Badalamenti v. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

LOUIS BADALAMENTI CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS NO: 19-10849

LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT

OF WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES ET AL. SECTION: “H”(1)

ORDER AND REASONS

Before the Court are Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc.

39); Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 35); and Plaintiff’s

Motion to Limit the Expert Testimony of Jay McAninch (Doc. 36). For the

following reasons, Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED,

Plaintiff’s Motion is DENIED, and Plaintiff’s Motion in Limine is DENIED

AS MOOT.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Louis Badalamenti alleges that Defendants, the Louisiana

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and Jack Montoucet, in his

official capacity as Secretary of the LDWF, have excluded Plaintiff from

participating in bow hunting in Louisiana because of his disability. Plaintiff

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alleges that he suffers from diabetic neuropathy and Dupuytren’s disease in

his hands, making it difficult and painful for him to “grasp objects, perform

simple movements, and apply force and pressure.”1 Plaintiff alleges that his

disability makes drawing a conventional bow and arrow or crossbow

impossible, but he is able to operate an airbow, which can be operated with

little grasping or squeezing strength. Plaintiff argues that the use of an airbow

for archery hunting is a necessary and reasonable modification for his

disability. Plaintiff made a request to Defendants to be allowed to use an

airbow to hunt during the whitetail deer archery hunting season, but

Defendants denied his request outright because it is illegal to hunt with an

airbow under Louisiana law. Plaintiff now brings this action, alleging that

Defendants have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the

Rehabilitation Act by refusing to provide him with a reasonable modification

for his disability.

Defendants have moved for summary judgment, alleging that Plaintiff

lacks standing to bring his claim and that he cannot show that his requested

accommodation is reasonable. Plaintiff moves for partial summary judgment

on his claim for injunctive relief and for exclusion of Defendants’ expert, Jay

McAninch. Because the Court finds that Plaintiff does not have standing to

bring his claims, it need not address Plaintiff’s motions.

LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions,

answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if

1 Doc. 1.

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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.”2 A genuine issue

of fact exists only “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a

verdict for the nonmoving party.”3

In determining whether the movant is entitled to summary judgment,

the Court views facts in the light most favorable to the non-movant and draws

all reasonable inferences in his favor.4 “If the moving party meets the initial

burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact, the burden

shifts to the non-moving party to produce evidence or designate specific facts

showing the existence of a genuine issue for trial.”5 Summary judgment is

appropriate if the non-movant “fails to make a showing sufficient to establish

the existence of an element essential to that party’s case.”6 “In response to a

properly supported motion for summary judgment, the non-movant must

identify specific evidence in the record and articulate the manner in which that

evidence supports that party’s claim, and such evidence must be sufficient to

sustain a finding in favor of the non-movant on all issues as to which the non-

movant would bear the burden of proof at trial.”7 “We do not . . . in the absence

of any proof, assume that the nonmoving party could or would prove the

2 Sherman v. Hallbauer, 455 F.2d 1236, 1241 (5th Cir. 1972).

3 Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986).

4 Coleman v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist., 113 F.3d 528, 532 (5th Cir. 1997).

5 Engstrom v. First Nat’l Bank of Eagle Lake, 47 F.3d 1459, 1462 (5th Cir. 1995).

6 Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324 (1986).

7 John v. Deep E. Tex. Reg. Narcotics Trafficking Task Force, 379 F.3d 293, 301 (5th

Cir. 2004) (internal citations omitted).

