Dubin v. County of Nassau (277 F. Supp. 3d 366, 2017)

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York 2017-09-27

Citations

Full opinion text

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Joseph F. Bianco, District Judge:

Plaintiffs Benjamin Dubin (“Dubin”) and Byron Alston (“Alston,” and with Dubin, “plaintiffs”) bring this putative class action against defendants the County-of Nassau (the “County”), the Nassau County Legislature (the “Legislature”), and -the Nassau County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency (the “TPVA”) (collectively, “defendants”) alleging (1) a cause of action for violations of various federal constitutional rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”); (2) a claim under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202; and (3) eighteen claims under New York State law for myriad constitutional and statutory infractions. The gravamen of plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) is that defendants have unlawfully enacted and enforced a local ordinance known as the Drivers’ Responsibility Fee (the “DRF”), Nassau Cty. Ordinance 190-2012. The DRF allegedly imposes a mandatory payment of $45 on all motorists who have been issued tickets or citations alid received a final disposition other than “not guilty.”

Defendants now move to dismiss the SAC pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) on the following grounds: (1) the Rooker-Feldman doctrine bars plaintiffs’ claims; (2) the Court should abstain from adjudicating the Section 1983 claim due to ongoing New York State court proceedings; (3) the Court should decline jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ second cause of action for a declaratory judgment; (4) all of plaintiffs’ federal claims under Section 1983 fail to state a cause of action; and (5) in the absence of a viable federal claim, the Court should not exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ New York State law claims.

As an initial matter, the Court concludes that (1) the Aoofcer-Feldman does not bar any claims in this case, and (2) abstention is unwarranted on the federal claims. On the merits, the Court finds that plaintiffs have not pled a plausible cause of action based on their bill of attainder, procedural due process, substantive due process, unjust takings, equal protection, and double jeopardy allegations. However, the Court denies the motion to dismiss the excessive fines claim under Section 1983 on the ground raised by defendants—namely, that the DRF cannot be punitive because it is not imposed following a .criminal or quasi-criminal proceeding and is assessed to defray administrative costs. Because it was not raised by defendants, the Court does not reach the second issue with respect to the excessive fines claim—that is, whether a $45 fine can be unconstitutionally excessive.

Accordingly, because a federal claim has survived defendants’ motion, the Court retains supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ state law claims and will not dismiss them at this stage. Thus, for the reasons set forth below, the Court grants defendants’ motion in part and denies it in part.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

The Court takes the following facts from the SAC. (ECF No. 23.) The Court assumes these facts to be true for purposes of deciding this motion and construes them in the light most favorable to. plaintiffs as the non-moving party.

1. The Parties

Plaintiffs Dubin and Alston are both New York State residents and were respectively assessed a DRF on September 4, 2015 and July 7, 2016. (SAC at ¶¶ 7-8.) The County is a local New York government governed by the Legislature, which established the TPVA and enacted ordinances related to the DRF. (Id. at ¶¶ 9-10.)

2. Nature of the Action

This case arises out of “defendants’ unlawful assessment of [the DRF] against motorists who have had tickets and/or citations dismissed by the” TPVA court. (Id. at ¶ 1.) Plaintiffs allege that the DRF mandates a $45 payment by all motorists who receive citations or tickets and a “final disposition other than not guilty,” and although “characterized as a ‘fee,’ this charge is in fact a non-discretionary penalty imposed merely for having been issued a ticket, and the TPVA Court must charge the penalty even when the tickets against the individuals have been dismissed .... ” (Id. at ¶ 2; see also id. at ¶ 28 (“This is a legislative penalty, and is not based on an actual adjudication by any Court after a hearing or other opportunity to be heard.”).)

The SAC further states that the “TPVA has created a chilling-effect to [sic] individual citizens who come before that Court, as the[ ] only way that the[y] can dispute the penalty is to go to trial, which requires time, effort, and costs just to dispute the DRF.” (Id. at ¶ 4.) As a result, “only approximately 1% of individuals who are issued tickets elect to proceed to trial,” notwithstanding that “for those individuals whom [sic] make an appearance before the TPVA Court, over 40% of all tickets are dismissed.” (Id. at ¶¶ 4, 30.) In sum, plaintiffs assert that the DRF “has nothing to do with ‘administrative costs’ relating to issuing tickets/citations” but is rather a punishment imposed “against individuals for simply being issued a ticket without any findings of fact, nor proof of any actual violations,” and “irrespective of whether or not they are actually guilty of any offense or violation .... ” (Id. at ¶¶ 32-34.) Moreover, the SAC alleges that the DRF’s underlying aim is to generate revenue for the County to help defray budget deficits. (Id. at ¶¶ 34-40.)

3. Plaintiffs’ Alleged Injuries

On or about July 31, 2015, Dubin was issued a ticket with an appearance date of September 11, 2015 for a defective brake light on his vehicle. (Id. at ¶¶ 16-17, Exh. A.) After Dubin repaired the brake light and had his vehicle inspected by a County police officer, the TPVA dismissed the ticket but nevertheless assessed a DRF. (Id. at ¶¶ 18-20, Exhs. B-C.)

Alston appeared before the TPVA on or about July 7, 2016 regarding seven outstanding tickets or citations. (Id. at ¶ 23, Exh. F.) He pled guilty to four offenses, and the TPVA dismissed the remaining three tickets/citations. (Id.) The TPVA assessed Alston a DRF for each dismissed ticket, as well as a “deferred payment fee” of $15 per ticket, for an approximate total cost of $180. (Id. at ¶ 24.)

Among other relief, plaintiffs seek, on behalf of themselves and a class of other similarly situated individuals, a declaration that the “DRF violates the Constitutional protections of the Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and as well as [sic] other [federal] Constitutional Protections”; an injunction enjoining defendants from imposing the DRF; and reimbursement of all DRF charges and associated expenses. (Id. at ¶ 6.)

B. Procedural Background

Dubin commenced this action on July 29, 2016 (ECF No. 3), and plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on October 20, 2016 (ECF No. 12) and the- SAC on November 30, 2016 (ECF No. 23). Defendants moved to dismiss the SAC on January 13, 2017 (ECF No. 25) and provided supplemental legal authority in support of their motion on February 3, 2017 (ECF No. 28). Plaintiffs filed their opposition to the motion and defendants’ supplemental letter on February 27, 2017 and March 2; 2017, respectively (ECF Nos. 30-31); and defendants replied on March 20, 2017 (ECF No. 33).

The Court heard oral argument on March 23, 2017 (ECF No. 34), and plaintiffs subsequently filed their own letter providing supplemental legal authority in support of their opposition on May 27, 2017 (ECF No. 38). The Court has fully ■considered all of the parties’ submissions and arguments.

II. . Standards of Review

Relevant here are Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), which respectively govern motions to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The following standards of review are applicable to motions brought under those provisions.

