Federal Circuits, 6th Cir. (September 26, 1974)
Docket number: 73-1862,73-1863
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US Code - Title 28: Judiciary and Judicial Procedure - 28 USC 1331 - Sec. 1331. Federal question
US Code - Title 42: The Public Health and Welfare - 42 USC 3608 - Sec. 3608. Administration
U.S. Supreme Court - East Tex. Motor Freight System, Inc. v. Rodriguez, 431 U.S. 395 (1977)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Cir. - Case & Company, Inc., Individually and on Behalf of those Who At the Close of Trading on January 18, 1973 Held Future Contracts To Sell January 1973 Soybeans on the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago Et Al., Defendants-Appellees., 523 F.2d 355 (7th Cir. 1975) Inc., Individually and on Behalf of those Who At the Close of Trading on January 18, 1973 Held Future Contracts To Sell January 1973 Soybeans on the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago Et Al., Defendants-Appellees.
U.S. Supreme Court - Cannon v. University of Chicago, 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
Anthony J. Steinmeyer, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for federal defendants-appellants; Ralph B. Guy, Jr., U.S. Atty., Detroit, Mich., Irving Jaffe, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., Robert E. Kopp, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., on brief.
Thomas C. Mayer, Mayer & Mayer, Detroit, Mich., for municipal defendants-appellants; Edmund E. Torcellini City Atty., City of Hamtramck, James F. Nowicki, Asst. City Atty., Hamtramck, Mich., on brief.John M. Ferren, Hogan & Hartson, Washington, D.C., for plaintiffs-appellees; Allen R. Snyder, Hogan & Hartson, Washington, D.C., Michael J. Barnhart, Center of Urban Law and Housing, Detroit, Mich., on brief.Before LIVELY and ENGEL, Circuit Judges, and CECIL, Senior Circuit Judge.LIVELY, Circuit Judge.This civil rights action is concerned with the urban renewal activities of the City of Hamtramck, Michigan, which is surrounded by the City of Detroit on three sides and the City of Highland Park on the fourth, and contains slightly more than two square miles of area. It is located in a highly industrialized area with a population largely of Polish extraction. The non-white population of the City never exceeded 15 percent during the period involved in this litigation and this percentage decreased between 1960 and the trial of this action. Most of the Negro residents of Hamtramck have lived in several areas of concentration near the boundaries of the City, although some Negroes have lived at various other places throughout the City. The schools have been integrated at all times.When the City of Hamtramck determined to undertake urban renewal, it obtained federal financing through the predecessor of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which partially paid for a study and the development of a master plan. In 1959 the Vilican-Lehman (V-L) report was received by the City and adopted as its master plan of urban renewal. At this time the population of Hamtramck was approximately 37,000 and one of the basic recommendations of the V-L report was that the City engage in a planned program of population loss. By 1970 the population of Hamtramck had declined to approximately 26,400.The first urban renewal program undertaken by the City after adoption of the master plan is referred to as the Smith-Clay Project which affected an area in the southwestern corner of the City. This was an industrialization project and involved the clearance of residences in 1962 and 1963. The program was 'closed out' by HUD in 1965. A Chrysler Corporation plant has expanded into this area, replacing a blighted residential neighborhood. In about 1966 a portion of Interstate Highway 75, referred to locally as the Chrysler Expressway, was constructed on a diagonal course through the northwest corner of Hamtramck. This location for the expressway was recommended by the V-L report and the State of Michigan agreed, although two other locations had first been recommended by federal and state highway authorities. The placement of the expressway at its present location resulted in the clearance during the early 1960's of a large number of sub-standard houses from that portion of the City. It is undenied that both white and Negro residents were displaced by these two projects, with a majority of those being displaced, at least in the Smith-Clay area, being Negro.In the mid 1960's two other industrialization projects were announced by the City. One of these is referred to as Denton-Miller and the other as Grand Haven. Denton-Miller is located in the southeast portion of the City near the Smith-Clay area, and Grand Haven consists of the area in the extreme northwest corner of the City which was cut off from the rest of the City by construction of the Chrysler Expressway. Clearance for these projects has not yet begun, though property owners in the areas have been advised that urban renewal is scheduled and it has been recommended that they not improve their property. At the time of the district court proceedings, HUD had neither approved nor provided financing for either Denton-Miller or Grand Haven.In 1965 the City undertook its only urban renewal project which would result in a renewed residential area. This is known