Carolyn Crouthamel; v. Walla Walla Public Schools, a Washington public school district;

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
CAROLYN CROUTHAMEL; et al.,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
WALLA WALLA PUBLIC SCHOOLS, a
Washington public school district; et al.,
Defendants-Appellees,
------------------------------
ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
Intervenor-Appellee.
No. 21-35387
D.C. No. 4:20-cv-05076-RMP
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Washington
Rosanna Malouf Peterson, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted October 19, 2023**
San Francisco, California
FILED
OCT 23 2023
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

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Before: W. FLETCHER, NGUYEN, and R. NELSON, Circuit Judges.
Appellants Crouthamel, McCallister, and Baker (“Appellants”) are employees
of Walla Walla Public Schools, Evergreen Public School District, and Kent Public
School District, respectively (the “Districts”). Each appellant voluntarily chose to
become a member of SEIU 1948 (“the Union”) and a signed union membership and
a deduction authorization agreement shortly after being hired. Appellants bring
several federal claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Union, the Districts, and the
Districts’ superintendents (“Superintendents”), and two state-law claims for breach
of contract and unjust enrichment. We may affirm the district court’s order granting
summary judgment on any basis fairly supported by the record. United States ex rel.
Kelly v. Serco, Inc., 846 F.3d 325, 330 (9th Cir. 2017) (internal quotation marks,
citation omitted). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.
1. The § 1983 claims brought against the Union fail for lack of state action.
See Belgau v. Inslee, 975 F.3d 940, 950 (9th Cir. 2020); Wright v. Serv. Emps. Int’l
Union Loc. 503, 48 F.4th 1112, 1122-25 (9th Cir. 2022).
2. The damages claims brought against the Districts fail because local
governments cannot be liable under § 1983 for following state law. See Connick v.
Thompson, 563 U.S. 51, 60 (2011) (recognizing that “under § 1983, local
governments are responsible for ‘their own illegal acts.’” (emphasis in original)
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(internal citation omitted)); Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs. of City of New York, 436
U.S. 658, 694 (1978). Here, the Districts were following Washington state law.
Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 41.56.110(1), (2)(c), (4) (West 2019). The § 1983 damages
claims brought against the Superintendents “in their official capacity” fail for the
same reason.
3. Appellants lack standing to seek injunctive relief to prevent future
deductions. Appellants’ dues deductions have already stopped, and there is no basis
for finding a “sufficiently real” risk of future injury. See Ochoa v. Public Consulting
Grp., Inc., 48 F.4th 1102, 1107 (9th Cir. 2022).
4. Because Appellants’ federal claims fail, the district court properly declined
to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Appellants’ state law claims. See 28 U.S.C.
§1367(c)(3).
AFFIRMED.
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