A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

To defeat a motion to dismiss brought under Rule 12(b)(1), “[t]he plaintiff bears the burden of proving subject matter jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence.” Aurecchione v. Schoolman Transp. Sys., Inc., 426 F.3d 635, 638 (2d Cir; 2005). In resolving this issue, the court “must accept as true all material factual allegations in the complaint, but [it is] not to draw inferences from the com-' plaint favorable to plaintiffs.” J.S. ex rel. N.S. v. Attica Cent. Schs., 386 F.3d 107, 110 (2d Cir. 2004). Additionally, the court “may refer to evidence outside the pleadings” to resolve the jurisdictional issue. Makarova v. United States, 201 F.3d 110, 113 (2d Cir. 2000) (citing Kamen v. Am. Tel. & Tel. Co., 791 F.2d 1006, 1011 (2d Cir. 1986));

B. Failure to State a Claim

In reviewing a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal.Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the Court must accept the factual allegations set forth in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. See Cleveland v. Caplow Enters., 448 F.3d 518, 521 (2d Cir. 2006); Nechis v. Oxford Health Plans, Inc., 421 F.3d 96, 100 (2d Cir. 2005). “In order to survive a hiotion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must allege a plausible set of facts sufficient ‘to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.’ ” Operating Local 649 Annuity Trust Fund v. Smith Barney Fund Mgmt. LLC, 595 F.3d 86, 91 (2d Cir. 2010) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). This standard does not require “heightened fact pleading of specifics, but only enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570,127 S.Ct. 1955.

The Supreme Court clarified the appropriate pleading standard in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, setting forth a two pronged approach for courts deciding a motion to dismiss. 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed,2d 868 (2009). The Supreme Court instructed district courts to first “identifyt ] pleadings that, because they are no more than conclusions, are not entitled to the assumption of truth.” Id. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (explaining that though “legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations”). Second, if a complaint contains “well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.” Id. A claim has “facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. The plausibility standard is not akin-to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting and citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556-57, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (internal citation omitted)).

The Court notes that in adjudicating a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, it is entitled to consider:

(1) facts alleged in the complaint and documents attached to it or incorporated in it by reference, (2) documents ‘integral’ to the complaint and relied upon in it, even if not attached or incorporated by reference, (3) documents or information contained in defendant’s motion papers if plaintiff has knowledge or possession of the material and relied on it in framing the complaint, (4) public disclosure documents required by law to be, and that have been, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and (5) facts of which judicial notice may properly be taken under Rule 201 of the Federal Rules of Evidence.

In re Merrill Lynch & Co., 273 F.Supp.2d 351, 356-57 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (internal citations omitted), offd in part and reversed in part on other grounds sub nom. Lentell v. Merrill Lynch & Co., 396 F.3d 161 (2d Cir. 2005), cert. denied, 546 U.S. 935, 126 S.Ct. 421, 163 L.Ed.2d 321 (2005); see also Cortec Indus., Inc. v. Sum Holding L.P., 949 F.2d 42, 48 (2d Cir. 1991) (“[T]he district court ... could have viewed [the documents] on the motion to dismiss because there was undisputed notice to plaintiffs of heir contents and they were integral to plaintiffs’ claim.”).

III. Discussion

Defendants argue that the Court should dismiss the SAC because (1) the Court lacks jurisdiction under Aoo/cer-Feldman; (2) the Court should abstain from considering the Section 1983 claim because it implicates pending New York State court proceedings; (3) the Court should decline jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ declaratory judgment cause of action because it is dependent on plaintiffs’ state law claims; and (4) plaintiffs’ Section 1983 claim fails to state a cause of action because the SAC does not plausibly plead a violation of any federal constitutional right. Further, in the absence of a viable federal cause of action, defendants contend that the Court should' decline supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ remaining state law claims.

For the reasons set forth below, the Court concludes that Eoo/cer-Feldman does not bar adjudication of this matter and that abstention on the Section 1983 and declaratory judgment claims is unwarranted. The Court further finds that plaintiffs’ allegations do not plausibly plead a bill of attainder, procedural due process, substantive due process, unjust takings, equal protection, or double jeopardy violation under Section 1983. However, the Court denies the motion to dismiss the excessive fines claim under Section 1983 on the ground raised by defendants— namely, that the DRF cannot be punitive because it is not imposed following a criminal or quasi-criminal proceeding and is assessed to defray administrative costs. Because it was not raised by defendants, the Court does not reach the second issue with respect to the excessive fines claim— that is, whether a $45 fine can be unconstitutionally excessive. Thus, because a federal claim survives defendants’ motion, the Court retains supplemental jurisdiction over the pendant state law claims and will not dismiss them at this stage. Accordingly, defendants’ motion is granted in part and denied in part.

A. Roolcer-Feldman

1. Applicable Law

The ñoo/cer-Feldman doctrine arises from two decisions issued by the United States Supreme Court: Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Company, 263 U.S. 413, 44 S.Ct. 149, 68 L.Ed. 362 (1923); and District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 103 S.Ct. 1303, 75 L.Ed.2d 206 (1983). It stands for the proposition that “lower federal courts possess no power whatever to sit in direct review of state court decisions.” Atl. Coast Line R.R. Co. v. Bhd. of Locomotive Eng’rs, 398 U.S. 281, 296, 90 S.Ct. 1739, 26 L.Ed.2d 234 (1970); accord Hoblock v. Albany Cnty. Bd. of Elecs., 422 F.3d 77, 84 (2d Cir. 2005) (“[Fjederal district courts lack jurisdiction over suits that are, in substance, appeals from state-court judgments.”). Though this doctrine was once improperly equated with that of res judicata, see Moccio v. N.Y. State Office of Ct. Admin., 95 F.3d 195, 199-200 (2d Cir. 1996), the Supreme Court has clarified that ñoo/cer-Feldman is jurisdictional in nature, whereas res judicata deals with preclusion, see Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Indus. Corp., 544 U.S. 280, 293, 125 S.Ct. 1517, 161 L.Ed.2d 454 (2005) (“Preclusion, of course, is not a jurisdictional matter”) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(c) (listing res judicata as an affirmative defense)).

In Hoblock, the Second Circuit carefully reviewed the ñoo/cer-Feldman doctrine in light of the Supreme Court’s Exxon Mobil decision. See Hoblock, 422 F.3d at 83-92. Noting that Exxon Mobil had narrowed the scope of the ñoo/cer-Feldman doctrine, the Second Circuit ruled that its application “ ‘is confined to cases of the kind from which the doctrine acquired its name: cases brought by state-court losers complaining of injuries caused by state-court judgments rendered before the district court proceedings commenced and inviting district court review and rejection of those judgments.’ ” Id. at 85 (quoting Exxon Mobil, 544 U.S. at 284, 125 S.Ct. 1517). Thus, the Second Circuit set forth four requirements for ñoo/cer-Feldman to apply: (1) “the federal-court plaintiff must have lost in state court”; (2) “the plaintiff must complain of injuries caused by a state court judgment”; (3) “the plaintiff must invite district court review and rejection of that judgment”; and (4) “the state-court judgment must have been rendered before the district court proceedings commenced.” Id. (footnote omitted). The Second Circuit has classified the first and fourth requirements as “procedural” and the second and third requirements as “substantive.” See id.