as the Wyandotte Project and originally covered 10 acres in the south central portion of the City. By amendments this project has been changed so that, as finally approved, it involves the renewal of 40 acres rather than 10. Clearance for this project was begun in 1965 and the first structures which were removed were occupied by Negroes. Many white as well as Negro residents are affected by the amended project. The failure of the amended Wyandotte plans to provide suitable replacement housing to ease the shortage of available residences for low and moderate income families affected by urban renewal led to complaints which were directed first to the City and later to HUD. On April 24, 1967 a detailed complaint was sent to HUD on behalf of the South End Improvement Association (SEIA) and other persons affected by urban renewal in Hamtramck. The complaint was made 'with particular respect to the pending proposal for the amended Wyandotte Area Renewal Project (Mich.R-31).' SEIA was identified as an unincorporated association composed of residents of the Denton-Miller area. It was pointed out that the plans announced for the Denton-Miller area would result in removal of residential units and their replacement with a new school site and an area for industrial expansion. The letter asserted that SEIA 'seeks to have the Wyandotte Proposal amended so as to include the construction of a substantial amount of low and middle income housing which will ease the housing shortage for low and moderate income families affected by urban renewal.' It also charged that there had been a lack of compliance with federal and Michigan law in the matter of building low and moderate cost housing in the Wyandotte Project and pointed out that there was not adequate standard housing in Hamtramck to relocate persons 'to be displaced' by urban renewal. There followed a recitation of experiences of former residents of the Wyandotte area who had been displaced by the project and who had failed to receive assistance from the City in finding new housing. Concern was expressed that urban renewal as carried out by the City of Hamtramck had become a program of 'Negro removal.' It was stated that the overall effect of urban renewal had been and would be to achieve widespread Negro removal unless low-cost housing were planned for the Wyandotte Project and elsewhere to mitigate such a trend. Approval by HUD of the amended Wyandotte plan after investigation of this administrative complaint led to the filing of the present action.The complaint, which was filed in the district court on November 20, 1968, contains five counts. The plaintiffs are SEIA and four individuals who were displaced by the original Wyandotte Project. The complaint seeks redress for denial of rights guaranteed by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and various civil rights laws and statutes of the United States and the State of Michigan pertaining to housing. It asserts that the plaintiffs are proceeding in a class action pursuant to Rule 23(a) and (b) (2), Fed.R. Civ.P., on behalf of the plaintiffs and others similarly situated. It is stated that SEIA represents a class composed of its members and all other Negroes living in areas affected by future urban renewal projects in the City of Hamtramck and that the four individual plaintiffs represent a class composed of Negroes who have been affected by urban renewal projects which have already been carried out by the City. It is alleged that the plaintiffs and those whom they represent will suffer irreparable injury if the City is not required to build substantial amounts of low and moderate priced public housing in the amended Wyandotte area. The complaint charges that the City has arbitrarily and capriciously refused to provide such housing and that this has resulted in the denial to the plaintiffs and the classes they represent of due process and equal protection of the laws.Count I of the complaint seeks redress for denial of rights guaranteed by 42 U.S.C. 1981, 1982 and 1983. Count II seeks redress under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000d. In Count II it is alleged that the administrative complaint which was made to HUD, and its investigation of the complaint, disclosed to that agency much evidence in support of the claim that the City of Hamtramck was engaged in 'Negro removal' and had failed to provide for the needs of the persons displaced by the City's urban renewal program. Count III refers to the Housing Act of 1949 and specifically the requirement of 42 U.S.C. 1455(c) that the City provide decent, safe, sanitary dwelling for persons displaced or to be displaced from an urban renewal area and to provide a substantial number of units of standard housing in low and moderate cost ranges to serve the poor and disadvantaged of the City. It is alleged that the City has no meaningful plan of relocation for these persons. Counts IV and V seek enforcement of certain Michigan statutes related to urban renewal and housing and the court is requested to consider these counts under its pendent jurisdiction.The prayer for relief in each of the five counts is for a declaratory judgment holding that the overall scheme of urban renewal of the City of Hamtramck violates rights guaranteed to the plaintiffs and those whom they represent and an injunction