Bradburn et al v. North Central Regional Library District

Filing 5

ANSWER to Complaint and Affirmative Defenses by North Central Regional Library District.(Adams, Thomas)

Bradburn et al v. North Central Regional Library District

Doc. 5

Case 2:06-cv-00327-EFS

Document 5

Filed 01/02/2007

1 Thomas D. Adams, WSBA #18470 2 Bullivant Houser Bailey PC

[e-mail]

1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2300 3 Seattle, Washington 98101-1618 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 206.386.5130
5 Attorneys for Defendant North 6 7 8 9 10 11 SARAH BRADBURN, PEARL 12 HEINLEN, and the SECOND 13 14 15

THE HONORABLE EDWARD F. SHEA

Central Regional Library District

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SPOKANE

CHERRINGTON, CHARLES Plaintiffs, v.

No.: CV-06-327-EFS ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES OF DEFENDANT NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL LIBRARY DISTRICT

AMENDMENT FOUNDATION,

16 LIBRARY DISTRICT, 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL Defendant.

Defendant North Central Regional Library District ("NCRL") responds to Plaintiffs' Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief as follows: 1. Plaintiffs' "Preliminary Statement" is factually and legally groundless and reflects the frivolous nature of their action. NCRL believes the allegations ¶ 1 require no response. To the extent a response is required, the allegations are denied. 2. NCRL agrees this Court has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter of the action.
ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES Page 1
Bullivant|Houser|Bailey PC
1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2300 Seattle, Washington 98101-1618 Telephone: [phone]

Dockets.Justia.com

Case 2:06-cv-00327-EFS

Document 5

Filed 01/02/2007

1

3.

NCRL agrees this Court may exercise supplemental jurisdiction over

2 Plaintiffs' claim under the Constitution of the State of Washington but denies that 3 this Court should exercise its discretion in this respect. 4 5

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

NCRL agrees venue is proper in this Court. NCRL lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief of NCRL lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief of NCRL lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief of NCRL lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief of NCRL agrees it was formed in 1960 to provide library services for

6 the allegations ¶ 5 and therefore denies. 7

8 the allegations ¶ 6 and therefore denies. 9

10 the allegations ¶ 7 and therefore denies. 11

12 the allegations ¶ 8 and therefore denies. 13

14 municipalities within Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, and Okanogan Counties. 15 NCRL is dedicated to increasing the quality of life throughout North Central 16 Washington by expanding the benefits offered to and provided by a reading public. 17 NCRL provides the tools, programs, and books to inspire citizens of North Central 18 Washington to read and to continue learning. NCRL is strongly committed to 19 children's literacy. Its mission it to promote reading and lifelong learning. 20

10.

NCRL agrees that internet connectivity is increasingly common in all

21 geographic locations and that, generally speaking, such connectivity serves a 22 valuable societal function. Otherwise, the allegations of ¶ 10 are merely part of 23 Plaintiffs' polemic and require no response from NCRL. 24

11.

NCRL agrees that the internet offers access to a vast amount of

25 information. NCRL also understands that the internet may offer access to 26 misinformation, illegal content, and content not properly accessible to all. NCRL has
ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES Page 2
Bullivant|Houser|Bailey PC
1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2300 Seattle, Washington 98101-1618 Telephone: [phone]

Case 2:06-cv-00327-EFS

Document 5

Filed 01/02/2007

1 legal responsibilities concerning internet access established by law, including without 2 limitation the Children's Internet Protection Act ("CIPA"). NCRL has no way to 3 know whether "sexually-oriented material ... constitutes a very small fraction of total 4 Web content" as Plaintiffs contend. Otherwise, the allegations of ¶ 11 are merely 5 part of Plaintiffs' polemic and require no response from NCRL. 6

12. 13.

NCRL agrees that internet access can enrich and enhance the learning NCRL does not presently utilize the internet filter system described by

7 process for the citizens it serves. 8

9 Plaintiffs. Consequently NCRL lacks knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to 10 the truth or falsity of the allegations of ¶ 13 and therefore denies them. 11

14.

NCRL does not presently utilize services offered by Secure Computing.

12 Consequently NCRL lacks knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or 13 falsity of the allegations of ¶ 14 and therefore denies them. 14

15.

NCRL does not presently utilize services offered by Secure Computing.

15 Consequently NCRL lacks knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or 16 falsity of the allegations of ¶ 15 and therefore denies them. NCRL denies it has 17 ever operated an internet filtering system in contravention of the standards 18 established by the Constitutions of the United States or the State of Washington. 19 20

16. 17.

NCRL denies the allegations of ¶ 16. NCRL does not know what topics Plaintiff Bradburn researched or

21 attempted to research through internet resources it provided or when or where 22 Plaintiff Bradburn attempted such research. NCRL denies all other allegations of 23 ¶17. 24

18.

