Gilbertson

May Younger 1 abstention apply in an action for damages pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that relates to a pending state proceeding, and if so, should the action be dismissed or stayed?

This is the question that prompted us to go en banc in Gilbertson v. Albright, 350 F.3d 1030 (9th Cir.2003), and American Consumer Publishing Ass’n, Inc. v. Margosian, 349 F.3d 1122 (9th Cir.2003). Both opinions have been vacated, and Margo-sian has since settled.

In Gilbertson , the federal plaintiff, Paul Douglas Gilbertson, was a land surveyor whose Oregon license to survey was revoked and not reinstated by the State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying (the Board). Gilbertson appealed both decisions to the Oregon Court of Appeals. Meanwhile, Gilbertson filed this action seeking money damages from members of the Board for violating his First Amendment rights, violating his right to due process, and denying him equal protection of the laws. The district court dismissed the action on the basis of Younger abstention.

We conclude that Younger principles apply to actions at law as well as for injunctive or declaratory relief because a determination that the federal plaintiffs…