Court Opinion

ID: 9482044
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 08:38:41.731863+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:48:43.898890
License: Public Domain

KENNEDY, Circuit Judge.
Plaintiff-appellant, Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc. (“HOME”), brought this action against the Cincinnati Enquirer (“defendant”) alleging its real estate advertising violated the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(a) and (c) (“FHA”), the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1982, and the thirteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. The District Court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss filed pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). 731 F.Supp. 801. HOME now appeals that part of the District Court’s order dismissing its claim under 42 U.S.C. § 3604(c). HOME asks this Court to decide two issues: (1) whether a single advertisement which features only white models raises a factual question of discrimination under the FHA; and (2) whether the publication of multiple advertisements by unrelated realtors which features only white models, when taken in the aggregate, sends a discriminatory message to the ordinary reader in violation of the FHA. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM the judgment of the District Court.
I.
Plaintiff alleges that over a twenty-year period defendant accepted for publication real estate advertisements which, in almost every instance, pictured only white human models. Less than one percent of the advertisements depicting human models pictured a black model. This percentage contrasts with a population comprised of 34% black persons in the City of Cincinnati, 19% in Hamilton County and 12% in the metropolitan statistical area. HOME does not identify any particular advertisement which allegedly violates section 3604(c). Nor does HOME make any allegations with respect to any particular advertiser who placed advertisements with defendant.
II.
HOME wages a two-pronged attack. First, HOME contends that defendant’s publication of any advertisement with all-white models violates the FHA or at least raises a factual issue of whether such advertisement is discriminatory.1 Second, *646HOME alleges that a layout of advertisements which depict models virtually all of whom are white even though independently submitted by various real estate organizations or their agents, when taken in the aggregate, sends a discriminatory message in violation of section 3604(c).
A reviewing court shall grant a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim when it is “beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101-02, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). An appellate court reviews de novo a trial court’s decision regarding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. Intake Water Co. v. Yellowstone River Compact Comm’n, 769 F.2d 568, 569 (9th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1163, 106 S.Ct. 2288, 90 L.Ed.2d 729 (1986). Thus, we must determine whether HOME has failed to allege any set of facts to substantiate the alleged violations of the FHA.
We first consider whether HOME has standing to bring this claim. In conducting this analysis, we need not consider “prudential standing”; Congress intended that standing under the FHA extend to the full limits of Article III. Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363, 102 S.Ct. 1114, 71 L.Ed.2d 214 (1982); Spann v. Colonial Village, Inc., 899 F.2d 24 (D.C.Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 508, 112 L.Ed.2d 521 (1990). Thus, HOME can establish standing by alleging a concrete and demonstrable injury, including an injury arising from a “purportedly illegal action [that] increases the resources the group must devote to programs independent of its suit challenging the action.” Spann, 899 F.2d at 27.
One of HOME’S primary purposes is the elimination of unlawful racially discriminatory housing practices to all persons seeking housing in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. HOME alleges that defendant’s discriminatory advertising has deterred potential renters from seeking housing at the advertised complexes. This, in turn, has caused HOME to devote resources to investigate and negate the impact of these advertisements. Allegation of this injury is sufficient to confer standing upon HOME. Id.
A. Individual Photographs Depicting All-White Models
Courts have given a broad reading to the FHA in order to fulfill its remedial purpose. See Trafficante v. Metropolitan Life Ins., Co., 409 U.S. 205, 93 S.Ct. 364, 34 L.Ed.2d 415 (1972). To this end, courts have recognized that section 3604(c) applies to all publishing mediums, including newspapers, United States v. Hunter, 459 F.2d 205 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 934, 93 S.Ct. 235, 34 L.Ed.2d 189 (1972), and have allowed parties to establish a violation of section 3604(c) by proving either an actual intent by a defendant to discriminate or by proving that “[t]o the ordinary reader the natural interpretation of the advertisements published in [the newspaper] ... is that they indicate a racial preference....” Id. at 215. HOME seeks to establish liability based on the “ordinary reader” standard.
