Opinion ID: 6330800
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The First Amendment’s Petition Clause

Text: The right to access courts has long been a fundamental constitutional right. See BE & K Constr. Co. v. NLRB, 536 U.S. 516, 524 (2002). The United States Constitution ensures that federal and state courts are open to hear grievances, allowing an aggrieved party the opportunity to pursue a remedy for an actual injury. Sure-Tan, Inc. v. NLRB, 467 U.S. 883, 896–97 (1984). The Petition Clause of the First Amendment is one source of this right. U.S. Const. amend. I (“Congress shall make no law . . . abridging . . . the right of the people . . . to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”). While the Petition Clause appears limited to application in situations where the United States Congress enacts a law affecting court access, it has also been applied where states limit the redress of grievances. See Harrison v. Springdale Water & Sewer Comm’n, 780 F.2d 1422, 1424–28 (8th Cir. 1986) (concluding the plaintiffs sufficiently stated a claim under the Petition Clause when they alleged the city water commission conspired to intimidate and force them to withdraw their complaint by filing a condemnation counterclaim). The Supreme Court has divided Petition Clause claims into “forward” and “backward” looking claims, i.e., claims that have been delayed only in the short term and may be litigated in the future and other claims that “cannot now be tried . . . no -15- matter what official action may be in the future.” Christopher v. Harbury, 536 U.S. 403, 413–14 (2002). Heights’ Petition Clause claim is backward-looking. Because the EOs have been superseded by statute, Heights has lost the opportunity to evict existing tenants and former tenants who might have vacated the premises but would have otherwise warranted eviction absent the EOs. To state a plausible claim under the Petition Clause, Heights must identify the claim it wished to bring, the official actions that frustrated its attempt to redress that grievance, and, for a “backward-looking” claim, a remedy exclusively tied to the alleged harm of being unable to have a court adjudicate its claim. See id. at 415. Even assuming Heights’ complaint has plausibly alleged official actions frustrated the landlord’s ability to bring various eviction actions, it has not identified “a remedy that could not be obtained on an existing claim.” Id. at 421. Because the only potential remedy is damages, Heights has not pleaded damages that are somehow unique to its Petition Clause claim—a requirement for a backward-looking claim to survive. See id.; S.L. ex rel. Lenderman v. St. Louis Metro. Police Dep’t Bd. of Police Comm’rs, 725 F.3d 843, 856–58 (8th Cir. 2013) (Gruender, J., concurring). Heights has failed to allege a cognizable Petition Clause claim.