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necessary facts.”8 Additionally, “[t]he mere argued existence of a factual

dispute will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion.”9

LAW AND ANALYSIS

A. Standing

At the outset, Defendants argue that Plaintiff lacks standing to assert

this claim. “Article III of the Constitution limits federal courts’ jurisdiction to

certain ‘Cases’ and ‘Controversies.’”10 “One element of the case-or-controversy

requirement is that plaintiffs must establish that they have standing to sue.”11

Standing requires a showing of three elements: (1) an injury in fact; (2) a causal

connection between the injury and the conduct complained of; and (3) a

likelihood that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision.12 As to the

injury requirement, the injury must be concrete and particularized and actual

or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.13 “A plaintiff seeking injunctive

relief, unlike a plaintiff seeking damages, must establish more than the

existence of a ‘past wrong’ to satisfy the injury-in-fact requirement. Instead, a

plaintiff must ‘show that he has sustained or is immediately in danger of

sustaining some direct injury as the result of the challenged conduct.’”14

8 Badon v. R J R Nabisco, Inc., 224 F.3d 382, 394 (5th Cir. 2000) (quoting Little v.

Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir. 1994)).

9 Boudreaux v. Banctec, Inc., 366 F. Supp. 2d 425, 430 (E.D. La. 2005).

10 Clapper v. Amnesty Int’l USA, 568 U.S. 398, 408 (2013).

11 Id. (quoting Raines v. Byrd, 521 U.S. 811, 818 (1997)) (internal quotation marks

omitted).

12 Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560–61 (1992).

13 Id. at 560.

14 Smith v. Bd. of Comm’rs of La. Stadium & Exposition Dist., 371 F. Supp. 3d 313,

321 (E.D. La. 2019) (quoting Armstrong v. Turner Indus., Inc., 141 F.3d 554, 563 (5th Cir.

1998)).

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Notably, “[t]he party invoking federal jurisdiction bears the burden of

establishing [the] elements [of standing].”15 “[E]ach element must be supported

in the same way as any other matter on which the plaintiff bears the burden

of proof, i.e., with the manner and degree of evidence required at the successive

stages of litigation.”16 In response to a summary judgment motion like this one,

the plaintiff “must set forth by affidavit or other evidence specific facts, which

for purposes of the summary judgment motion will be taken to be true.”17

In their Motion, Defendants argue that Plaintiff does not have standing

to bring this claim because he does not have a bowhunting license, an active

hunting license, or a Physically Challenged Hunter’s Permit (PCHP).18 In a

supplemental reply, Defendants presented new evidence that a lien for unpaid

state income taxes was filed against Plaintiff in 2008, and he is therefore

statutorily prohibited from obtaining a hunting license under Louisiana law.19

Defendants argue therefore that even if injunctive relief is granted, Plaintiff

cannot legally hunt in Louisiana. They argue that Plaintiff cannot “show that

15 Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561.

16 Id.

17 Id. (internal quotation marks, brackets, and citations omitted).

18 A PCHP is a permit that gives disabled hunters additional benefits and access to

specially designated hunts and trails. Plaintiff’s PCHP was revoked in 2019 after he failed to

appear in court on two separate occasions for hunting-related criminal citations. There are

outstanding bench warrants for those citations. Plaintiff has not hunted in Louisiana since

his PCHP was revoked, and he has not sought reinstatement of his PCHP. The parties’

briefing evinces some confusion about the effect of this revocation. The evidence shows that

Plaintiff does not need to have his PCHP reinstated to legally hunt in Louisiana. See Doc. 44-

1. Accordingly, it does not affect his standing to bring this action.

19 In light of the jurisdictional nature of standing, this Court allowed this late-filed

briefing and evidence. Doc. 63. The State of Louisiana’s lien against Plaintiff is for delinquent

income taxes for the years 2003 through 2006 in the amount of $57,418.00. Doc. 64.

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he has sustained or is immediately in danger of sustaining some direct injury

as the result of the challenged conduct.”20

Plaintiff argues that Defendants’ denial of his request to use an airbow

deterred him from obtaining the necessary licenses to hunt. In support of this

argument, Plaintiff cites to cases discussing the “deterrent effect” test of

standing. Under the “deterrent effect” test, plaintiffs need only show that they

were deterred from accessing a public accommodation to show standing.21

Plaintiff cites to the Supreme Court’s decision in Friends of the Earth, Inc. v.

Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., in which it held that the plaintiff

environmental organization had established an injury in fact sufficient to

create standing when its members testified that the defendant’s pollution

deterred them from participating in recreational activities on the allegedly

polluted river.22 Likewise, in Smith v. Board of Commissioners of Louisiana

Stadium & Exposition District, the court held that the plaintiff had standing

where she had testified that the alleged disability discrimination at issue

deterred her from attending future events at the defendants’ event venue.23

Finally, in Beverly R. on behalf of E.R. v. Mt. Carmel Academy of New Orleans,

Inc., the court held that the plaintiff had standing even though she did not

submit an application to attend the defendant school where applying would

have been futile in light of the defendant’s position that it could not

accommodate her wheelchair-bound child.24

20 Doc. 39.

21 See Frame v. City of Arlington, 657 F.3d 215, 236 (5th Cir. 2011); Smith v. Bd. of

Comms. of La. Stadium & Expo. Dist., 371 F. Supp. 3d 313, 324 (E.D. La. 2019) aff. in relevant

part Smith v. France, 850 F. App'x 243, 247 (5th Cir. 2021).

22 528 U.S. 167, 181 (2000).

23 371 F. Supp. 3d at 324 (E.D. La. 2019).

24 No. CV 20-2924, 2021 WL 1109494, at *3 (E.D. La. Mar. 23, 2021)

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In his deposition, Plaintiff testified that he is an avid hunter and has

recently hunted in other states both with and without the airbow. He testified

that he has not applied for a hunting license in Louisiana “because of the

state’s ruling.”25 Indeed, from Plaintiff’s perspective, he would have no use for

a bowhunting license if he was not permitted to use the airbow. “[A] disabled

individual need not engage in futile gestures before seeking an injunction.”26

Further, an application for a hunting and bowhunting license can be completed

online for a small fee, and therefore it is not likely to prevent a favorable

decision from redressing Plaintiff’s alleged injury.27 Accordingly, the Court

does not find that Plaintiff’s failure to apply for a hunting or bowhunting

license prevents standing in this case.

That said, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s inability to obtain a hunting or

bowhunting license is a different matter. Louisiana Revised Statutes §

47:296.3 states that:

A. Hunting or fishing licenses shall be suspended, revoked, or

denied at such time as the Department of Revenue has an

assessment or judgment against an individual that has become

final and nonappealable, if the amount of the final assessment

or final judgment is in excess of five hundred dollars of

individual income tax, exclusive of penalty, interest, costs, and

other charges.

B. The suspension, revocation, or denial shall be effective until

such time as the individual has paid or made arrangements to

pay the delinquent tax, interest, penalty, and all costs and the

25 Doc. 39-1.

26 Frame, 657 F.3d at 236.

27 “[I]t must be ‘likely,’ as opposed to merely ‘speculative,’ that the injury will be

redressed by a favorable decision.” Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561.

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Department of Revenue notifies the Department of Wildlife and

Fisheries of the payment.28

Defendants have shown that a tax lien was filed against Plaintiff, and he has

been ineligible to obtain a hunting license since 2016. Plaintiff does not present

any contrary evidence.

Plaintiff also has not shown that the denial of his request to use an

airbow deterred him from resolving his tax lien. Indeed, he admits that prior

to Defendants’ supplemental reply, he was unaware that his tax lien precluded

him from obtaining a hunting license. Even so, Plaintiff argues that this

additional “roadblock” should not prevent standing in this case. Plaintiff

argues that under § 47:296.3 he need only “make arrangements to pay” his tax

lien to obtain a hunting license. Plaintiff argues that the fact that there are

further obstacles to complete relief does not foreclose standing. In so arguing,

Plaintiff cites to the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Ibrahim v. Department of

