Aaron v. Target Corp.
| Citation | 357 F.3d 768 |
| Decision Date | 03 February 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 03-2825.,No. 03-2827.,03-2825.,03-2827. |
| Parties | Jeffrey S. AARON, an individual residing in Florida, as the trustee of a New York revocable trust, Sylvia H. Aaron; ADTAR, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company; Hampton Village Associates, L.L.C., a New York limited liability company and successor-in-interest to the Estate of Louis Feil, Plaintiffs/Appellees, v. TARGET CORPORATION, formerly known as Target Stores, Inc., formerly known as Dayton Hudson Corporation, a Minnesota corporation, Defendant/Appellant, City of St. Louis, MO, a Missouri municipal corporation; The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of the City of St. Louis, a Missouri municipal corporation, Defendants/Appellants. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) |
Thomas C. Walsh, argued, St. Louis, MO, Jay L. Levitch, argued, St. Louis, MO (Mark Lawson, Henry F. Luepke, Gerard T. Carmody, Kevin M. Cushing, Kelley F. Farrell, and K. Lee Marshall, St. Louis, MO, on the brief), for Appellants City of St. Louis, Target and LCRA, et al.
Jordan B. Cherrick, argued, St. Louis, MO (Edward M. Goldenhersh, William J. Travis, John E. Petite, Mary M. Bonacorsi, Jeffrey R. Fink, St. Louis, MO. and Richard M. Goldstein, New York, NY, on the brief), for Appellees.
Before MURPHY, BOWMAN, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges.
Jeffrey S. Aaron, ADTAR, and Hampton Village Associates1 brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Target Corporation, the City of St. Louis, and the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of the City of St. Louis (Redevelopment Authority). Plaintiffs sought to enjoin condemnation proceedings involving their property, which they allege was to be taken for a private use. The district court granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) and later converted it sua sponte into a preliminary injunction, enjoining defendants from taking ownership, possession, or control of the subject property and from going forward with condemnation proceedings in state court. Target, the city, and the Redevelopment Authority appeal from the order for preliminary injunction.2 We reverse.
The property which is the subject of the condemnation proceeding is located at the intersection of Hampton and Chippewa Avenues in St. Louis, Missouri. Appellees own the building which houses a Target store and the property on which it and the adjoining parking lots are located. Target Corporation entered into a long term lease with them in October 1974 for a period of twenty five years, with five renewal options of five years each. The lease covers a store building which was previously leased to Arlans Department Stores, Inc., a discount retailer. Target agreed to maintain the property and its improvements and had the right to make alterations, additions, or changes to the building.
In March 2002 Target contacted the owners about its interest in replacing what it regarded as an obsolete store with a larger facility. Target proposed to demolish the existing store and to build a new one. In May 2002 appellees responded that they were not opposed to demolition of the existing store, but they wanted more rent, to be partially based on sales at the new facility. No further proposals were exchanged, and no agreement was reached.
Alderman James Shrewsbury represents the ward in which the property is located. He became concerned in September 2002 that Target would close its store if the property owners would not agree to terms it considered acceptable, and he initiated discussions with Target. He also raised the possibility of using the city's eminent domain power to facilitate redevelopment of the property, and he asked the Redevelopment Authority to conduct a study to determine whether the property was blighted. The Redevelopment Authority hired a private consulting company, PGAV Urban Consulting (PGAV), to analyze the property. PGAV prepared a Qualifications Analysis (PGAV Study) which was issued on October 26, 2002. The study found that the property was physically deteriorated, unsafe, and dangerous and concluded that it was "blighted"3 or "insanitary"4 within the meaning of Chapter 99 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri.
A public hearing was scheduled for November 20, 2002, at which the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen would consider the PGAV Study. The study had been introduced by Alderman Shrewsbury as Board Bill No. 303 to initiate condemnation proceedings for the property. He believed that Target's redevelopment would benefit his ward and the city as a whole. The city sent written notice of the public hearing to the Aaron Trust and ADTAR, care of Target's Minneapolis headquarters which was the address on file for the property at the assessor's office. Notice of the hearing was also placed in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, but apparently the only plaintiff actually receiving notice before the November 20 hearing was Hampton Associates, which declined to attend. The Board of Aldermen passed Board Bill No. 303 on December 6, 2002, and it later became Ordinance 65741.