Section 3604(c) makes unlawful certain practices associated with the sale or rental of housing:
To make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.
42 U.S.C. § 3604(c). In 1980, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, (“HUD”), the agency charged with implementing the FHA, promulgated a regulation to “provide guidance” to newspapers and others concerning nondiscrimination in advertising in connection with real estate. 24 C.F.R. Part 109. Although applying both to the advertising media and to persons placing advertisements, id. § 109.-16(a)(1) and (2), these regulations do not *647mandate particular actions by these parties. Rather, HUD sought to balance between the "identification of practices which might be viewed as violations of Title VIII and ... the limitation which the First Amendment may impose on mandatory restrictions relating to the publication of advertising.... [T]he regulation describes examples of advertising practices which might be indicative of a violation of (or compliance with) Title VIII." 45 Fed. Reg. 57,102 (Aug. 26, 1980). Further, "[w]hile the practices, etc., cited in the regulation are indices of a standard of conduct to evaluate the existence of discrimination in advertising, they are not intended, per se, to establish immutable rules, but to serve as examples of practices, usage, content, etc., which should be complied with (or avoided), whichever the case may be." Id. (emphasis in original). Mandatory language was intentionally avoided.
In keeping with this policy, HUD stated that the selective use of human models in advertisements "may" be discriminatory:
Selective advertising may involve an advertising campaign using human models primarily in media that cater to one racial or national origin segment of the population without a complementary advertising campaign that is directed at other groups.
24 C.F.R. § 109.25(c). In its comments, HUD stated that this section "is intended to preclude selective use of human models in advertising for the purpose of attracting (or discouraging) certain groups covered by Title VIII with respect to certain housing or neighborhoods." 45 Fed.Reg. 57, 105 (Aug. 26, 1980). In another section, HUD stated:
If models are used in display advertising campaigns, the models should be clearly definable as reasonably representing the majority and minority groups in the metropolitan area, both sexes, and, when appropriate, families with children. Models, if used, should portray persons in an equal social setting and indicate to the general public that the housing is open to all without regard to race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, and is not for the exclusive use of one such group.
24 C.F.R. § 109.30(b). In explaining this section, HUD noted:
Civil rights groups commented that models used should reflect, in numbers, the exact percentage of various covered groups in the population, a suggestion which is clearly unworkable. The term "reasonably representing" is intended to assure that models will convey a message of general inclusiveness of persons covered by Title VIII, not literal display of each minority group.
45 Fed.Reg. 57,105 (Aug. 26, 1980).
Several conclusions can be drawn from the language of the FHA and HUD's regulations. On the one hand, the statute and regulations make abundantly clear that an advertisement can discriminate against an individual based on any criteria specified in the FHA. Such discrimination may occur through words or pictures, and the use of all-white models could be a factor in determining whether an advertisement conveys a discriminatory message, although its strength and clarity will depend upon an analysis of the entire advertisement.
On the other hand, the statute and regulations create no fixed and immutable rules to determine whether an advertisement is discriminatory. Certainly the use of particular models may be relevant, but this by itself does not prove that an advertisement is discriminatory or indicates a preference.2 These regulations and com-*648merits indicate that HUD rejected a mechanical approach which would require the literal display of a member of each protected group. Rather, HUD approached the use of advertising models in a more practical and fluid manner, referring to the concept of an advertising “campaign.” At least one other circuit appears to have incorporated the principles underlying HUD’s approach into its “ordinary reader” standard. The Second Circuit recently observed:
[The ordinary] reader does not apply a mechanical test to every use of a model of a particular race. An ad depicting a single model or couple of one race that is run only two or three times would seem, absent some other direct evidence of an intentional racial message, outside Section 3604(c)’s prohibitions as a matter of law.... It thus seems inevitable that close questions of liability will involve advertisers that either use a large number of models and/or advertise repetitively. In such cases, the advertiser’s opportunities to include all groups are greater, and the message conveyed by the exclusion of a racial group is stronger.
