679 F.2d 168 (9th Cir. 1982), 81-3555, Collins v. Thompson

• Docket Number: 81-3555.
• Date: 08 June 1982
• Citation: 679 F.2d 168
• Parties: Bishop COLLINS, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Gerald THOMPSON, et al., Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 168

679 F.2d 168 (9th Cir. 1982)

Bishop COLLINS, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees,

v.

Gerald THOMPSON, et al., Defendants-Appellants.

No. 81-3555.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

June 8, 1982

Argued and Submitted April 8, 1982.

Page 169

Michael Madden, Asst. Atty. Gen., Olympia, Wash., for defendants-appellants.

Robert Adelman, Seattle, Wash., argued, for plaintiffs-appellees; John Midgley, Seattle, Wash., on brief.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Before HUG, SKOPIL, and FLETCHER, Circuit Judges.

SKOPIL, Circuit Judge:

The state appeals from the district court's order approving a consent decree regarding the reduction of inmate population at Washington State Reformatory. We affirm.

I.

The original complaint was filed in early 1978 by prisoners at the Washington State Reformatory ("the Reformatory"), as a class action on behalf of all present and future Reformatory inmates, alleging that the conditions of their confinement were unconstitutional. After discovery had been completed, a trial date was set for January 15, 1981. On January 13, 1981 the parties gave notice of a proposed settlement, and the trial date was stricken. On January 19, 1981 a proposed consent decree was submitted by the state for provisional approval, and an order providing for notice of the settlement to the class and allowing objections was issued. The proposed consent decree provided for eventual reduction of the Reformatory's population to the single cell capacity of 656. On February 6, 1981 the state discovered an error in the consent decree. The typed body of the consent decree listed the following dates for reduction of the Reformatory's population:

Date Population March 1, 1981 865 July 1, 1981 850 October 1, 1981 790 December 1, 1981 735 July 1, 1983 656 However, the state's adult corrections master plan, which was attached to and incorporated by reference into the Decree, provided that the Reformatory's population reduction to 865 would be accomplished by April 1, 1981, rather than March 1, 1981. On February 13, 1981 the state submitted a revised consent decree listing April 1, 1981 as the date for reduction to 865. On February 26, 1981 the prisoners moved for approval of the consent decree with the March 1, 1981 date intact, or in the alternative for issuance of an amended notice to class reflecting the modification to the April 1 date. The state moved for modification of the decree to incorporate the April 1 date.

On March 4, the magistrate denied both the state's and the prisoners' motions, finding there had been no meeting of the minds with respect to a key term of the agreement and that therefore no contract had been formed. The prisoners appealed the magistrate's decision to the district court, which upheld the magistrate's order. The prisoners' motion for permission to take an interlocutory appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) was also denied.

On May 15, 1981 the prisoners filed a Notice of Acceptance of Offer of Settlement stating that they accepted the offer of settlement embodied in the proposed decree submitted by the state on February 13, 1981. This form of the decree changed the March 1st date to April 1st. The prisoners

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also filed a motion for preliminary approval of the consent decree.

On June 12, 1981 the magistrate issued an order granting preliminary approval of the consent decree. The magistrate held that the state's submission of the proposed consent decree on February 13, 1981 (which utilized the April 1 target date) was a valid offer, that the prisoners' attempt to settle the date as March 1 was not a rejection of this offer, and that the state did not revoke the offer prior to acceptance. On August 17, 1981 the district court approved and adopted the magistrate's recommendation. The state filed a timely notice of appeal. On the state's motion, the district court stayed the decree pending appeal insofar as it requires reduction of the Reformatory's population below 850.

II.

The issue on appeal is whether the district court was clearly erroneous in finding (a) that the proposed consent decree of February 13, 1981 was an offer; (b) that the prisoners did not reject the offer; and (c) that the state did not revoke its offer prior to acceptance.

Determinations of contract matters regarding offer, rejection, and revocation utilizing the objective standard are factual. See, e.g., Lundgren v. Freeman, 307 F.2d 104 (9th Cir. 1962) (mutual mistake); Barnes v. Treece, 15 Wash.App. 437, 440, 549 P.2d 1152 (1976) (offer). Factual determinations must be upheld on appeal unless clearly erroneous. United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 394-95, 68 S.Ct. 525, 541-42, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948); Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a). The state argues, however, that factual determinations made by the district court when there are no disputed underlying facts and the district court considers only documentary evidence are to be reviewed de novo, citing Stevenot v. Norberg, 210 F.2d 615 (9th Cir. 1954).

The rule in this circuit is that we apply the clearly erroneous standard in reviewing factual determinations by the district court, even if those determinations are based on undisputed facts and based on written evidence. Maxwell v. Sumner, 673 F.2d 1031 (9th Cir. 1982); In re Beverly Hills Bancorp, 649 F.2d 1329 (9th Cir. 1981); International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers v. San Diego Marine Const. Corp., 620 F.2d 736 (9th Cir. 1980); Lundgren v. Freeman, supra. Following the Supreme Court's decision in Commissioner v. Duberstein, 363 U.S. 278, 289, 80 S.Ct. 1190, 1198, 4 L.Ed.2d 1218 (1960), we stated in Lundgren that determinations based on the "factfinding tribunal's experience with the mainsprings of human conduct" were factual and thus reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard. The determinations in this case, though based on written evidence and undisputed facts, are factual determinations and must be upheld on appeal unless clearly erroneous.

III.

At the outset, we emphasize that this case on appeal involves only whether there is an enforceable consent decree. We express no view on the eighth amendment questions raised in the original complaint.

General contract principles apply to questions of interpretation of consent decrees. United States v. ITT Continental Baking Co., 420 U.S. 223, 236-37, 95 S.Ct. 926, 934-35, 43 L.Ed.2d 148 (1975); United States v. Armour & Co., 402 U.S. 673, 681-82, 91 S.Ct. 1752, 1757-58, 29 L.Ed.2d 256 (1971); United States v. Northern Colorado Water Conservancy Dist., 608 F.2d 422, 430 (10th Cir. 1979); Robinson v. Vollert, 602 F.2d 87, 92 (10th Cir....