The Redevelopment Authority published notices in the St. Louis Post Dispatch on December 7 and 11, seeking redevelopment proposals for the property. Only Target submitted a proposal, and the Redevelopment Authority selected Target as the redeveloper on December 17, 2002. Attorneys for the property owners first appeared to oppose condemnation of their property at the December 17 meeting of the Redevelopment Authority.
On December 21, 2002, the St. Louis mayor signed Ordinance 65741. The ordinance declared the subject property blighted, approved Target's redevelopment proposal, authorized the Redevelopment Authority to acquire the property by eminent domain, and authorized a tax abatement for Target. The Redevelopment Authority and Target then entered into a Redevelopment Agreement on January 12, 2003, which officially granted Target redevelopment rights over the property. On January 28, 2003, the board of the Redevelopment Authority met to discuss the use of its eminent domain power to acquire the property. Representatives of the property owners appeared and raised objections, but the board approved the use of eminent domain for the property.
Before initiating a condemnation action in state court, the Redevelopment Authority made an offer on March 27, 2003 to purchase the property from the owners, as required by state eminent domain law. See Res. No. 03-LCRA-7341E; see also Mo.Rev.Stat. § 99.460 (2003). The offer totaled $3.79 million and was based on an independent real estate appraisal. The property owners were informed that the offer would remain open until April 10, 2003, but they never responded to it. Instead, they filed this § 1983 action on April 4 and a preliminary injunction motion on April 10, 2003.
The Redevelopment Authority filed a condemnation action against the property owners and Target in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis on April 23, 2003. A trial was initially set in the circuit court for May 27, but it was later rescheduled to June 25, 2003 because the property owners requested a change in judge. On May 20 the property owners requested expedited discovery in the condemnation action, and on May 21 they moved to dismiss the eminent domain case on the basis that the taking was for a private purpose. A discovery schedule was set by the circuit court on June 11; it gave the parties two weeks for production of public records and for seven depositions. A protective order was also issued.
On June 9, 2003, the property owners moved for a TRO in federal court. The Redevelopment Authority and Target submitted memoranda in opposition to the TRO on June 17, which included an argument for abstention. The district court set the motion for hearing on June 24, 2003, the day before the state condemnation trial was to begin. The parties argued their positions at the hearing, but they did not call witnesses or offer other evidence. At the hearing the district court stated that it would grant a TRO to "give myself some time to look at this matter because I'm not sure about it." A written order was issued the same day, restraining appellants from taking the plaintiffs' property and from pursuing the state court condemnation action. The court stated that the property owners had shown they were likely to succeed on their constitutional claims, that defendants had acted in concert to take their property for purely private use, and that they faced irreparable harm. The TRO provided that it would remain in "full force and effect until such time as the matter of a permanent injunction is heard by the Court, or this dispute is otherwise finally resolved."
The parties furnished additional materials to the district court on June 30, 2003, including affidavits and memoranda in which appellants elaborated on their argument that the court should abstain in favor of the state eminent domain proceedings. The district court issued a written memorandum and order on July 3, 2003 "to more fully set out the Court's decision in granting the motion for temporary restraining order." In addition to discussing the factors for injunctive relief under Dataphase Sys., Inc. v. C L Sys., Inc., 640 F.2d 109, 114 (8th Cir.1981) (en banc), the court gave its reasons for declining to abstain from exercising jurisdiction. Aaron v. Target Corp., 269 F.Supp.2d 1162, 1170-73 (E.D.Mo.2003). Then on July 8, 2003, without advance notice to the parties or further hearing, the district court sua sponte converted the TRO into a preliminary injunction "which shall remain in effect pending a final decision on the merits or further order of the Court." The short order incorporated the court's memorandum and order of July 3 by reference and simply stated that the court had concluded that the TRO should be converted to a preliminary injunction.
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