2. Analysis

Defendants argue that ñoo/cer-Feldman applies here because (1) “[pjlain-tiffs are challenging the fees incurred by them in appearing before and having their potential liability adjudicated before TPVA, an arm of the Nassau County District Court”; (2) plaintiffs’ court-imposed DRF liability arose prior to commencement of the instant action; and (3) plaintiffs ask this Court to review and reject the TPVA’s findings. (Defs.’ Mem. of Law in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss Second Am. Compl. (“Defs.’ Br.”), ECF No. 25-4, at 5.) The Court disagrees.

First, plaintiffs are not the quintessential “state court losers” to whom ñoo/cer-Feldman pertains. Rather than litigating a state court proceeding and receiving an unfavorable judgment, plaintiffs allege that the TPVA dismissed their tickets or citations without a determination that they were guilty of any infraction. (See SAC at ¶¶ 2, 19-20, 24, 28.) Termination of a state court action without an adverse disposition is not a loss for Rooker-Feldman purposes. See Green v. Mattingly, 585 F.3d 97, 102 (2d Cir. 2009) (“We cannot say that [dismissal of the plaintiffs state family court proceeding] amounted] to a state-court loss for purposes of the Rooker-Feldm'an doctrine. Although there was no final adjudication in plaintiffs favor, there was also no final ‘order of disposition’ removing her child, and plaintiff secured the reversal of the one form of interlocutory relief entered against her. The Rooker-Feldman doctrine, therefore, does not bar plaintiffs claims, as she did not ‘lose’ in state court.” (citations omitted)); see also V.S. v. Muhammad, 595 F.3d 426, 430 (2d Cir. 2010) (same); Bertuglia v. City of New York, 839 F.Supp.2d 703, 718 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) (holding that Eoo/cer-Feldman did not bar Section 1983 claims stemming from a criminal prosecution because “the plaintiffs succeeded in having the state court indictments against them dismissed, and thus there was no ‘extant and controlling’ judgment with continuing ‘legal effect’ in their case” (citation omitted)).

Moreover, plaintiffs claim that imposition of the DRF is a non-discretionary and non-appealable legislative mandate. (SAC at ¶58 (“The individual motorist cannot dispute the DRF before the TPYA Court whatsoever, the TPVA judges have no discretion not to impose the DRF, the motorists are not provided a trial on the DRF itself, and there is no appeals process for the DRF.” (citing People v. Stamos, 51 Misc.3d 136(A), 38 N.Y.S.3d 832 (App. Term. 2016) (holding that the imposition of a $30 fee by the TPVA following dismissal of a charge of operating an unregistered motor vehicle was not reviewable on appeal because “the $30 fee here was not made in conjunction with a judgment of conviction or sentence and does not come before this appellate court upon an appeal from a judgment of conviction”)).) Under such circumstances, the “narrow rule” of Roofcer-Feldman does not apply. See Green, 585 F.3d at 103 (“Here, however, plaintiff brings a § 1983 action only after the Family Court proceedings were dismissed without a final order of disposition. Her action, moreover, complains only of injuries caused by a state-court order that was interlocutory, unappealable, and effectively reversed by a superseding order.”).

Finally, as the Supreme Court recognized in Feldman, its namesake doctrine does not bar federal adjudication of a general constitutional challenge to a state law or rule. See 460 U.S. at 482-85, 103 S.Ct. 1303 (distinguishing “between general challenges to state bar admission rules and claims that a state court has unlawfully denied a particular applicant admission” and holding that a federal district court has jurisdiction over the former claim); see also Feng Li v. Rabner, 643 Fed.Appx. 57, 59 (2d Cir. 2016) (“As to the court’s Rooker-Fel&mm ruling, this doctrine does not apply to Li’s challenge to the constitutionality of the state court rule.”). In other words, as the Court emphasized in another case, “[i]f a federal plaintiff presents an independent claim, it is not an impediment to the exercise of federal jurisdiction that the same or a related question was earlier aired between the parties in state court.” Skinner v. Switzer, 562 U.S. 521, 532, 131 S.Ct. 1289, 179 L.Ed.2d 233 (2011) (brackets and citations omitted). Thus, the Supreme Court found in Skinner that ifoofcer-Feldman did not preclude a constitutional challenge to a Texas statute governing post-conviction DNA testing, notwithstanding that a state court had previously found that the petitioner was not entitled to testing under that law. Id. (finding that “Skinner does not challenge the adverse [state court] decisions themselves; instead, he targets as unconstitutional the Texas statute they authoritatively construed,” and holding that “a state-court decision is not reviewable by lower federal courts, but a statute or rule governing the decision may be challenged in a federal action” (citing Feldman, 460 U.S. at 487, 103 S.Ct. 1303; Exxon, 544 U.S. at 286, 125 S.Ct. 1517)). Likewise, plaintiffs are not coñtesting a state court’s interpretation or application of the DRF; instead, they assert'that the County ordinance authorizing the DRF is itself unlawful. (See, e.g., SAC at ¶ 6.) Thus, this Court has subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ claims because they are independent of any state court judgment against them. See McCormick v. Braverman, 451 F.3d 382, 392 (6th Cir. 2006) (“None of these claims assert an injury caused by the state court judgments; Plaintiff does not claim that the state court judgments themselves are unconstitutional or in violation of federal law. Instead, Plaintiff asserts independent claims that ... a state statute is vague and overbroad.”); Sykes v. Mel Harris & Assocs., LLC, 757 F.Supp.2d 413, 429 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (Chin, J.) (holding that Rooker-Feldman did not apply because the plaintiffs sought, “inter alia, declaratory relief that defendants violated the law and injunctive relief via notice to putative class members that is independent of the state-court judgments”); McCloud v. Mairs, No. 12 CV 2556 SLT LB, 2014 WL 9880043, at *4 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 24, 2014) (“As plaintiff complains only of defendants’ actions, not those of the state court, the second prong of the Rooker-Feldman doctrine is not met.” (citing Morrison v. City of New York, 591 F.3d 109, 112 (2d Cir. 2010))), report and recommendation adopted, 2015 WL 3607565 (E.D.N.Y. June 2, 2015).

In sum, Roofcer-Feldman does not require dismissal of this case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the SAC alleges (1). that plaintiffs did not lose in state court; (2) that the DRF is non-discretionary and non-appealable and, thus, that plaintiffs are not seeking federal review of a state court decision; and (3) independent constitutional claims against the law authorizing the DRF.

B. Abstention

Defendants advance two abstention arguments in support of their motion to dismiss. First, they contend that, under Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971), the Court should decline subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ Section 1983 claim because there are ongoing state court proceedings. Second, defendants' assert that the Court should abstain from adjudicating the second cause of action for a declaratory judgment pursuant to Railroad Commission v. Pullman Company, 312 U.S. 496, 61 S.Ct. 643, 85 L.Ed. 971 (1941), because interpretation of the DRF depends on unsettled New York State law. As discussed below, the Court disagrees with both contentions.

1. Applicable Law

As a threshold matter, “abstention is generally disfavored, and federal courts have a ‘virtually unflagging obligation’ to exercise their jurisdiction.” Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. v. Hudson River-Black River Regulating Dist., 673 F.3d 84, 100 (2d Cir. 2012) (quoting Colorado River Water Conservation, Dist. v. United States, 424 U.S. 800, 817, 96 S.Ct. 1236, 47 L.Ed.2d 483 (1976)). “The abstention doctrine comprises a few extraordinary and narrow exceptions to a federal court’s duty to exercise its jurisdiction,” and “the balance is heavily weighted in favor of the exercise of jurisdiction,” Woodford v. Cmty. Action Agency of Greene Cnty., Inc., 239 F.3d 517, 522 (2d Cir. 2001) (alterations and citations omitted).

Under Younger abstention, “federal courts should generally refrain from enjoining or otherwise interfering in ongoing state proceedings.” Spargo v. New York State Comm’n on Judicial Conduct, 351 F.3d 65, 74 (2d Cir. 2003). In Sprint Communications, Inc. v. Jacobs, 571 U.S, 69, 134 S.Ct. 584, 187 L.Ed.2d 505 (2013), the Supreme Court “clarified that district courts should abstain from exercising jurisdiction only in three ‘exceptional circumstances’ involving (1) ‘ongoing state criminal prosecutions,’ (2) ‘certain civil enforcement proceedings,’ and (3) ‘civil proceedings involving certain orders uniquely in furtherance of the' state courts’- ability to perform their judicial functions.’ ” Falco v. Justices of the Matrimonial Parts of Supreme Court of Suffolk Cty., 805 F.3d 425, 427 (2d Cir. 2015) (quoting Sprint, 134 S.Ct. at 591), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 136 S.Ct. 2469, 195 L.Ed.2d 802 (2016). “[Tjhese three ‘exceptional’ categories ... define Younger’s scope.” Sprint, 134 S.Ct. at 591.

The Pullman doctrine permits a federal court to abstain from deciding a state law issue “when it appears that abstention may eliminate or materially alter the constitutional issue presented.” Ohio Bureau of Emp’t Servs. v. Hodory, 431 U.S. 471, 481, 97 S.Ct. 1898, 52 L.Ed.2d 513 (1977); see Pullman, 312 U.S. 496, 61 S.Ct. 643. The policy served by such abstention is to “avoid the need to address difficult constitutional questions dependent on the interpretation of state law in a situation where a decision on the ambiguous state law could not- ‘escape being a forecast- rather than a determination’ and might be ‘supplanted by a controlling decision of a state court:’ ” Hartford Courant Co. v. Pellegrino, 380 F.3d 83, 100 (2d Cir. 2004) (quoting Pullman, 312 U.S. at 499-500, 61 S.Ct. 643). The doctrine is an “extraordinary and narrow exception” to a district court’s duty to adjudicate the ease before it, Allegheny v. Frank Mashuda Co., 360 U.S. 185, 188, 79 S.Ct. 1060, 3 L.Ed.2d 1163 (1959).

In the Second Circuit, Pullman abstention may be appropriate where three conditions are met: (1) the state statute is “unclear or. the issue of state law [is] uncertain”; (2) “resolution of the federal issue depend[s], upon the interpretation to. be given to the state law”; and (3). “the state law [is] susceptible of an interpretation that would avoid or modify the federal constitutional issue.”' McRedmond v. Wilson, 533 F.2d 767, 761 (2d Cir. 1976); see also Hartford Courant Co., 380 F.3d at 100; United Fence & Guard Rail Corp. v. Cuomo, 878 F.2d 588, 594 (2d Cir. 1989).

2. Analysis

For the following reasons, the Court finds, in its discretion, that abstention is not warranted at this stage of the litigation under either Younger or Pullman.

a. Younger Abstention

Defendants argue the court should dismiss plaintiffs’ Section 1983 claim pursuant to Younger because, although plaintiffs’ TPVA adjudications have been resolved, the SAC “asserts causes of action on behalf of a putative class including all persons who have paid the fee from January 1, 2008 and the present. Thus, since these Plaintiffs’ state proceedings are ongoing, this Court should decline” subject matter jurisdiction over the federal claims in the SAC. (Defs.’ Br. at 7.)

This argument is without merit. As plaintiffs note in their opposition, other courts have correctly held that the existence of an uncertified, putative class does not implicate abstention concerns. See, e.g., Winfield v. Citibank, N.A., 842 F.Supp.2d 560, 572-73 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) (“The defendant has not established a basis for Colorado River abstention at this stage of the litigation. The Court is not yet being asked to decide whether it is appropriate to certify the California subclass on whose behalf plaintiff Shen seeks to bring his claim, such that there would be a class action in New York” that is duplicative of a state court action.). Given the Supreme Court’s admonition in Sprint that “[o]nly exceptional circumstances justify a federal court’s refusal to decide a case in deference to the States,” 134 S.Ct. at 591 (quoting New Orleans Pub. Serv., Inc. v. Council of City of New Orleans, 491 U.S. 350, 368, 109 S.Ct. 2506, 105 L.Ed.2d 298 (1989)), the Court agrees with plaintiffs that, because the Court has not yet determined the nature and constituent members of the proposed class, it would be premature to conclude that resolving this action would necessarily interfere with ongoing state proceedings involving unidentified individuals.

Moreover, as the Supreme Court has consistently held, the “pertinent inquiry [under Younger] is whether the state proceedings afford an adequate opportunity to raise the constitutional claims .... ” Moore v. Sims, 442 U.S. 415, 430, 99 S.Ct. 2371, 60 L.Ed.2d 994 (1979); see also Sprint, 134 S.Ct. at 591 (holding that whether a pending state court proceeding “provides an adequate opportunity to raise federal challenges” is a relevant “additional factor[] appropriately considered by the federal court before invoking YoungeN (brackets and citations omitted)); Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U.S. 374, 380 n.5, 98 S.Ct. 673, 54 L.Ed.2d 618 (1978) (“[T]he District Court was correct in finding Huffman and Younger inapplicable, since there was no pending state-court proceeding in which appellee could have challenged the statute.”). Thus, in Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 95 S.Ct. 854, 43 L.Ed.2d 54 (1975), the Court found that Younger did not preclude injunctive relief in a Section 1983 case contesting a state statute governing preliminary hearings in criminal prosecutions because the “injunction was not directed at the state prosecutions as such, but only at the legality of pretrial detention without a judicial hearing, an issue that could not be raised in defense of the criminal prosecution,” and thus, the district court’s “order to hold preliminary hearings could not prejudice the conduct of the tidal on the merits.” Id. at 108 n.9, 95 S.Ct. 854; see also Donohue v. Mangano, 886 F.Supp.2d 126, 141 (E.D.N.Y. 2012) (“Younger abstention does not apply when a plaintiffs federal claims cannot be presented in pending state proceedings.” (citation omitted)).

Here, as already discussed, plaintiffs have alleged that the DRF is non-discretionary and non-appealable and, therefore, that there is no opportunity to challenge that statute on federal constitutional grounds before the TPVA or any state appellate tribunal. (See, e.g., SAC at ¶ 58 (citing Stamos, 38 N.Y.S.3d 832).) In addition, plaintiffs do not seek to enjoin cases before the TPVA or any other New York State court; instead, they request an injunction barring defendants from imposing the DRF (see SAC at ¶ 6)—an act, plaintiffs further contend, that does not involve fact-finding or a merits determination by a state judge (see id. at ¶¶ 32-33). In other words, as in Gerstein, an order by this Court precluding enforcement of the DRF would not “prejudice the conduct of’ TPVA proceedings concerning the underlying ticket or citation.

Therefore, based on the allegations in the SAC, the Court concludes, in its discretion, that Younger abstention is not warranted with respect to plaintiffs’ Section 1983 claim.

b. Pullman Abstention

Defendants also assert that the Court should decline jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ second cause of action under the Declaratory Judgment Act because the SAC “requests] the Court to determine New York Constitutional issues, as well as issues regarding whether the challenged ordinance is preempted, as a matter of state law, by NY Vehicle and Traffic Law, the NY Civil Rights Law, the NY Penal Law and the NY Criminal Procedures Law”; and “the Court is requested to decide whether the challenged ordinances are authorized under the NY Municipal Home Rule Law.” (Defs.’ Br. at 8.) In addition, defendants contend that resolution of plaintiffs’ state law claims will dispose of the Section 1983 challenge because “[i]t is only after the [DRF is] declared invalid [under New York State law] that Plaintiffs’ constitutional claims are made relevant.” (Defs.’ Reply Mem. of Law in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss Second Am. Compl. (“Defs.’ Reply Br.”), ECF No. 33, at 5; see also id. at 3 (“[I]f there are no questions that the ordinances imposing the DRF are valid under state law, then it cannot be said that there was a constitutional violation.”).) The Court disagrees.

As an initial matter, defendants mischar-acterize the SAC. They argue that plaintiffs “make[ ] no allegation that the enactment of the [DRF] was in violation of federal law.” (Id. at 3.) However, that contention is belied by nearly twenty pages of substantive claims asserting that the DRF infringes numerous federal constitutional rights (see SAC at ¶¶ 1-6, 28-92), as well as plaintiffs’ specific request for “declaratory relief that the DRF violates the Constitutional protections of the Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and as well as [sic] other Constitutional Protections” (id. at ¶ 6).

With respect to the Pullman factors, even assuming that this case satisfies the first criterion—that the DRF ordinance is “unclear or the issue of state law is uncertain”—it does not fulfill the second prong because resolution of plaintiffs’ federal claims does not depend upon the Court’s construction of New York State law. This Court addressed a similar issue in Moore v. County of Suffolk, 851 F.Supp.2d 447 (E.D.N.Y. 2012), in which the plaintiffs sought a declaration that certain county and town laws were unconstitutional under federal law and an injunction enjoining their enforcement. In addition, the plaintiffs argued that New York State law preempted those local statutes. The Court found that “[Resolution of the constitutional issues [did] not depend upon the Court’s interpretation of the state law issue” because “[t]his Court’s holding as to whether [New York State law] preempts the town and county laws has no bearing on the resolution of the constitutional issues.” Id, at 457. It further cited Canaday v. Koch, 608 F.Supp. 1460 (S.D.N.Y. 1985), for the proposition that Pullman’s second factor “requires that the constitutional issue be logically dependent on resolution of the state law issue.” Id. at 1467.

Likewise, in Planned Parenthood of Dutchess-Ulster, Inc. v. Steinhaus, 60 F.3d 122 (2d Cir. 1995), the Second Circuit found that the district court abused its discretion in abstaining from plaintiffs claims that the defendants’ refusal to enter into a contract with the plaintiff constituted a bill of attainder and violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as various New York State laws. The Court held that Pullman abstention was not warranted because the

defendants [did] not explain[] how the federal issue presented in this case ... could be mooted by any particular interpretation of the state regulations at issue. The defendants’ alleged failure to comply with the procedural requirements set forth in N.Y. Gen. Mun. L. § 104-b and N.Y. Comp. R. and Regs, tit. 18, §§ 407.2, 407.10 has no bearing on the constitutional issue presented. Nor, finally, are we aware of a statutory construction which could cure the constitutional violations alleged by plaintiff.

Id. at 126-27 (citing Williams v. Lambert, 46 F.3d 1275, 1282 (2d Cir. 1995) (no interpretation of statute could avoid fact that plaintiff fell within class of people at whom statute was aimed)).

