Cancer survivor’s ‘FCANCER’ license plate revoked by the DMV. Now she’s suing
A breast cancer survivor’s “FCANCER” vanity license plate was revoked by the DMV months after it was delivered to her home — and her lawsuit against Delaware officials will proceed, a federal judge has decided.
Kari Overington, who survived an aggressive form of breast cancer, was told her license plate does not represent Delaware “in a positive manner” and “contains a perceived profanity” by the manager of the Dover DMV and the state’s Department of Transportation secretary, court documents show.
A judge denied a request to dismiss Overington’s lawsuit, which was filed against the DMV manager, the state’s DMV director and the state DOT secretary, on Aug. 1, according to the judge’s order.
“I am glad the judge ruled in my favor and I am ready for my day in court,” Overington, who is from Milton, told McClatchy News in a statement.
She is arguing that the government officials have violated her First Amendment rights by restricting her speech in recalling the “FCANCER” license plate, according to a complaint filed in August 2021.
“While we appreciate (Overington’s) desire to show an anti-cancer message, the fact remains that it violates our policy,” a statement from George Lees, who is the legal counsel for the state DOT, and Charles McLeod, the director of community relations for the state DOT, told McClatchy News in a statement.
“Any request that contains obscenity, vulgarity, profanity, hate speech, or fighting words will be denied,” the statement said.
Overington received her license plate in the mail after completing an approval process and paying for it at the Dover DMV office in January 2021, the complaint said.
Months later in June 2021, Overington was told her license plate was getting revoked in a letter sent by the Dover DMV manager that said “any plate considered offensive in nature will be denied or recalled if issued in error,” according to court documents.
A month later, the Delaware DOT secretary told Overington the license plate “contains a perceived profanity, the abbreviation for the word ‘f---,’ and for that reason, it must be recalled” in an email, the complaint shows.
Overington then received a third correspondence, reiterating the recall of her license plate, from the state DMV director, stating the word was “not appropriate” for a license plate, according to the complaint.
She maintains that “this statement is false, my vanity plate does not contain the word . . . my vanity plate says ‘FCANCER’” in the complaint.
Additionally, she wrote in the complaint that the DMV has based its decision to revoke her license plate on “their perception” of its content, asserting it is subjective.
“There are many other acceptable vanity plates on vehicles right now than in my own subjective opinion could be considered not appropriate.”
In letting Overington’s lawsuit proceed, the judge wrote that she “has raised a significant constitutional issue.”
Lees and McLeod told McClatchy News “The DMV intends to defend its position and will evaluate its options regarding vanity plates going forward.”
Overington’s lawsuit seeks to have her license plate reinstated by the Delaware DMV and to have relief granted as deemed justified in court, according to the complaint.
Milton is roughly 30 miles south of Dover.
This story was originally published August 3, 2022 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Cancer survivor’s ‘FCANCER’ license plate revoked by the DMV. Now she’s suing."
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