Ammons v. DADE CITY, FLA.

Decision Date21 September 1984
Docket NumberCiv. A. No. 81-171 Civ-T-BK.
Parties(William J. AMMONS, Jr.), Barbara H. Dobson, Charles A. Harrison, Vann M. Hughes, and Freddie A. Mitchell, Jr., on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. DADE CITY, FLORIDA, William F. Brewton, Mayor of Dade City, Florida, Lawrence Puckett, Agnes Lamb, William Dennis, Rev. D.L. Williams, City Commissioners of Dade City, Florida, their successors and agents in their official capacities, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida

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David M. Lipman, Lipman & Weisberg, Miami, Fla., for plaintiffs.

George C. Dayton, P.A., Charlie Luckie, Jr., Dade City, Fla., for defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

KRENTZMAN, Senior District Judge.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. In this action filed on February 23, 1981, plaintiffs seek injunctive and declaratory relief to restrain defendants from providing municipal services in a racially discriminatory manner. At trial, plaintiffs, a class of black citizens, maintained that they have been unlawfully denied their right to equal municipal services, including: street paving, street resurfacing and maintenance, and storm water drainage facilities in violation of their rights under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.1

2. The complaint charged that the (a) City of Dade City, Florida, (b) its Mayor and (c) four City Commissioners in their official capacity, deprived black citizens of equal municipal services and requested that alleged qualitative and quantitative disparities between services provided to black and white citizens be eliminated.

3. Five black citizens — William J. Ammons, Jr.,2 Barbara H. Dobson, Charles A. Harrison, Vann M. Hughes, and Freddie A. Mitchell, Jr., are the named plaintiffs, black residents of the City of Dade City, Florida, who represent plaintiffs' class. Filed as a class action, this Court certified the class pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2) to include:

All black residents of Dade City, Florida, who have been affected by the Defendants' alleged policy or practice of racial discrimination in the providing or financing of municipal services. (Order of May 28, 1982)

4. From the initiation of this lawsuit in February, 1981, until the completion of trial on July 15, 1983, defendants have resisted and contested various phases of the litigation.3

Defendants objected to many of plaintiffs' pretrial discovery efforts. See, (1) defendants' objections to plaintiffs' request for admissions of fact (first set) (filed June 26, 1981) denied by this Court's orders of August 7, 1981 and August 12, 1981; (2) defendants' objections to plaintiffs' request for admissions of fact (second set) (filed July 27, 1981) denied by orders of August 7, 1981 and August 12, 1981 and order of November 6, 1981 compelling identical discovery; (3) defendants' objections to interrogatories (first and second set) (filed May 11, 1981) denied by order of June 3, 1981; and (4) defendants' objections to interrogatories (fourth and fifth set) (filed February 17, 1982) granted by order of June 29, 1982.

5. I personally considered and presided at all pretrial status hearings, discovery hearings, and pretrial conferences. A three-day trial to the Court at which the parties were fully heard was conducted. The parties requested and were granted leave to file post trial memoranda and proposed findings. I have reviewed and considered my trial notes, a two-volume transcript of the testimony of defendants' witnesses, furnished by defendants, and both plaintiffs' and defendants' post trial memoranda and proposed findings.

Being advised and upon consideration, I make the following findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Rule 52(a) Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

6. Defendant William Brewton is the Mayor of Dade City, Florida; defendants Lawrence Puckett, Agnes Lamb, William Dennis and Rev. D.L. Williams are the present members of the City Commission. These defendants have responsibility for the administration of the affairs of Dade City, including the provision, allocation and financing of all municipal facilities and services.

7. The City of Dade City was incorporated on January 15, 1889 (Plfs.Ex. 24, Int. No. 22). Dade City's 1980 population was 4,923, of which 1,158 was black or approximately 23.5% of the City. (Testimony of F. Cooper) (Source: Pg. 11-19, Table 15, 1980, Census of Population, General Population Characteristics — Florida, Publication No. PC 80-1-B11); (Defs.Ex. 6). Dade City, Florida is approximately 45 miles northwest of Tampa. The City is bisected by a major U.S. highway, U.S. 301/98, and by a major railroad line. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad tracks are still in use (Plfs.Ex. 20); (Def.Ex. 5). The principal black residential community is located literally adjoining the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad tracks. (Plfs.Ex. 20); (Testimony of F. Cooper).