Homeland Security, in which the court held that the plaintiff had standing to

seek removal of her name from the United State’s No-Fly list even where the

revocation of her United States visa would still prevent her from entering the

country.29 The court noted that the inclusion of the plaintiff’s name on the No-

Fly list caused injuries unrelated to returning to the United States—such as

preventing her from boarding a U.S. carrier or flying over U.S. airspace.30

The Court finds this decision easily distinguishable. Here, Plaintiff is not

independently harmed by Defendants’ denial of his request to use an airbow if

he cannot overcome the hurdle of addressing his tax lien so that he can obtain

28 LA. REV. STAT. § 47:296.3.

29 Ibrahim v. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 669 F.3d 983, 992 (9th Cir. 2012).

30 Id.

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a hunting license. Plaintiff has not provided this Court with any evidence that

he will be able to pay the lien or make arrangements to do so.31 “[I]t must be

likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a

favorable decision.”32 Plaintiff has not shown that it is likely that his injury

will be redressed by a favorable decision where he cannot currently obtain a

hunting license in Louisiana and has not shown that he will be able to obtain

a hunting license. This Court finds, therefore, that Plaintiff lacks standing to

bring this action.

B. Disability Discrimination

Assuming arguendo that Plaintiff does have standing to bring this

action, the Court still finds that his claims fail on their merits. Plaintiff brings

claims for disability discrimination under Title II of the ADA and Section 504

of the Rehabilitation Act.33 Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants

discriminated against him because of his disability when they denied him a

reasonable modification to engage in archery hunting—specifically, an

exception from the enforcement of the state law prohibiting the use of an

airbow to hunt. The Fifth Circuit has recognized “that a public entity’s failure

reasonably to accommodate the known limitations of persons with disabilities

can . . . constitute disability discrimination under Title II.”34 “To succeed on a

failure-to-accommodate claim, a plaintiff must prove: (1) he is a qualified

31 Plaintiff argues that Defendants have not shown that he is unable to pay the lien

or make arrangements to do so. Plaintiff, however, has the burden to show standing.

32 Moore v. Bryant, 853 F.3d 245, 249 (5th Cir. 2017); Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561.

33 “The language of Title II generally tracks the language of Section 504 of the

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 . . . . Jurisprudence interpreting either section is applicable to

both.” Hainze v. Richards, 207 F.3d 795, 799 (5th Cir. 2000).

34 Windham v. Harris Cty., Texas, 875 F.3d 229, 235 (5th Cir. 2017).

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individual with a disability; (2) the disability and its consequential limitations

were known by the covered entity; and (3) the entity failed to make reasonable

accommodations.”35

Defendants do not dispute that Plaintiff has a qualifying disability or

that they were aware of his disability. The parties primarily dispute the third

element—whether Plaintiff’s request to use an airbow was reasonable. “The

ADA and the Rehabilitation Act impose upon public entities an affirmative

obligation to make reasonable accommodations for disabled individuals.”36

Title II does not, however, require the State to “employ any and all means” to

make services accessible to persons with disabilities.37 “An accommodation is

unreasonable if it imposes undue financial or administrative burdens or

requires a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program. Determination

of the reasonableness of a proposed modification is generally fact-specific.”38

Plaintiff alleges that his request to use an airbow to hunt during archery

season is reasonable because his disability prevents him from operating any

archery weapon that is currently permitted in the state and because the

request does not require Defendant to expend any resources. It need only

provide him with an exception to enforcement of the prohibition on the use of

an airbow.

Defendants, on the other hand, argue that the ADA does not require it

to give Plaintiff his preferred accommodation, but rather, only requires that it

35 Smith v. Harris Cty., Texas, 956 F.3d 311, 317 (5th Cir. 2020).

36 Cadena v. El Paso Cty., 946 F.3d 717, 723 (5th Cir. 2020).

37 Tennessee v. Lane, 541 U.S. 509, 531–32 (2004).

38 Bailey v. Bd. of Commissioners of Louisiana Stadium & Exposition Dist., 484 F.

Supp. 3d 346, 427 (E.D. La. 2020), aff’d sub nom. Bailey v. France, 852 F. App’x 852 (5th Cir.

2021); see Tennessee, 541 U.S. at 531–32.

