McBride

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 Sean McBride, et al., No. 2:24-cv-01394-KJM-AC Plaintiffs, ORDER v. Kristina Lawson, 1S Defendant. 16 Plaintiffs Dr. Sean McBride, M.D., and G. Shellye Horowitz have brought this 18 constitutional challenge against a California law requiring medical doctors obtain California medical licenses before treating patients in California, even if the treatment is provided over the phone or in a video call. As explained in this order, plaintiffs’ allegations do not make out plausible claims, so the complaint is dismissed with leave to amend in part. 22 I. BACKGROUND Anyone who practices medicine in California without a medical license faces criminal 24 liability, which could mean as much as a year in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. See Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 2052(a). That is true as well for doctors with licenses from other states. If they 26 treat patients who are in…