NCRL does not know what topics Plaintiff Cherrington researched or

25 attempted to research through internet resources it provided or when or where 26 Plaintiff Bradburn attempted such research. NCRL denies all other allegations of
ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES Page 3
Bullivant|Houser|Bailey PC
1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2300 Seattle, Washington 98101-1618 Telephone: [phone]

Case 2:06-cv-00327-EFS

Document 5

Filed 01/02/2007

1 ¶18. 2

19.

NCRL does not know what topics Plaintiff Heinlen researched or

3 attempted to research through internet resources it provided or when or where 4 Plaintiff Heinlen attempted such research. Upon information and belief Plaintiff 5 Heinlen is an avid user of social networking sites and maintains a "blog" under the 6 pseudonym "Cannibal Chuck" accessible through the following link: 7 http://www.myspace.com/cannibalchuck. NCRL denies all other allegations of 8 ¶19. 9

20.

NCRL lacks knowledge or information about the content or

10 philosophy of the magazine and internet site entitled "Women & Guns" or 11 www.womenandguns.com. All other allegations of ¶20 are denied. 12 13

21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

The allegations of ¶21 are denied. NCRL incorporates each of its previous responses to Plaintiffs' The allegations of ¶23 are denied. NCRL incorporates each of its previous responses to Plaintiffs' The allegations of ¶25 are denied.

14 allegations. 15 16

17 allegations. 18 19 20

In further response to Plaintiffs' Complaint, NCRL alleges the following 26. 27. 28. NCRL incorporates each of its previous responses to Plaintiffs' Plaintiffs allegations fail to state a claim upon which relief can be Plaintiffs claims have been rendered moot by NCRL's recent
Page 4
Bullivant|Houser|Bailey PC
1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2300 Seattle, Washington 98101-1618 Telephone: [phone]

21 Affirmative Defenses: 22

23 allegations. 24

25 granted. 26

ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES

Case 2:06-cv-00327-EFS

Document 5

Filed 01/02/2007

1 installation of an internet filtering system known generally as "Fortinet." Such 2 system went into effect in approximately October 2006 in the normal course of 3 NCRL operations as part of a system wide telecommunications upgrade and for 4 reasons having nothing to do with Plaintiffs' allegations. 5

29. 30.

Plaintiffs have failed to allege facts constituting a present case or Prior to and after the installation of Fortinet, one or more of Plaintiffs

6 controversy. 7

8 failed to seek assistance from NCRL staff in gaining access to internet sites they 9 may have found inaccessible. NCRL has and always has had a procedure in place 10 for dealing with such inquiries. Such policy was made known generally to citizens 11 using NCRL facilities yet Plaintiffs chose not to avail themselves of the process. 12

31.

Plaintiffs claims are not well-grounded in fact or law and are frivolous

13 under state and federal law. Had Plaintiffs performed reasonable due diligence 14 prior to filing this action they would have discovered the existence and effect of 15 the current internet filter system utilized by NCRL and may have been provided 16 the very access they claim to have been denied. 17 18

32.

Plaintiffs claims are not actionable under 42 USC 1983 et. seq.

WHEREFORE, having answered Plaintiffs' Complaint and having alleged (1) (2) (3) Plaintiffs Complaint be dismissed and judgment entered in favor of NCRL recover its costs and all attorney fees allowed by law NCRL recover such other legal or equitable relief as this Court deems

19 its presently known Affirmative Defenses, NCRL prays that: 20

21 NCRL; 22

23 including, without limitation, laws such as 42 USC 1988 and Fed. R. Civ. Pro 11; 24

25 appropriate. 26
ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES Page 5
Bullivant|Houser|Bailey PC
1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2300 Seattle, Washington 98101-1618 Telephone: [phone]

Case 2:06-cv-00327-EFS

Document 5

Filed 01/02/2007

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
3517665.1

DATED: January 2, 2007 BULLIVANT HOUSER BAILEY PC /s/ Thomas D. Adams Thomas D. Adams, WSBA #18470 E-mail: [e-mail] Attorney for Defendant North Central Regional Library District BULLIVANT HOUSER BAILEY PC 1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2300 Seattle, Washington 98101-1618 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 206.386.5130

ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES

Page 6

Bullivant|Houser|Bailey PC
1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2300 Seattle, Washington 98101-1618 Telephone: [phone]

Case 2:06-cv-00327-EFS

Document 5

Filed 01/02/2007

1 2

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on January 2, 2007, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court

3 using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the persons listed below: 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES Page 7
Bullivant|Houser|Bailey PC
1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2300 Seattle, Washington 98101-1618 Telephone: [phone]

[e-mail] Duncan Manville Robert Hyde Rafel Manville PLLC 999 Third Ave, Ste 1600 Seattle, WA 98104

[e-mail] Aaron A. Caplan ACLU of Washington 705 Second Avenue, Ste 300 Seattle, WA 98104

BULLIVANT HOUSER BAILEY PC

By:/s/Elen A. Sale Elen A. Sale [e-mail]

3517665.1