Groten

Stuart Groten appeals the district court’s dismissal of his amended complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Groten brought his complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 12 U.S.C. § 3351 against the State of California and state officials in the Office of Real Estate Appraisers. Groten alleges that the appellees violated his constitutional rights when they denied him the opportunity to apply for a temporary real estate appraiser’s license and a reciprocal real estate appraiser’s license and delayed the issuance of his permanent license. The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 . We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we review the district court’s decision de novo. 1 We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

I. Facts and Procedural History

Groten has been a real estate appraiser since 1964 and has licenses in Montana, Connecticut, and Washington. On June 1, 1997, Groten contacted the appellees for the purpose of applying for a temporary license under 12 U.S.C. § 3351 (a) and for a reciprocal license under 12 U-S.C. § 3351(b), California Code of Regulations Section 3569, and California Business and Professions…