Minority Police Officers Ass'n of South Bend v. City of South Bend, Ind.

• Decision Date: 10 November 1983
• Docket Number: No. 83-1497,83-1497
• Citation: 721 F.2d 197
• Parties: 33 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 433, 32 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 33,914, 9 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 33,914 MINORITY POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH BEND, on behalf of its members and all others similarly situated, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, a municipal corporation, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 197

721 F.2d 197 33 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 433,
32 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 33,914,
9 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 33,914 MINORITY POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH BEND, on
behalf of its members and all others similarly
situated, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, a municipal corporation, et
al., Defendants-Appellees. No. 83-1497. United States Court of Appeals,
Seventh Circuit. Argued Sept. 23, 1983.
Decided Nov. 10, 1983.

Page 199

Charles F. Curtchfield, Notre Dame, Ind., for plaintiffs-appellants.

Robert C. Rosenfeld, South Bend City Atty., South Bend, Ind., for defendants-appellees.

Before CUMMINGS, Chief Judge, POSNER, Circuit Judge, and SWYGERT, Senior Circuit Judge.

POSNER, Circuit Judge.

Eleven policemen in South Bend, Indiana, and the Minority Police Officers Association of South Bend, brought this suit under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 for declaratory and injunctive relief against the City of South Bend and various city officials, alleging that between 1973 and 1981 (when the suit was filed) the defendants had discriminated against blacks and Hispanics both in hiring and in promotions. The individual plaintiffs are black and Hispanic policemen employed by South Bend, and the Association is composed entirely of such persons. The district court, 555 F.Supp. 921, granted partial summary judgment for the defendants on three issues (we ignore a fourth that the plaintiffs have abandoned on appeal): whether claims that accrued prior to two years before the suit was filed are barred by the applicable statute of limitations; whether the suit should be certified as a class action; and whether the plaintiffs have standing to challenge discrimination in hiring. The district judge's order did not dismiss the complaint in its entirety; the case will go to trial on the issue whether the defendants intentionally discriminated against the 11 individual plaintiffs in regard to promotions. Nevertheless the judge certified his order of partial summary judgment for an immediate appeal under Rule 54(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the plaintiffs have appealed.

The first question we must consider is whether the district judge's order was a final judgment on a separate claim or claims, within the meaning of Rule 54(b), and is therefore appealable before the entire litigation ends. At oral argument the defendants' counsel acknowledged his doubts on this score but explained that he had decided not to contest our jurisdiction because he was content to have us decide the appeal on the merits. We therefore take this opportunity to remind the bar that a federal court does not acquire subject-matter jurisdiction by the consent of the parties, Local P-171, Amalgamated Meat Cutters v. Thompson Farms Co., 642 F.2d 1065, 1067 (7th Cir.1981), that we have an independent obligation to police the constitutional and statutory limitations on our jurisdiction, and that counsel, as officers of the court, have a professional obligation to assist us in this task.

Rule 54(b) provides that, "When more than one claim for relief is presented in an action, whether as a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, or when multiple parties are involved, the [district] court may direct the entry of a final judgment as to one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties," provided the court, on the basis of "an express determination that there is no just reason for delay," makes "an express direction for the entry of judgment." Unfortunately, it is sometimes unclear whether a complaint or other pleading presents "one claim for relief" or multiple claims. Local P-171, Amalgamated Meat Cutters v. Thompson Farms Co., supra, 642 F.2d at 1069-71; 10 Wright, Miller...