from proceeding further with urban renewal projects, particularly the amended Wyandotte Project until provision is made in the Wyandotte area for substantial amounts of low and moderate cost housing to serve those persons who have been and will be displaced by the various urban renewal projects. On January 9, 1970 plaintiffs filed an amended complaint containing a new Count VI in which it is alleged that each of the acts of the various defendants constituted an intentional denial of rights granted to plaintiffs by various constitutional and statutory provisions set forth in the original complaint.The district court issued a number of opinions and orders in its extended consideration of this case. On March 7, 1969 it enjoined the City from proceeding with any sale or redevelopment of the property acquired through the Wyandotte Project, based on a finding that 'an inadequate amount of low income housing is available within the community to meet the eventual needs of those citizens of Hamtramck to be displaced.' The court further found that 'in matters of relocation, especially as they pertained to the first class of plaintiffs at the time of their displacement, defendant City has not complied fully with the contractual provisions for relocation to which they are bound.' The court also found that HUD had failed to make sufficient showing that its decision to take no affirmative action regarding the administrative complaints which had been made to it was reasonable. Reference to the 'first class of plaintiffs' in the order is based on a preliminary statement by the court in this same opinion that two distinct classes of Negroes are represented in the suit: (1) those displaced some time in 1965 and 1966 by the 'Wyandotte Area Renewal Project' and some of whom have relocated outside of the Hamtramck community, and (2) SEIA, the members of which are residents of the area scheduled for renewal in the near future. This order concluded with the court's holding that it would be premature to issue an injunction at that time resulting from the claim of the second class represented in the suit, that is, those living in areas to be affected by future renewal projects.On November 22, 1971 the court issued another memorandum opinion and order, which is reported at 335 F.Supp. 16, and this order contains the statement that the plaintiffs 'properly bring this action as a class under F.R. Civ.P. 23(b) (2) representing those Black citizens of the City of Hamtramck who have been or are scheduled to be displaced or substantially affected by urban renewal projects which have been previously implemented or which are presently planned by the defendant City.' This order was entered after approximately three weeks of hearings and contained findings that the master plan resulted in a disproportionate number of black citizens being displaced by the renewal activities of the City and that the City, by way of the Smith-Clay Project, the Chrysler Expressway and the Wyandotte Project had 'successfully implemented its planned population loss of Black citizens.' The court further found that the same result would occur from implementation of the Denton-Miller and Grand Haven projects and that the City had actively encouraged deterioration of property in those areas by, among other activities, strictly enforcing building code regulations. It also found that the housing plan for the Wyandotte area was not intended to be responsive to the needs of black persons who had been and were being displaced by governmental activities and that residences for senior citizens and single-family residences planned for construction in the area would have sale prices far above those possible for the displaced black citizens. The court found that the federal defendants (HUD, et al.) had been involved in the 'Negro removal' activities of the City by failing to insist upon adequate relocation of displaced black persons. The federal defendants were specifically held to have violated the law by failing to insist that the amended Wyandotte Project contain plans for housing within the income capabilities of the black citizens of the City and those persons dislocated by the Smith-Clay Project, the Chrysler Expressway Project, and to be displaced by the Denton-Miller Project and the Grand Haven Project. In its order, the court directed the parties to present programs within 90 days which would be designed to remedy the wrongs suffered by virtue of the illegal acts of which it found the defendants guilty.1On May 1, 1972 the court entered an order in which it found that the defendants had failed to prepare a proposal in cooperation with the plaintiffs as directed and that the plaintiffs did not have resources with which to prepare such a program. The court ordered that the defendants make $25,000 available to pay a named professional for services in preparing a new plan for the Wyandotte Renewal Project in compliance with the previous court order. The order also provided for payment of $4,000 by the defendants to another professional planner and enjoined the municipal defendants 'from contacting, surveying or attempting to contact and survey persons displaced or to be displaced by governmental activities in Hamtramck, until such time as the court approves a specific method for so doing or until all parties to this action