Ragin v. The New York Times Co., 923 F.2d 995, 1002 (2d Cir.1991).3
We conclude that a complaint alleging a violation of section 3604(c) based on the single publication of an advertisement which uses a small number of all-white models does not, without more, state a cognizable claim under section 3604(c) as a matter of law. The complaint must allege that an advertiser had the opportunity, based upon either the large number of models used in an advertisement or the numerous advertisements placed by an advertiser with a particular publisher, to include models of a protected group.4
*649HOME made the following claim in its complaint:
9. At least 34% of the population of the City of Cincinnati is black. 19% of Hamilton County is black. 12% of the Metropolitan Statistical Area is black. During the twenty year period since the Act was passed prohibiting discriminatory advertisements, display advertisements have appeared in the Sunday Enquirer featuring hundreds of human models of whom virtually none were black. Nearly all advertisers in the real estate section who have advertisements with human models depict only whites. In group photographs in the real estate section the groups consist of exclusively white people. Of all of the advertisements displaying human models less than 1% include a black person.
17. The real estate display advertisements featured by the Cincinnati Enquirer indicate a preference based on race through the use of human models reflecting predominant race of the advertised building, development or community.
18. In light of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s continuing and longstanding practice of printing and publishing racially discriminatory advertisements, Plaintiffs believe the Cincinnati Enquirer has intentionally violated the Fair Housing Act.
The complaint is silent as to the source of the advertisements. At either extreme, we could infer that one advertiser submitted all of the advertisements, or that a different advertiser placed each advertisement.
We need not dwell upon this ambiguity, however. In its brief and at oral argument HOME clarified its position. It stated that its claim rested exclusively upon the use of all-white models and not upon any other factor, such as repetition of advertising by a single advertiser. In its brief, HOME asserted that “[s]uch consistent and overwhelming absence of black models clearly entitles the finder of fact to find a preference ... based on race.” At no time did HOME point to a series of advertisements by a particular advertiser or a picture depicting a large number of models all of whom were white in order to establish its section 3604(c) claim. Based on these concessions, we construe HOME’S complaint to allege that a single advertisement depicting all-white models is sufficient to state a cause of action under section 3604(c).
Once clarified, HOME’S first allegation in its complaint deals only with individual advertisements, and not with a plurality of advertisements. HOME’S purpose for pointing to the publication of multiple advertisements is to raise its claim of liability based on its “aggregate message” theory.5 HOME is not alleging this fact in order to state a claim based on the repetitive advertising by a single advertiser. We hold that such an allegation fails to state a cause of action for purposes of section 3604(c).6
*650B. Liability Based on a Message Created by an Aggregation of Advertisements
For purposes of HOME's second claim,7 it is not necessary that any single advertisement violate the FHA; this claim targets a "message" which cannot be traced to a particular advertisement. In other words, HOME's claim is based on the premise that the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts: the aggregate message created and sent by the publication of multiple advertisements violates section 3604(c) notwithstanding the legality of each advertisement. In its complaint, HOME sought to hold defendant legally responsible-including the imposition of compensatory and punitive damages-for the creation and effects of this aggregate message. Because we find that the text and purpose of the FHA, as well as the regulations interpreting it, do not support this theory of liability, and because we desire to avoid a constitutional infirmity which would otherwise arise, we decline to construe the FHA to create liability for the possible aggregate message of otherwise nondiscriminatory advertisements.
Section 3604(c) makes clear that a discriminatory message must stem from a "notice, statement, or advertisement" that indicates a racial preference. Hence, liability of a realtor or a publisher stems from the same act: a discriminatory advertisement. Yet HOME does not attack here an advertisement, or a message derived by an ordinary reader from a particular advertisement, but a message separate from and incidental to the individually placed advertisements. Although implicating advertisements in general, this claim does not depend upon a finding that any particular advertisement is discriminatory. We agree with HOME that the FHA must be construed broadly; but the text of the statute-the starting point for construing a statute-ties the prohibition of discriminatory messages to particular advertisements. HOME's cause of action, therefore, does not fall within the literal language of the statute. See Hv~nter, 459 F.2d at 210 (stating that "[l]egislative intent is first to be gathered from the plain meaning of the words of the statute").