8. The City's black residential community is primarily located "on the other side of the railroad tracks."4 The black community situated within each of the railroad tracks forms almost a perfect triangle in the southeastern region of the City. It is bounded on the east by the City limits, south by Coleman Avenue, and on the north by East Main Avenue. (Plfs.Ex. 20) (Map); (Testimony of F. Cooper).

The other adjoining area of the City's black residential community is situated just west of the railroad tracks bounded on the east by the railroad tracks, U.S. Highway 301 and 6th Street, on the north by Gaddis Street, on the west by 12th and 10th Streets, and by E. Robinson Avenue to the south. (Plfs.Ex. 20) (Map); (Testimony of F. Cooper).

9. There are 434 households in the City's black residential community within the boundaries previously described. (Plfs.Ex. 3, Tab 1). This community is composed of 1049 black citizens. (Plfs.Ex. 29) which represents 90.5% of all black citizens residing in Dade City. (Plfs.Ex. 29); (Defs.Ex. 6 and 7).5 Additionally, of those black persons situated outside of the designated black community (109 or 9.5% of the remaining black citizens), most (91 or 7.8% of those blacks) are located in integrated areas just outside the border of the black residential boundary area. (Plfs.Ex. 29).

Thus, the residential segregation of the races in Dade City — in the eastern quadrant of the City bordering on the railroad tracks — is clear.6

10. The City of Dade City provides, maintains and improves certain municipal services and facilities for its residents. The City has undertaken the construction and maintenance of: 1) street paving, 2) street resurfacing and maintenance, and 3) storm water drainage facilities.

11. Construction and maintenance of these services has been financed from a variety of private, city and federal funding sources. (Plfs.Ex. 12, Tab 3, No. 5). Street paving in the City has sometimes been accomplished through a special assessment program. (Plfs.Ex. 12, Tab 3, No. 5). In other instances, the City has paved streets with general revenues and with federal funds. (Plfs.Ex. 12, Tab 3, No. 5). In those instances when a street was paved under an assessment program, there exists a pattern of forgiving or cancelling the assessment debt. (Plfs.Ex. 23); (Testimony of J. Feltman).

Maintenance and resurfacing of streets is financed entirely through City funds (Plfs.Ex. 12, Tab 3, No. 5) (Testimony of L. Smith) and has never been assessed to property owners. Similarly, storm water drainage improvements are financed through City revenues. (Plfs.Ex. 12, Tab 3, No. 5).

12. In support of their claims that because of their race plaintiffs and the class they represent had been unconstitutionally denied their right to equal municipal services, plaintiffs offered and the Court received as relevant, evidence as to the early development of Dade City and the history of its treatment of black citizens. See, paragraphs 13-24 (post).

13. Following its incorporation in 1889, the City of Dade City, Florida, developed, as did many other small southern rural cities. (Testimony of Shofner)7 In the early 1900's, the period referred to as the "Progressive Era," smaller cities throughout the South were beginning to provide various municipal services within their jurisdictions.

14. As in other southern states, progressivism in Florida was for the most part "for whites only." For example, as the state expanded its school system, the gap between white and black schools widened. Prior to 1900, one of the few public services provided by either state or local government in Florida were the public schools. During this period, state law mandated that for every dollar spent on educating a black child, three and one-half dollars would have to be spent on educating a white child.

Reforms were enacted alongside a growing list of laws which, between 1895 and 1915, provided legal backing to the customary segregation of the races in all aspects of Florida society. In the matter of political reforms, advocates of primary elections wanted an increased voice for "the people" in choosing their leaders, but to liberals as well as conservatives of the 1890's, this meant white people.

15. These laws which contributed to segregation of the races were enacted by the state and by local governments throughout Florida. In Dade City, on January 22, 1914, the City passed an ordinance making it illegal for black people to "intermingle" with white people. (Plfs.Ex. 5) This ordinance was not repealed until February 11, 1975, (Ibid. Fact No. 112) established a framework for the development of race relations in the City.

16. Following the end of World War I, in the 1920's, there existed a general movement in the South to modernize. For many cities modernization took the form of instituting large scale municipal improvement projects. In 1925, like other cities, Dade City instituted the largest street...

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