Here, whether or not the DRF is a valid enactment under New York State law or is preempted by other statutes does not vitiate plaintiffs’ claims that the DRF, inter alia, is a bill of attainder or violates federal procedural due process protections. See Canaday, 608 F.Supp. at 1467 (“Whether plaintiffs were denied equal protection of the laws is a question that may be decided independently of any decision as to plaintiffs’ rights under state law. It is not logically necessary to decide the state law issues first, before reaching the constitutional claim; the constitutional claim is alternative to, rather than dependent upon, the state law claims.”); see also United Fence & Guard Rail Corp., 878 F.2d at 593, 596 (holding that abstention “policies are outweighed by countervailing concerns when a federal court is asked to consider claims involving important federal rights” and that the district court abused its discretion in abstaining under Pullman from considering a federal constitutional challenge to a state law because “the federal constitutional issues presented do not depend upon resolution of the state law issues”); Donohue, 886 F.Supp.2d at 140 (“Pullman is not applicable in the instant case because resolution of the federal issue—namely, the Contracts Clause in the United State[s] Constitution—does not depend on any construction of the state laws at issue.”); Sherman v. Town of Chester, No. 01 CIV. 8884 (SAS), 2001 WL 1448613, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 15, 2001) (“The resolution of the federal question does not ‘depend’ on the resolution of ... whether the Town acted ultra vires under [New York State law] in enacting the Local Law ... or [ ] whether the Town violated Sherman’s property right under the State constitution. Instead, the federal claim turns on whether Sherman had a federally pro-tectable property right in the permit.” (internal, citations omitted)). Cf. Nov. Team, Inc. v. New York State Joint Comm’n on Pub. Ethics, 233 F.Supp.3d 366, 371 (S.D.N.Y. 2017) (“Regarding the second - factor relevant to Pullman abstention, resolution of Plaintiffs’ federal constitutional claims depends on the interpretation of the Advisory Opinion.”), appeal withdrawn, No. 17-334,2017 WL 3399691 (2d Cir. May 17, 2017); Zuffa, LLC v. Schneiderman, No. 15-CV-7624 (KMW), 2016 WL 311298, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 26, 2016) (holding that Pullman abstention was warranted because the “[plaintiffs federal constitutional vagueness challenge depended] on the interpretation of [the] state law, and the [the1 state law was] susceptible to interpretations that would resolve the statutory-uncertainty and eliminate the federal constitutional issue”), appeal withdrawn, No. 16-535 (2d Cir. June 14, 2016).

Thus, defendants’ reliance on Guthart v. Nassau County, 55 Misc.3d 827, 52 N.Y.S.3d 821 (Sup. Ct. Nassau Cty. 2017), is misplaced. (See Defs.’ Feb. 3, 2017 Letter, EOF No. 28.) There, a New York State trial court found that imposing the DRF was a proper exercise of the County’s power pursuant to New York Municipal Home Rule Law § 10 and New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § llll-b(é). Id. at 824-25 (“[T]here is nothing in the language of [New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § llll-b(e) ] itself that abrogates the existing and long-standing authority holding that a municipality may impose fees reasonably related to the cost of administering and/or enforcing its own regulations and programs.”); see also id. at 826 (“Ñor can it be said that the cited charges cannot be imposed under the doctrine of preemption. Local governments have broad authority to enact legislation that promotes the. welfare of their citizens, but cannot adopt local laws or ordinances that are inconsistent with the New York State constitution or with any general State law.”). Accordingly, the court dismissed the plaintiffs claims seeking a declaration that the DRF was invalid under New York State law and for unjust -enrichment, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation. Id. at 827-28. That determination, however, does not vitiate plaintiffs’ Section 1983 claim in..this action because, as already discussed, the validity of the DRF under New York State law does not abrogate any .potential federal constitutional violations. Simply put, a local ordinance may comport with the substantive and procedural requirements of a state constitution and state statutes but nevertheless infringe federally-protected rights. See, e.g., Nelson v. Colorado, — U.S. -, 137 S.Ct. 1249, 1256, 197 L.Ed.2d 611 (2017) (holding that a Colorado statute violated the Due Process Clause). Further, the plaintiff in Guthart— unlike plaintiffs in this case—did not assert a Section 1983 cause of action,, and in any event, “to permit state courts to rule first on whát are substantially federal constitutional claims is inconsistent with Congress’- grant of federal jurisdiction.” United Fence & Guard Rail Corp., 878 F.2d at 596 (citing, inter alia, Hawaii Hous. Auth. v. Midhiff, 467 U.S. 229, 236-37 & n.4, 104 S.Ct. 2321, 81 L.Ed.2d 186 (1984)).

Finally, to the extent that defendants argue that the language of plaintiffs’ second cause of action—which “requests] that this Court issue a declaration that the DRF is not a ‘fee’, but instead a ‘penalty’ or ‘fine[’]; or in the alternative that the DRF is a ‘mandatory surcharge’; or in the alternative that the DRF is a ‘tax’ ” (SAC ¶ 131) and cites several New York statutes and cases—obligates application of unclear state law, the Court does not conclude that such an interpretation is warranted at this juncture. For instance, as discussed further infra, determining whether a statute imposes an unconstitutional punishment for bill of attainder purposes is a question of federal law. Thus, in deciding whether the DRF is a “penalty” as opposed to a “fee,” the Court may not need to apply ambiguous New York legal authority. If, however, such a concern becomes relevant at a later stage of this case, the Court may re-visit the Pullman inquiry. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3).

Accordingly, as set forth above, the Court finds, in its discretion, that Pullman abstention—which is a limited exception to the rule that federal courts must exercise their mandatory subject matter jurisdiction, see United Fence & Guard Rail Corp., 878 F.2d at 593—is inapplicable here because resolving plaintiffs’ New York State law claims is not a condition precedent to adjudicating their federal constitutional challenges.

C. Section 1983

Having determined that there is subject matter jurisdiction over this action, the Court proceeds to the merits of plaintiffs’ Section 1983 claim and discusses each constitutional challenge seriatim.

Section 1983 provides that “[e]very person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State ... subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States ... to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured .... ” 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In order to state a claim under Section 1983, a plaintiff must allege (1) the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the- Constitution and its laws, and (2) that the deprivation was “committed by a person acting under the color of state law.” Cornejo v. Bell, 592 F.3d 121, 127 (2d Cir. 2010); see also Ahlers v. Rabinowitz, 684 F.3d 53, 60-61 (2d Cir. 2012); see also Rehberg v. Paulk, 566 U.S. 356, 132 S.Ct. 1497, 1501-02, 182 L.Ed.2d 593 (2012). Here, defendants only contest the first factor.

For the reasons set forth below, the Court holds that plaintiffs have failed to state a cause of action based on alleged bill of attainder, procedural due process, substantive due process, equal protection, unjust takings, and double jeopardy violations. However, the Court denies the motion to dismiss the excessive fines claim under Section 1983 on the ground that the DRF cannot be punitive. Because it was not raised by defendants, the Court does not address whether a $45 fine can be unconstitutionally excessive.

1. Bill of Attainder

Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution states, in relevant part, “No State shall ... pass any Bill of Attainder .... ” U.S. Const, art. I, § 10, cl. 1. “A bill of attainder is a legislative act which inflicts punishment without a judicial trial.” United States v. Lovett, 328 U.S. 303, 315, 66 S.Ct. 1073, 90 L.Ed. 1252 (1946) (quoting Cummings v. Missouri, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 277, 18 L.Ed. 356 (1866)). The Supreme Court has articulated three elements of a bill of attainder: (1) “specification of the affected persons,” (2) “punishment,” and (3) “lack of a judicial trial.” Selective Serv. Sys. v. Minn. Pub. Interest Research Grp., 468 U.S. 841, 846-47, 104 S.Ct. 3348, 82 L.Ed.2d 632 (1984).