approve of a specific method.' Subsequent orders provided for the payment by the defendants of an additional sum in excess of $12,000 to the planners employed by the plaintiffs.The court entered its final order, which is reported at 357 F.Supp. 925, on March 30, 1973. The order contained additional findings of fact to the effect that the past acts of the defendants had intentionally displaced at least 467 to 556 housing units occupied by black families and individuals and that the defendants would soon be responsible for displacing an additional 497 to 508 housing units for which replacement housing must be found. The court found that there was little private housing available in Hamtramck and few areas where housing could be constructed. It then directed the defendants to design and implement an amended plan for the Wyandotte area providing for maximum residential use and adequate relocation housing for displaced persons from Smith-Clay, Chrysler Expressway, Wyandotte, Denton-Miller and Grand Haven. It directed that 430 residential units be constructed in Wyandotte and specified the 'mix' as between single family and multi-family residences. It also directed that all existing guidelines give way to maximum use of Wyandotte for replacement housing for persons displaced by urban renewal activities of the City and directed that all conflicting zoning provisions of the City be held inapplicable to the Wyandotte area. The court further directed that the defendants design and implement a plan for a seven-acre tract in the extreme northeast corner of the City (the Alpena area) with at least four acres of it to be developed for construction of 100 residential units.The order contained detailed instructions with respect to the duty of present owners of residences in Hamtramck in the event they should wish to rent or buy in the Wyandotte or Alpena area and the duty of the City to bid on all houses in Hamtramck offered for sale under the provisions of the order. Criteria of priorities for new and acquired housing were set forth and the City was directed to make a thorough study and review of the residential potential of the Grand Haven area and the status quo was to be preserved by an injunction against the City from enforcing residential code provisions in that area unless replacement residences were provided for those affected. The City was further enjoined from rezoning the area for industrial purposes or granting variances, issuing building permits for nonconforming uses or granting demolition permits pending the completion of the new study. The City was directed to rezone R-2 (two family dwellings) certain designated areas and was enjoined from any activities which will eliminate housing or facilitate the elimination of housing unless corresponding numbers of new units are provided within the City. The order further required the City to amend its open housing ordinance in order to break down the pervasive pattern of private discrimination found by the court and specified provisions which would be deemed acceptable in amending this ordinance. The defendants were further directed to jointly provide moving expenses and relocation payments for those displaced by urban renewal activities and to provide housing in the metropolitan Detroit area for displaced persons not able to obtain it in Hamtramck. All defendants have appealed from the orders of November 22, 1971, May 1, 1972, February 27, 1973 and March 30, 1973.The Class ActionThe Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that there be an early certification of a class action. F.R.Civ.P. 23(c)(1) provides: (1) As soon as practicable after the commencement of an action brought as a class action, the court shall determine by order whether it is to be so maintained. An order under this subdivision may be conditional, and may be altered or amended before the decision on the merits.The language of this provision is mandatory and the court has a duty to certify whether requested to do so or not. 3B J. Moore, Federal Practice, para. 23.50 at 23-1001; Jackson v. Cutter Laboratories, Inc., 338 F.Supp. 882, 886 (E.D.Tenn.1970). The district court did not enter a separate order certifying the class action in this case. However, in the order of March 7, 1969 granting a temporary injunction against further activity in the Wyandotte area the district court stated that two distinct classes were represented in the suit and described those as being, first, residents displaced by the Wyandotte Project and second, SEIA, whose members were residents of areas in Hamtramck scheduled for renewal in the near future. The order entered November 22, 1971 after three weeks of hearings, contained a statement that the plaintiffs had brought a class action 'representing Black citizens who have been or are scheduled to be displaced or substantially affected by urban renewal projects previously implemented or presently planned.' This appears to be an attempt to alter or amend the original statement which limited class representation to those removed by the Wyandotte Project and to be removed by Grand Haven and Denton-Miller.The defendants point out that none of the plaintiffs in the action was displaced by Smith-Clay or the Chrysler Expressway Project. When persons who had been displaced by these earlier projects were presented as witnesses