The regulations interpreting this section also fail to support HOME's claim. The regulations refer to "advertising campaigns" directed at readers for "certain housing or neighborhoods." Clearly, a random layout of advertisements submitted by independent realtors does not constitute a "campaign"; nor does the aggregate message allegedly communicated by such unrelated advertisements target "certain housing or neighborhoods." In publishing unrelated advertisements, a newspaper is not directing an advertising campaign, and as an advertising medium, a newspaper does not limit advertisements to certain housing or neighborhoods. The regulations contemplate a certain level of specificity in the discriminatory message vis-a-vis the real estate in order to establish a violation of the FHA. A different message may be conveyed by a brochure or related advertisements for a property or development which shows multiple pictures of multiple models, all of them white.8 We conclude that the interpretation urged by HOME is not supported by, and may run counter to, *651the language of section 3604(c) and the relevant HUD regulations.
HOME cites numerous cases to bolster the validity of its claim. Ragin v. Steiner, Clateman and Assoc., 714 F.Supp. 709 (S.D.N.Y.1989); Spann, 899 F.2d 24; Spann v. The Carley Capital Group, Inc., 734 F.Supp. 1 (D.D.C.1988); Saunders v. General Servs. Corp., 659 F.Supp. 1042 (E.D.Va.1987). We find that these cases are either distinguishable or unpersuasive. Saunders involved the publication of a brochure depicting over 68 human models advertising for particular complexes owned by a single real estate organization. Any messages-whether created by individual or an aggregation of advertisements-could be traced to identifiable pieces of property owned by a single real estate organization. In contrast, defendant published numerous advertisements which were submitted by independent unrelated realtors. Under these circumstances, the instant aggregate message cannot be tied to a particular piece of property.
Neither The Carley Capital Group nor Spann expresses an opinion on a cause of action similar to the instant action. The District Court in The Carley Capital Group construed plaintiff's complaint to allege that defendants published advertisements that failed to include a black model, and "that in other respects ... intentional racial discrimination occurred." 734 F.Supp. at 3. Thus, it appears that plaintiff's claim was one of actual discriminatory intent bolstered by advertisements. So construed, we would agree that this would appear to state a valid cause of action under the FHA.
In Spann, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals addressed the issue of whether plaintiff's claim was time-barred. The court of appeals held that the District Court erred in its application of the relevant statute of limitations. The court of appeals never addressed the issue of the viability of the cause of action. Thus, this case does not help in our analysis of the instant issue.
Finally, we note that the only other circuit to address the issue-the Second Circuit-arrives at the same conclusion. The Ragin court stated:
[W]e agree with the Times that liability may not be based on an aggregation of advertisements by different advertisers. Although the twenty-year pattern alleged in the complaint may have been a powerful engine for housing segregation and, if proven, will almost certainly include violations of Section 3604(c), the statute provides a prohibition only with regard to individual advertisers.
Ragin, 923 F.2d at 1002.
The statutory construction urged by HOME also fails to pass constitutional muster based on an analysis of relevant first amendment principles.9 In general, the Supreme Court has distinguished between speech that proposes a commercial transaction and other types of speech, Cen*652tral Hudson, 447 U.S. at 562-63, 100 S.Ct. at 2349-50, and has concluded that the Constitution provides less protection to commercial speech. The Supreme Court has established a four-part analysis to determine the protection accorded particular commercial speech:
At the outset, we must determine whether the expression is protected by the First Amendment. For commercial speech to come within that provision, it at least must concern lawful activity and not be misleading. Next, we ask whether the asserted governmental interest is substantial. If both inquiries yield positive answers, we must determine whether the regulation directly advances the governmental interest asserted, and whether it is not more extensive than is necessary to serve that interest.
Id. at 566, 100 S.Ct. at 2351. We note that the speech at issue here10 is lawful and not misleading. Further, the asserted governmental interest is substantial. Trafficante, 409 U.S. 205, 93 S.Ct. 364. Our chief concerns lie with the last two prongs of the analysis, the advancement of the government interest and the extensiveness of the regulations.