“With respect to the existence vel non of punishment,” the Second Circuit has identified the following three factors to consider:

(1) whether the challenged statute falls within the historical meaning of legislative punishment (historical test of punishment); (2) whether the statute, “viewed in terms of the type of severity of burdens imposed, reasonably can be said to further nonpunitive legislative purposes” (functional test of punishment); and (3) whether the legislative record “evinces a [legislative] intent to punish” (motivational test of punishment).

ACORN v. United States, 618 F.3d 125, 136 (2d Cir. 2010) (quoting Selective Serv. Sys., 468 U.S. at 853, 104 S.Ct. 3348). These three factors “are the evidence that is weighed together in resolving the bill of attainder claim.” Id. (quoting Con. Edison Co. of N.Y., Inc. v. Pataki, 292 F.3d 338, 350 (2d Cir. 2002)). Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has warned that, “[h]owever expansive the prohibition against bills of attainder, it surely was not intended to serve as a variant of the equal protection doctrine, invalidating every Act of Congress or the States that legislatively burdens some persons or groups but not all other plausible individuals.” Nixon v. Adm’r of Gen. Servs., 433 U.S. 425, 471, 97 S.Ct. 2777, 53 L.Ed.2d 867 (1977) (footnotes omitted). “Forbidden legislative punishment is not involved merely because the Act imposes burdensome consequences.” Id. at 472, 97 S.Ct. 2777.

The SAC alleges that the “DRF is a legislatively mandated fine and/or penalty, being imposed by a governmental entity under the color of law, without a trial, and without discretion by a court of law.” (SAC at ¶45.) Additionally, it states that the “DRF penalty is imposed only against any individuals who have been issued a ticket by the Nassau County police or the TPVA under the authority of defendants, irrespective of guilt under the eyes of the law and/or a trial being conducted.” (Id. at ¶ 47.) Defendants argue that the SAC fails to state a claim because (1) “the ordinance does not impose punishment upon an identifiable individual”; (2) “the assessment of a relatively modest fee for the processing of the infraction does not” constitute punishment as a matter of law; and (3) “[pjlaintiffs had the ability to have a trial and obtain a disposition of not guilty.” (Defs/ Br. at 9.)

The Court agrees with defendants that the SAC does not adequately allege the specificity element. Plaintiffs are correct that for a legislative act to be a bill of attainder, it must “apply either to named individuals or to easily ascertainable members of a group ....” Lovett, 328 U.S. at 315, 66 S.Ct. 1073. However, the Supreme Court cautioned in Nixon that “the Constitution is [not] offended whenever a law imposes undesired consequences on an ind-vidual [sic] or on a class that is not defined at a proper level of generality.” 433 U.S. at 469-70, 97 S.Ct. 2777. >This is because finding that “an individual or defined group, is attainted whenever he or it is compelled to bear burdens which the individual or group dislikes” would “remove[ ] the anchor that ties the bill of attainder guarantee to realistic conceptions of classification and punishment” and “cripple the very process of legislating, for any individual or group that is made the subject of adverse legislation can co.mplain that the lawmakers could and should have defined the relevant affected class at a greater level of generality.” Id. at 47Ó, 97 S.Ct. 2777 (footnote omitted). Thus, although the SAC asserts that the DRF singles out ticketed motorists who do not receive a disposition of innocence, that is not the end of the specificity inquiry.

Instead, the Supreme Court has held that a law distinguishes a class of people for bill of attainder purposes when it speaks “in terms of conduct which, because it is past conduct, operates only as a designation of particular persons.” Communist Party of the U.S. v. Subversive-Activities Control Bd., 367 U.S. 1, 86, 81 S.Ct. 1367, 6 L.Ed.2d 625 (1961); see also Cummings, 71 U.S. at 317-18 (holding,that law was a bill of attainder because, inter alia, it singled out individuals for past involvement in the Confederacy); Ex parte Garland, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 333, 377-78, 18 L.Ed. 366 (1866) (same). In contrast, the Court has upheld laws with a prospective enforcement application even if they designate a particular group of individuals for possible sanction.

For instance, Communist Party held that the Subversive Activities Act was not a bill of a attainder because it “require[d] the registration only of organizations, which, after the date of the Act, [were] found to be under the direction, domination, or control of certain foreign powers and to operate primarily to advance certain objectives,” and thus, “[p]resent activity constitute^] an operative element to which the statute attache[d] legal consequences, not merely a point of .reference for the ascertainment of particular persons ineluctably designated by the legislature.” 367.U.S. .at 86-87, 81 S.Ct. 1357; see also id. at 87, .81 S.Ct. 1357 (holding that “[fjar from attaching to the past and ineradicable actions of an organization,” the Act’s application was “made to turn upon continuing contemporaneous fact”). Likewise, in Selective Service,System, the Supreme Court found that a federal statute was not sufficiently specific and, therefore, not a bill of attainder because it did not target, a group based on their prior behavior, but instead penalized present and future violations of that law. 468 U.S. at 847-51, 104 S.Ct. 3348; see also id. at 850-51 & n.7,104 S.Ct. 3348 (“Because it allows late registration, § 12(f) is clearly distinguishable from the provisions struck down in Cummings and Garland. Cummings and Garland dealt with absolute barriers to entry into certain professions for those who could not file the reqüired loyalty oaths; no one who had served the Confederacy could possibly comply, for his status was irreversible.”).

Conversely, the Second Circuit found in Consolidated Edison that a New York State law imposing a utility sanction for prior wrongdoing was an unconstitutional bill of attainder because of its “retrospective focus.” 292 F.3d at 349. It emphasized that “defining] past conduct as wrongdoing and then imposing] punishment on that past conduct” is an “indispensible [sic] element of a bill of attainder” because “[s]uch a bill attributes guilt to the party or parties singled out in the legislation.” Id. (citing, inter alia, Nixon, 433 U.S. at 472-73,. 97 S.Ct. 2777; Cummings, 71 U.S. at 325). Accordingly, the Second Circuit held that “[t]he' retrospective focus of Chapter 190 [was] essential to [its] determination that the statute is a bill of attainder. The power of legislatures to enact purely prospective changes to utility rates, even to the rates of a single utility, is considerably broader than their authority to act retrospectively.” Id.

