Baum v. Espy, 94-3081

Citation48 F.3d 1219
Decision Date28 February 1995
Docket NumberNo. 94-3081,94-3081
PartiesNOTICE: Sixth Circuit Rule 24(c) states that citation of unpublished dispositions is disfavored except for establishing res judicata, estoppel, or the law of the case and requires service of copies of cited unpublished dispositions of the Sixth Circuit. Robin BAUM, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; Emma Detillion; and Sheila Lawson, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Mike ESPY, Secretary of Department of Agriculture; Arnold R. Tompkins, Director, Ohio Department of Human Resources; and John J. Witkosky, Administrator, Portage County Department of Human Resources, Defendants-Appellees.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit)

Before: MILBURN and NORRIS, Circuit Judges, and MILES, * District Judge.

PER CURIAM.

Plaintiffs Robin Baum, Emma Detillion, and Sheila Lawson appeal the district court's grant of the motion for summary judgment filed by defendants Mike Espy, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture; Arnold R. Tompkins, Director of the Ohio Department of Human Services; and John J. Witkosky, Administrator of the Portage County Department of Human Services. In this action, plaintiffs challenged defendants' inclusion of utility reimbursement payments as income in determining the benefits to which plaintiffs are entitled under the Food Stamp Act.

On appeal, the issues are (1) whether defendants' inclusion of utility reimbursement payments made to plaintiffs violates the reimbursement exclusion of the Food Stamp Act, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 2014(d)(5); (2) whether defendant Espy's inclusion of utility reimbursement payments as income under the Food Stamp Act violates his obligation under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1441 to exercise his powers consistently with the provisions of the Brooke Amendment, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437; and (3) whether defendants' inclusion of utility reimbursement payments in calculating plaintiffs' food stamp benefits violates plaintiffs' rights under the equal protection guarantees of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. However, also before this court is defendants' motion to dismiss this appeal as moot as a result of a change in government policy regarding the inclusion of utility reimbursement payments in income calculations for allocation of food stamp benefits. Upon examination, this panel agrees that oral argument is not needed. Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34(a); Rule 9(a), Rules of the Sixth Circuit. Furthermore, we conclude that plaintiffs' appeal is moot, grant defendants' motion to dismiss this appeal, and vacate the judgment of the district court.

The facts in this case were fully set forth in our prior opinion in Baum v. Madigan, 979 F.2d 438 (6th Cir.1992), and will not be repeated here. In short, plaintiffs are public housing tenants in Portage and Pike counties in Ohio. Plaintiffs purchase their utility services directly from suppliers and are thus entitled to a utility allowance. Plaintiffs receive monthly reimbursement checks because their rent, set according to the formula provided in the Brooke Amendment, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437, is less than the amount of their monthly utility allowance. Plaintiffs are also food stamp recipients. At the time plaintiffs instituted this action, the Secretary of Agriculture included the amount of plaintiffs' utility reimbursements as income in determining the allotment of food stamps to which plaintiffs were entitled. Plaintiffs argued that this practice violated several statutory and constitutional provisions.

In August 1994, the Department of Agriculture, pursuant to Executive Order 12866, published interim regulations that reversed the department's existing policy and excluded utility reimbursements from the definition of income to be used in determining food stamp allotments. 7 C.F.R. Secs. 272.1(g)(134), 273.9, 273.10(d)(1)(i). The new interim regulations accomplish the result plaintiffs have sought in this litigation. Thus, plaintiffs' utility reimbursements are no longer considered income in calculating food stamp benefits, and plaintiffs' food stamp allotments are no longer to be reduced due to the inclusion of these utility reimbursements as income. A decision by this court in plaintiffs' favor would accomplish nothing more than the interim regulations already accomplish, and a ruling adverse to plaintiffs would have no impact in view of the new regulations. Therefore, we conclude this appeal is moot.

Mootness is a threshold jurisdictional issue. WJW-TV, Inc. v. City of Cleveland, 878 F.2d 906, 909 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 819 (1989); Deakins v. Monaghan, 484 U.S. 193, 199 (1988). Federal courts lack jurisdiction to " 'decide questions rendered moot by reason of intervening events.' " Connaire, Inc. v. Secretary of U.S. Dep't. of Transp., 887 F.2d 723, 725 (6th Cir.1989) (quoting Westmoreland v. National Transp. Safety Bd., 833 F.2d 1461, 1462 (11th Cir.1987)). "If a party has already obtained all the relief sought on appeal, the case is moot and must be dismissed." Lowary v. Lexington Local Bd. of Educ., 854 F.2d 131, 133 (6th Cir.1988) (citing DeFunis v. Odegaard, 416 U.S. 312, 316-17 (1974)). When a claim becomes moot pending review by this court, the usual remedy is to vacate the decision of the district court with directions to that court to dismiss the relevant portions of the plaintiff's complaint. Deakins, 484...

To continue reading

Request your trial
1 cases
  • In re Young
    • United States
    • U.S. Bankruptcy Court — Eastern District of Tennessee
    • August 23, 1996
    ... ... Baum v. Madigan, 979 F.2d 438, 441 (6th Cir.1992), on remand, Baum v. Espy, 840 F.Supp. 493 (N.D.Ohio 1993), judgment vacated and appeal dismissed, ... ...

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT