Opinion ID: 620822
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Citizens Case

Text: Citizens Plaintiffs initially brought this action against Jackson County in relation to Measure 49, which amended prior Ballot Measure 37 and replaced the relief previously available to Citizens under that statute. Citizens Plaintiffs' complaint raised several causes of action, two of which are relevant to this appeal. In their fifth cause of action, Citizens Plaintiffs asserted that waivers granted to them by the County under Measure 37 constituted binding contracts, protected by the Contracts Clause of the United States Constitution. Citizens Plaintiffs' sixth cause of action asserted that, pursuant to Measure 37, they had gained an accrued cause of action for monetary compensation, which was a property interest protected by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. On summary judgment, the district court held that the Measure 37 waivers were contracts that could not be impaired pursuant to the Contracts Clause and, in the alternative, they were judgments that could not be impaired under the doctrine of the separation of powers. The County appealed, and we reversed, ruling that Measure 37 waivers are neither contracts nor court judgments implicating separation of powers issues. Citizens for Constitutional Fairness v. Jackson Cnty., 388 Fed. Appx. 710, 711 (9th Cir.2010). The district court then concluded that our decision disposed of the remainder of the Citizens Plaintiffs' claims and dismissed the case. The Citizens appeal promptly followed.