for the plaintiffs the defendants objected. This testimony was admitted 'subject to objection.' Such evidence could have been admitted for the purpose of showing past practices or a continuing method of operation with respect to the issue of intent rather than being the basis for relief to those affected by past acts. Although Smith-Clay and the Chrysler Expressway are mentioned in the complaint, the thrust of that pleading is that relief is sought for those displaced by the Wyandotte Project and to be displaced by Denton-Miller and Grand Haven. The complaint contains no allegation of discrimination in the enforcement of the building code of the City of Hamtramck and yet the final decree deals extensively with such enforcement.On appeal the defendants state that they were not given proper notice that relief was being sought by the plaintiffs for alleged discrimination with respect to the Smith-Clay Project and the Chrysler Expressway or building code enforcement. More importantly, they claim none of the plaintiffs could properly represent those displaced in the earlier projects because they were not representatives of the class affected by those projects.The plaintiffs point out that Rule 23 does not require identical conditions with respect to all members of the class if the four requirements of Rule 23(a) are fulfilled. They maintain that the plaintiffs in this action can adequately represent all black citizens displaced in the past or to be displaced from Hamtramck by its urban renewal program and that the other requirements of the rule are met. The benefit of class action treatment cannot be destroyed by dividing the class into subclasses and requiring that each sub-class be separately represented. The facts of this case, however, point out the necessity for a strict adherence to the provisions of Rule 23(c)(1). If the plaintiffs, as initiators of the class action, had moved for an early certification, the confusion which now exists could have been avoided. When the court gave its first indication of a certification in its opinion and order of March 7, 1969, the plaintiffs should have requested a clarification if the court's delineation of the classes was too narrow. They did not do so, however, and the action proceeded with the defendants entitled to assume that the only two classes represented were those displaced by the Wyandotte Project and those to be displaced by urban renewal projects which were planned for the future. The answer of HUD had denied that the plaintiffs represented the purported class and had stated that there were not common questions of law and fact and that the claims of the representatives were not typical of the class.A large portion of the relief granted in the final decree was for the benefit of persons, largely unidentified, who were displaced by the Smith-Clay and Chrysler Expressway programs. Both the City and federal defendants maintain that the equitable defense of laches applied to claims of persons displaced long before this action was filed by these two programs which were completed several years before the litigation began. Since this defense would not have been applicable to the Wyandotte, Grand Haven or Denton-Miller claims of displacement, it is the position of the defendants that persons displaced and to be displaced by these later projects could not properly represent those persons displaced by the earlier ones since different legal issues were involved. The plaintiffs maintain that the defense of laches should have been pled affirmatively under Rule 8(c) and that under Rule 12 it was waived by the defendants. However, an examination of the complaint leads us to the conclusion that the defendants would not have been required to raise the issue of laches solely on the basis of the allegations of the complaint. It is not at all clear from the complaint that the plaintiffs were seeking any relief for persons displaced as a result of Smith-Clay and the Chrysler Expressway. These appear more properly to have been referred to in the complaint as a basis for showing a continuing policy of discrimination against low-income Negroes rather than as a basis for specific relief. The issue of laches was raised at the very beginning of the trial in the opening statement of the City, and objections on this ground were acknowledged by the trial judge. It is really unimportant whether the defendants could have succeeded on the issue of laches. The point is that the existence of this defense as to certain members of the purported class would have required separate representation for that distinct class since there was not commonality of questions of law and fact as to all parties for whom the plaintiffs eventually sought and obtained relief.The defendants also argue that Grand Haven residents are not properly represented by the plaintiffs since no one living in that community is a plaintiff and SEIA strictly consists only of residents of Denton-Miller. However, the questions of law and fact relating to Denton-Miller and Grand haven appear to be identical and the language of the complaint broadly seeks relief for all those to be displaced by proposed urban renewal projects of the future. Washington v. Lee, 263 F.Supp. 327, 330 (M.D.Ala.1966), aff'd.,Try vLex for FREE for 3 days
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