The interpretation of the FHA urged by HOME does little to promote the governmental interest. The purposes of the FHA are to eradicate housing discrimination and to promote integrated housing. Among other measures, the FHA prohibits discriminatory housing practices and discriminatory advertising practices for housing. The former measure attacks the root of the problem, discriminatory housing practices against certain minority groups. The prohibition against discriminatory advertising contributes to the eradication of discriminatory housing practices. Without the regulation of advertisements, realtors could deter certain classes of potential tenants from seeking housing at a particular location, effectively discriminating against these classes without running afoul of the FHA’s prohibition against discriminatory housing practices. Congress obviously recognized the key role housing advertisements play in potential real estate transactions and concluded that the regulations of real estate advertisements is warranted.
The connection between the state’s interest espoused in the FHA and HOME’S claim is too attenuated, however. HOME’S claim does not attack an illegal housing or rental practice; nor does it target discriminatory advertisements for specific real estate. Rather, this claim purports to hold a publisher liable for the creation of a general message of discrimination not traceable to a particular advertisement. Even if such a general message is felt in a real estate market and generates a less than friendly environment for certain groups, it is difficult to determine how this message deters individuals from seeking to buy or rent specific real estate. Recognition of HOME’S claim would do little to promote the purpose of the FHA. Indeed, such a claim leads to anomalous results because it would impose liability on a publisher notwithstanding that all of the advertisers complied with the FHA in their advertising-practices.
In a similar case, Linmark Assocs., Inc. v. Willingboro, 431 U.S. 85, 95-96, 97 S.Ct. 1614, 1619-20, 52 L.Ed.2d 155 (1977), the Supreme Court struck down a township’s ordinance banning the use of “For Sale” signs in front of houses. Although the ordinance sought to promote an important objective — racially integrated housing — the Supreme Court found the connection between the goal and the ban too attenuated. Id.; see Central Hudson, 447 U.S. at 565 n. 7, 100 S.Ct. at 2350 n. 7 (stating that “we observed [in Linmark ] that there was no definite connection between the township’s goal of integrated housing and its ban on the use of ‘For Sale’ signs”). We find the connection between HOME’S claim based on the asserted cumulative message created and sent by multiple advertisements *653and the purpose of the FHA similarly attenuated.
Moreover, the statutory construction urged by HOME is too extensive to serve the state’s interest. Expanding the statute to encompass the instant claim places a heavy burden on publishers while achieving only incidental benefits. Publishers would become the government’s policemen in enforcing section 3604(c), having to ensure that advertisers and the message of advertisements individually and in the aggregate comply with this section. In this instance, newspapers would be required to achieve a proper racial mix in the layout of their advertisements.11 A publisher would be hard pressed to determine what set of statistics upon which to rely in achieving that mix. Should proportionality be determined based on the general population in the area; based on the composition of the subscribers; or based on the composition of potentially qualified buyers in a particular area? Moreover, a newspaper would have to notify particular advertisers to use minority human models in order to achieve this proper mix of minorities in its layout of advertisements. Of course, a newspaper could simply refuse to publish advertisements with human models, an extreme policy not adopted by either the relevant statute or regulations. And this extreme act still may not shield a publisher from liability. See Ragin, 714 F.Supp. 709. We are reluctant to construe this statute so as to impose such burdens on a publisher or to create a policy not established by Congress or HUD.
Requiring a publisher to perform this task, as opposed to the advertiser himself or a government agency, is at odds with the traditional relationship between the government and the press. See Bigelow, 421 U.S. at 829, 95 S.Ct. at 2236 (noting that a claim against a publisher for publishing an abortion advertisement in violation of a statute “would impair, perhaps severely, [the newspapers’] functioning”). In light of the nominal promotion of the asserted governmental interest and the significant burden imposed upon the press, we determine that the construction urged by HOME is constitutionally infirm.
On the other hand, the construction we give to section 3604(c) serves substantially the purposes sought to be achieved by the FHA without seriously burdening publishers. To be sure, publishers remain liable for publishing an advertisement that is obviously discriminatory, including an advertisement featuring the exclusive use of a large number of all-white models; for the publication of a plurality of advertisements submitted by an advertiser that depict all-white models; or for intending to discriminate through the publication of advertisements. This potential liability does not impose substantial affirmative duties upon publishers, thereby minimizing their role as enforcers of congressional policy. This construction avoids the constitutional infirmities inherent in the construction urged by HOME. DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Bldg. & Constr. Trades Council, 485 U.S. 568, 108 S.Ct. 1392, 99 L.Ed.2d 645 (1988).
In sum, HOME’S aggregation theory of liability goes beyond the language or congressional intent of section 3604(c) and cannot be supported by the regulations interpreting this section. Moreover, the viability of this cause of action hinges on a statutory construction which raises serious first amendment concerns.
We conclude that the District Court properly dismissed HOME’S claims which were not based on a discriminatory advertisement or proof of a discriminatory intent by defendant.12
*654III.
For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the judgment of the District Court dismissing appellant’s action.

. It should be noted that HOME did not brief the issues related to a possible discriminatory message arising from the use of white models in a single advertisement. Its entire brief is devot*646ed to a discriminatory message from an aggregate of advertisers.

. HOME concedes that, with the exception of the use of all-white models, the individual advertisements are otherwise in compliance with the applicable statute and regulations. Thus, all of the advertisements contained on equal housing opportunity logotype, statement or slogan to indicate that the property is available to all persons, 24 C.F.R. § 109.30(a); did not use words to indicate a preference; and did not describe the property's location in a preferential manner. Further, defendant published a notice at the beginning of this advertising section to the effect that it will not knowingly accept an illegal advertisement and that all real estate advertised is available on an equal opportunity basis. Id. § 109.3o(d)(3).
The dissent appears to suggest that we should analyze the use of all-white models in a vacuum, disregarding the other words and symbols used *648in an advertisement. In light of the other requirements imposed by the regulations, we find such an approach impractical and unnecessarily narrow. An advertisement must be considered in its totality.

. The dissent appears to suggest that our interpretation of the ordinary reader standard is at odds with at least three other circuits, most notably the Second Circuit’s interpretation as stated in Ragin. Dissent at 657-59. The passage quoted above, however, makes clear that our interpretation of the ordinary reader standard comports with the Second Circuit’s interpretation. We merely take the additional step, apparently commended by the Ragin court, of concluding that a single advertisement which features a select number of white models does not, as a matter of law, state a cause of action pursuant to section 3604(c). The other two cases cited by the dissent are equally unsupportive of its allegation. See Colonial Village, 899 F.2d at 24; United States v. Hunter, 459 F.2d 205 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 934, 93 S.Ct. 235, 34 L.Ed.2d 189 (1972). The Spann court was not confronted with the issue before us, but dealt primarily with issues not related to the substantive claims under the FHA. The dissent cites to the lone comment in the opinion addressing the ordinary reader standard: "that to a ‘reasonable reader the natural interpretation of defendants’ advertisements ... is that they indicate a racial preference' or an intention to make such a preference.” Spann, 899 F.2d at 29 (citations omitted). This comment provides little, if any, insight into the issues presented to this court. In Hunter, the court applied the ordinary reader standard to an advertisement using the phrase "white home.” With little analysis, the Hunter court concluded that such advertisements indicated a preference. Thus, of the three cases cited by the dissent, only one case — Ragin—addresses the issue before us in the context of the ordinary reader standard, and that case provides support for our decision today.

. The dissent mischaracterizes our holding, concluding that we proclaim a per se rule that such ads could never cause a reasonable person to feel excluded, unless some other factor were added. Dissent at 658-59. Obviously, our holding recognizes the viability of a claim under section 3604(c) based on an allegation that a particular advertiser pursued an advertising campaign which led to the repetitive publication of advertisements depicting a large number of all-white models.