Here, there are no allegations in the SAC that defendants enacted or enforced the DRF to punish past conduct. Instead, plaintiffs assert that they have sufficiently alleged the specificity element because “individuals whose tickets/citations have ‘a final disposition other than not-guilty’, which includes those motorists whose tickets have been dismissed ... are ‘easily ascertainable via the group defined by the [Legislature ” (Pis.’ Mem. of Law in Opp’n to Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss (“Pis.’ Opp’n Br.”), EOF No. 30, at 11.) However,, that is plainly not the applicable standard. As Nixon instructed, determining that a statute is a potential bill of attainder merely because it specifies an individual or a collective of individuals for sanction would “invalidat[e] every Act of Congress or the States that legislatively burdens some persons or groups but not all other plausible individuals.” 433 U.S. at 471, 97 S.Ct. 2777; see also Elgin v. U.S. Dep’t of Treasury, 641 F.3d 6, 21 (1st Cir. 2011) (Stahl, J., concurring in judgment) (“A statute meets the specification element if it identifies individuals by name or by description of prior conduct so that it operates only as a designation of particular persons. A statute of general applicability that affects individuals only upon enforcement is not a bill of attainder; it is simply an example of the quintessential legislation that the Constitution tasks Congress with creating.” (citations omitted)), affd sub nom. Elgin v. Dep’t of Treasury, 567 U.S. 1, 132 S.Ct. 2126, 183 L.Ed.2d 1 (2012).

Even construing the SAC in 'a light most favorable to plaintiffs and drawing all inferences in their favor, there are no claims that the DRF identifies individuals or a class of people for sanction based on their past acts; instead, the only plausible reading of the SAC is that the DRF is a “general enforcement ■ statute” that “turn[s] upon continuing contemporaneous fact” becausé individuals are not assessed a fee until the TPVA dismisses their ticket or citation. As a result, plaintiffs have not adequately pled specificity, see, e.g., Communist Party, 367 U.S. at 87, 81 S.Ct. 1357, and accordingly, the Court dismisses the bill of attainder aspect of their Section 1983 claim.

2. Procedural Due Process

The crux of plaintiffs’ Section 1983 claim is that the DRF violates their procedural due process rights. The SAC alleges that the “system the defendants have created through the TPVA Court for imposing the DRF is an unfair adjudication process against individuals who are simply issued a ticket by Nassau County law: enforcement officer[s]” because “[t]here is no justification for taking away plaintiffs’ and Class members’ property (money) without any charges/accusatory instruments pending, nor any findings of fact against such individuals” or proof “that any violations occurred (i.e.—innocent until proven guilty).” (SAC at ¶¶ 51-53.) Moreover, plaintiffs aver that- “by charging a DRF, the defendants have found a way to legally extort individuals whom appear before the TPVA” because if plaintiffs and others “refuse to pay such a fee they are scheduled for a trial, which is done as a penalty for refusing to pay and questioning the imposition of the DRF. Such trial may require additional days in court, and possibly even the retention of an attorney.” (Id. at ¶ 57.) Similarly, the SAC alleges that

there is a $125 non-refundable application fee to the TPVA to simply apply to vacate the DRF, as well as a $250 nonrefundable fee to appeal the application of the DRF. The faux procedures in place to simply question the DRF are more costly and expensive (and non-refundable) than the DRF itself, and therefore are substantially insufficient to protect an individual’s due process rights (i.e.—even if they win the dispute before the TPVA, they will not get their $150 fee returned).

(Id. at ¶ 66.)

To assert a violation of procedural due process rights, a plaintiff must “first identify a property right, second show that the [State] has deprived him of that right, and third show that the deprivation was effected without due process.” Local 342, Long Island Pub. Serv. Emps., UMD, ILA, AFL-CIO v. Tom Bd. of Huntington, 31 F.3d 1191, 1194 (2d Cir. 1994) (citation omitted). Further, a plaintiff must prove that he or she was deprived of “ ‘an opportunity ... granted at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner’ for [a] hearing appropriate to the nature of the case.” Boddie v. Connecticut, 401 U.S. 371, 378, 91 S.Ct. 780, 28 L.Ed.2d 113 (1971). The Supreme Court, however, distinguishes between (1) claims based on established state procedures, and (2) claims based on random, unauthorized acts by state employees. See Rivera-Powell v. N.Y.C. Bd. of Elections, 470 F.3d 458, 465 (2d Cir. 2006) (citing Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517, 532, 104 S.Ct. 3194, 82 L.Ed.2d 393 (1984); and Parratt v. Taylor, 451 U.S. 527, 537, 101 S.Ct. 1908, 68 L.Ed.2d 420 (1981), overruled on other grounds by Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 106 S.Ct. 662, 88 L.Ed.2d 662 (1986)). On the one hand, where a plaintiff alleges a deprivation pursuant to an established state procedure, “the state can' predict when it will occur and is in the position to provide a predeprivation hearing.” Id. (citing Hellenic Am. Neighborhood Action Comm. v. City of New York, 101 F.3d 877, 880 (2d Cir. 1996)). “Under those circumstances, ‘the availability of post-deprivation procedures will not, ipso facto, satisfy due process.’ ” Id. (quoting Hellenic, 101 F.3d at 880). In contrast, when a plaintiff brings a procedural due process claim “[b]ased on random unauthorized acts by state employees,” the state satisfies procedural due process requirements so long as it provides a meaningful post-deprivation remedy. Id. (citing Hellenic, 101 F.3d at 880; and Hudson, 468 U.S. at 532, 104 S.Ct. 3194).

Here, defendants concede that “the de minimus [DRF] is [ ] a protected property interest for the procedural due process discussion.” (Defs.’ Br. at 13.) Nevertheless, they contend that an adequate remedial process exists. At the second step of the above test, the Court must balance the following factors in evaluating the adequacy of a challenged procedure:

(1) the private interest that will be affected by the official action; (2) the risk of an erroneous deprivation of such interest through the procedures used, and the probable value, if any, of additional or substitute procedural safeguards; and (3) the Government’s interest, including the function involved and the fiscal and administrative burdens that the additional or substitute procedural requirement would entail.

Nat’l Org. for Women v. Pataki, 261 F.3d 166, 167-68 (2d Cir. 2001) (quoting Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 335, 96 S.Ct. 893, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976)).

Defendants argue that plaintiffs’ procedural due process claim fails because “neither of the named plaintiffs claims to have pursued their remedies under the law,” since they elected not to proceed to trial on their underlying tickets or citations. (Defs.’ Br. at 13-14.) Further, defendants argue that, “[a]s a general rule, there can be no procedural due process violation when the state provides apparently adequate procedural remedies and the plaintiff has not availed himself of those remedies.” (Id. at 14 (citation omitted).) The Court agrees that, based on the allegations in the SAC, adequate procedures exists to safeguard plaintiffs’ property rights.

First, the Court finds that the “private interest” at stake is minimal. A $45 fee does not involve substantial property rights. See, e.g., Krieger v. City of Rochester, 42 Misc.3d 753, 978 N.Y.S.2d 588, 601 (Sup. Ct. Monroe Cty. 2013) (holding on a procedural due process challenge to red-light traffic ticket laws that “the modest $50 penalty was not so substantial as to infringe upon a person’s private property rights”); cf. Pringle v. Wolfe, 88 N.Y.2d 426, 431, 646 N.Y.S.2d 82, 668 N.E.2d 1376 (1996) (“It is well established that a driver’s license is a subst