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afford Plaintiff an equal opportunity to participate in archery hunting.

Defendants point out that Louisiana law already provides accommodations for

disabled hunters to engage in archery hunting. Louisiana Revised Statutes §

56:116.3 provides that:

A licensee having a disability which totally and permanently

prevents his using a long bow or other conventional archery

equipment, as first certified by a medical doctor duly licensed to

practice medicine in this state, and having an approved permit

from the department, shall be permitted to take legal deer with a

crossbow or a bow that is drawn, held, and released by mechanical

means, and the taking of deer with a crossbow or a bow that is

drawn, held, and released by mechanical means shall be permitted

in the season in which deer may be taken by rifle, or a handgun,

or a shotgun not larger than a No. 10 gauge, as well as in the

special deer hunting season provided in R.S. 56:116. Magnified

scopes may be used with crossbows.

The state also permits disabled hunters to utilize personal assistants in the

field to draw the bow.

Plaintiff has not shown that he cannot use one of the reasonable

accommodations for disabled archers already provided by law. Plaintiff

testified that he went to a crossbow shop and tried various mechanical cocking

devices but found that he could not operate them.39 However, he also testified

that he has not tried using a crossbow operated by a mouth tab device but that

he would “be open to looking at it.”40 Further, Plaintiff does not explain why

he cannot participate in archery with the aid of a personal assistant. Plaintiff

argues only that he feels that using a personal assistant to cock the bow is

unsafe. It is well settled that “[t]he ADA provides for reasonable

39 Doc 39-2.

40 Id.

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accommodation, not preferred accommodation.”41 It requires only “that a

defendant provide a plaintiff with an accommodation that is reasonable and

permits the plaintiff to participate equally in the good, service, or benefit being

offered.”42 Because there are reasonable modifications available to Plaintiff, he

cannot say that he has been excluded from archery or that he cannot equally

participate in archery in Louisiana. Plaintiff’s claims for disability

discrimination under Title II and the Rehabilitation Act fail on their merits.

C. Interactive Process

Finally, Plaintiff argues that Defendants failed to engage in an

interactive dialogue with him regarding his request for a modification. It is

well-settled that under the ADA an employee and employer must engaged in a

“good faith interactive process” regarding the employee’s need for an

accommodation.43 “However, it is unclear if this obligation to engage in a

sufficient interactive process extends to situations outside the employment

context.”44 Plaintiff does not provide any argument that it does. Further, it

seems such a dialogue would have been futile where Plaintiff would only accept

a modification allowing the use of an airbow. Assuming Plaintiff had standing

to bring it, this claim also fails on its merits.

41 Arce v. Louisiana, 226 F. Supp. 3d 643, 651 (E.D. La. 2016).

42 Bailey v. Bd. of Commissioners of Louisiana Stadium & Exposition Dist., 441 F.

Supp. 3d 305, 314 (E.D. La. 2020); Francois v. Our Lady of the Lake Hosp., Inc., 8 F.4th 370,

379 (5th Cir. 2021) (“We agree with the Eleventh Circuit that when ‘effective communication

under the circumstances is achievable with something less than an on-site interpreter, then

the hospital is well within its ADA and RA obligations to rely on other alternatives.’”); Wells

v. Thaler, 460 F. App’x 303, 313 (5th Cir. 2012) (“Although the law library did not provide

Wells his requested accommodations, the Defendants–Appellees demonstrate that the

existing accommodations were more than sufficient to give Wells effective and meaningful

access to the law library.”).

43 Loulseged v. Akzo Nobel Inc., 178 F.3d 731, 735 (5th Cir. 1999).

44 Bailey, 484 F. Supp. 3d at 433.

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CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment

is GRANTED, Plaintiff's Motion is DENIED, and Plaintiff's Motion in Limine

is DENIED AS MOOT. All of Plaintiff's claims against Defendants are

DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for lack of jurisdiction.

New Orleans, Louisiana this 12th day of October, 2021.

G TRICHE hh F

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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