Further, an advertisement depicting a large group of all-white models could give rise to a section 3604(c) claim. Of course, a publisher also remains liable for publishing advertisements which are discriminatory on their face or with the intent to discriminate. Placed in its proper perspective, our holding is not as limited or rigid as the dissent would suggest; nor does it lead to an absolute rule that such advertisements could never be grounds for a section 3604(c) claim.
In the final analysis, the dissent fails to address the primary reason creating our difference of opinion: the application of our legal conclusions to HOME’s complaint. In other words, our dispute essentially concerns whether HOME’s complaint states a viable cause of action pursuant to section 3604(c). The dissent *649merely quotes from HOME’S complaint to reach its conclusions and ignores the concessions and clarifications made by HOME in its brief and at oral argument regarding its claims. Once these clarifications are taken into account, it becomes clear that HOME’S complaint cannot overcome a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. The dissent’s conclusions, while noteworthy, do not apply to the actual claims made in this case based on the record before us.
The relevant portion of the oral argument states:
Plaintiff’s Attorney: I would also like to just go back to the pleading in this complaint. We have a thousand ads over a two-year period and in only nine are blacks represented and we allege that that indicates a racial preference.
J. Kennedy: But, it's not any particular ad that indicates — what you're saying is that adding all the ads in together — the effect is to have a racial preference.
Plaintiffs Attorney: That — we are saying that in the complaint, yes.
******
J. Kennedy: The problem is in a newspaper there are, let's say, 30 ads all put in by different people and if no one taken alone is discriminatory, you are saying that ... taken as a whole the page is discriminatory. That’s basically what you’re saying.
Plaintiffs Attorney: The pages over 20 years. Yes.

. Our holding, therefore, does not address the viability of a claim under section 3604(c) based on an allegation that a particular advertiser repeatedly published advertisements which depict all-white models in a particular publication.

. The dissent states that a racial preference could be found if “the same or related advertisers or publishers” advertised repeatedly with all-*650white models. Dissent at 662. Neither the statute nor the regulations mention such a term, and it is unclear what the dissent means. Nowhere in HOME's complaint is it mentioned that the same advertiser or "related" advertisers repeatedly submitted an advertisement with all-white models.

. When discussing this claim, we will refer to this theory of liability as the "aggregation theory of liability" and to the message allegedly created and communicated as the "aggregate message."

. The dissent attacks our distinction between multiple advertisements by a single advertiser and multiple advertisements by unrelated advertisers and concludes that "[t]he different source of advertisements does not make those advertisements any less `particular.'" Dissent at 660. This reasoning misses the mark, however. It is not the particularity of the individual advertisements that is at issue, but the particularity of the aggregate message. As to multiple advertisements by one advertiser, the aggregate message and the message of each advertisement refer to the same piece of property. Multiple advertisements by unrelated advertisers lack this specificity.

. HOME alleges that the Ragin court's analysis is instructive, but the Ragin court assumed that the individual advertisements were illegal. Once this is established, the advertisements fall outside the ambit of first amendment protection. Central Hudson Gas & Elec. Corp. v. Public Serv. Comm'n, 447 U.S. 557, 563-64, 100 S.Ct. 2343, 2350, 65 L.Ed.2d 341 (1980) (concluding that the government may ban commercial messages "that do not accurately inform the public about lawful activity"; that are "more likely to deceive the public than to inform it"; or that is "related to illegal activity"). By contrast, the instant claim concerns the publication of legal advertisements which, in the aggregate, produce an allegedly discriminatory message. Because the communication is neither related to an illegal activity nor misleading, the government's power is more circumscribed. Id. at 564, 100 S.Ct. at 2350.
Further, even if these advertisements were considered illegal, the District Court's reasoning does not comport with traditional first amendment analysis of commercial speech. When analyzing the constitutional protections accorded a particular commercial message, a court starts with the content of the message and not the label given the message under the relevant statute. See, e.g., Bigelow v. Virginia, 421 U.S. 809, 95 S.Ct. 2222, 44 L.Ed.2d 600 (1975) (analyzing first amendment protection accorded to advertisement for abortion notwithstanding statutory language making such advertisements illegal). Starting with the language of a statute would foreclose a court from ever considering the constitutionality of particular commercial speech because the statute would label such speech illegal and thus unprotected by the first amendment. Constitutional review by a court is not so easily circumvented.

. It is difficult to define the speech at issue here. Although the instant claim implicates the speech of the individual advertisements, it does not target this speech as the basis of its liability. Rather, it is the speech "created" by the publisher through the act of designing a layout of advertisements for a page, or by publishing a series of advertisements depicting virtually all-white models, that is at issue here.

. It should be noted that the statute’s proscription is not limited to messages indicating a racial or color preference, but includes preferential messages based on religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. The statutory protection of these various groups heightens the impracticality of the approach suggested by the dissent.

. In attacking the majority, the dissent points out that a member of this panel used the word “quota.” Apparently, the use of this word has caused the dissent to think that our decision is based on a motive unrelated to our reasoning. This is unfortunate and unnecessary; we have forthrightly stated our reasons leading to our conclusions. Perhaps the best response to this *654ad hominem argument is to quote from the relevant portion of oral argument:
Plaintiffs Attorney: Fifthly, I would submit that this court should consider the—
J. Suhrheinrich: If we go by the ordinary reader’s standard, does that then require every ad to have a quota of certain minorities? Plaintiffs Attorney: No sir.
I. Suhrheinrich: How else then does the ordinary reader look at an ad that is, say, all white, and say this is a racial preference or it isn’t?
Plaintiffs Attorney: I think it is altogether possible to have one single ad that does indeed indicate a racial preference. It is a question of fact, it’s a question for the jury. But, a single ad with nothing but white people in it and other symbols of exclusion or racism can indicate to the ordinary reader that—
J. Suhrheinrich: But if it’s an ordinary reader, doesn’t anyone in order not to be sued then must put in a quota-type system. Plaintiffs Attorney: No sir, and the courts have said that they are not requiring any kind of proportionality that—
J. Suhrheinrich: But you say that, but any time you have an all white ad it becomes a question of fact, so one subjects himself to a lawsuit every time — under your theory — every time they have an ad that does not have minorities in it.
Plaintiffs Attorney: I think that as a practical matter that there is not going to be the mounting of a lawsuit over a single ad—
J. Suhrheinrich: But, nonetheless, that is the risk and so in order for any publisher to ensure that he is not subject to a lawsuit, then you would advocate a quota system?
Plaintiffs Attorney: Well, if he wants a thousand per cent of assurance, yes.
J. Suhrheinrich: How about just a 100%. Plaintiffs Attorney: No system operates on that margin (interrupted)
J. Suhrheinrich: Beg your pardon?
Plaintiffs Attorney: I say, if he wants a thousand percent assurance that he’s not going to be sued, yes, the answer is yes—
J. Suhrheinrich: If you were their lawyer, that’s what you would instruct them to do? Plaintiffs Attorney: I wouldn’t necessarily instruct them on that, no. Because I think that they would be ... anybody would be foolhardy to sue over a single ad that did not have a minority represented because the newspaper is going to be entitled to the instruction that strict proportionality is not required.
****** Plaintiffs Attorney: Judge Suhrheinrich, in response to the question of whether or not each ad would have to have a, what you call a "quota" of minorities—
J. Kennedy: Well, at least a representation of a minority.
J. Suhrheinrich: I understand that that’s kind of an inflammatory word maybe today, but, and I don’t mean it that way in that, I’m just grasping for what is the standard here and how you fulfill it.
* * * * * *
J. Keith: I’m just sorry that my colleague and friend Judge Suhrheinrich used the word "quotas” because that is a bad word and it is one that just sets fire in the minds of white Americans, and I don’t think there is anything in here about quotas. We’re talking about 20 years of a pattern that may or may not prove a pattern that discriminates and what the plaintiffs are asking — that let this matter go before court or a jury and determine as a factual matter whether, in fact, this is so.
The dictionary supports the use of this word in the instant context. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines "quota” as "1: a proportional part ... 4: a fixed number or percentage of minority group members who may be admitted into some activity or institution. ...”