). Also before the Court is Defendants Ohio Elections Commission, Charles E
Calvert, Brian Felmet, John Mroczkowski, Harvey Shapiro, Jayme Smoot, Degee
Wilhelm, and Larry Wolpert’s Motion for Summary Judgment.

(Doc. 44).

These

Motions have been fully briefed. (Docs. 43, 45). In addition, Plaintiffs filed a Notice of
Supplemental Authority. (Doc. 48).
I.

BACKGROUND
Plaintiffs are the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes and COAST

Candidates PAC (herein “COAST”). Defendants are the Ohio Elections Commission
and its individually named members (herein “Commission”). COAST challenges the
constitutionality of section 3517.22(B)(2) of the Ohio Revised Code, which provides in
relevant part:

(B) No person, during the course of any campaign in advocacy of or in
opposition to the adoption of any ballot proposition or issue, by means of
campaign material, including sample ballots, an advertisement on radio or
television or in a newspaper or periodical, a public speech, a press
release, or otherwise, shall knowingly and with intent to affect the outcome
of such campaign do any of the following:
...
(2) Post, publish, circulate, distribute, or otherwise disseminate, a
false statement, either knowing the same to be false or acting with
reckless disregard of whether it was false or not, that is designed to
promote the adoption or defeat of any ballot proposition or issue.
Ohio Rev. Code § 3517.22.
COAST claims that the statute violates the First Amendment and is
unconstitutional on its face and as applied to COAST. On October 27, 2014, this Court
granted COAST’s Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and enjoined the
Commission from enforcing Ohio Revised Code § 3517.22(B)(2) until further order of
this Court.

(Doc. 47).

In their Motion for Summary Judgment, COAST seeks a

declaration that Ohio Revised Code § 3517.22(B)(2) is facially unconstitutional; and
requests that the Court permanently enjoin the Commission from enforcing Ohio
Revised Code § 3517.22(B)(2).

In their Motion for Summary Judgment, the

Commission seeks judgment in their favor and dismissal of the case.
II.

ANALYSIS
A. Standard of Review
A plaintiff seeking a permanent injunction must satisfy a four-factor test before a

court may grant such relief: “(1) that it has suffered an irreparable injury; (2) that
remedies available at law, such as monetary damages, are inadequate to compensate
for that injury; (3) that, considering the balance of hardships between the plaintiff and

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defendant, a remedy in equity is warranted; and (4) that the public interest would not be
disserved by a permanent injunction.” eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 547 U.S.
388, 391 (2006); see also Lee v. City of Columbus, Ohio, 636 F.3d 245, 249 (6th Cir.
2011) (citing Wedgewood Ltd. P'ship I v. Twp. of Liberty, Ohio, 610 F.3d 340, 349 (6th
Cir. 2010)) (“A party is entitled to a permanent injunction if it can establish that it
suffered a constitutional violation and will suffer continuing irreparable injury for which
there is no adequate remedy at law.”).
Summary judgment is appropriate “if 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).

“The standard of review for cross-motions for summary

judgment does not differ from the standard applied when a motion is filed by only one
party to the litigation.” Ferro Corp. v. Cookson Group, PLC, 585 F.3d 946, 949 (6th Cir.
2009).
B. List v. Ohio Elections Commission
In List v. Ohio Elections Commission, 45 F. Supp. 3d 765 (S.D. Ohio 2014),
COAST, along with another organization, Susan B. Anthony List, challenged the
constitutionality of a nearly identical provision of Ohio’s false statement statute: Ohio

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Revised Code § 3517.21(B). Instead of applying to “any ballot proposition or issue,”
section 3521.21(B) applied to false statements concerning candidates for public office. 1
As part of its analysis, this Court noted that a “exceedingly similar” false
statement statue had been declared unconstitutional by the Eight Circuit. 45 F. Supp. at
774 (citing Care Comm. v. Arneson, 766 F.3d 774, 785 (8th Cir. 2014)). Likewise, this
Court found that sections 3517.21(B)(9)-(10) did not satisfy strict scrutiny and were also
facially overbroad. Id. at 779. This Court explained that the loss of First Amendment
freedoms constitutes irreparable injury, granted summary judgment in favor of the
plaintiffs, and permanently enjoined the Commission from enforcing Ohio Revised Code
Sections 3517.21(B)(9)–(10). Id. at 780-81.
The Court sees little reason to distinguish this case from List. Therefore, the
Court applies the same analysis and concludes that section 3517.22(B)(2) of the Ohio
Revised Code violates the First Amendment. For the same reasons stated in List, this
Court finds that COAST is entitled to permanent injunctive relief.

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The challenged provisions of Ohio Revised Code § 3517.21(B) were:

(B) No person, during the course of any campaign for nomination or election to
public office or office of a political party, by means of campaign materials,
including sample ballots, an advertisement on radio or television or in a
newspaper or periodical, a public speech, press release, or otherwise, shall
knowingly and with intent to affect the outcome of such campaign do any of the
following:
...
(9) Make a false statement concerning the voting record of a candidate or
public official;
(10) Post, publish, circulate, distribute, or otherwise disseminate a false
statement concerning a candidate, either knowing the same to be false or
with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not, if the statement is
designed to promote the election, nomination, or defeat of the candidate.
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III.

CONCLUSION
Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 42) is GRANTED; and

Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. (Doc. 44) is DENIED. The Commission is
permanently enjoined from enforcing Ohio Revised Code § 3517.22(B)(2). This matter
is CLOSED and TERMINATED from the docket of this Court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
/s/ Michael R. Barrett
JUDGE MICHAEL R. BARRETT

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