Blair v. Shanahan
| Citation | 38 F.3d 1514 |
| Decision Date | 31 October 1994 |
| Docket Number | 92-15450 and 92-15451,Nos. 92-15447,s. 92-15447 |
| Parties | Celestus BLAIR, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Steven SHANAHAN; James Lassus; Stephen Paulson; Frank Jordon; City of San Francisco, Defendants-Appellants, and People of the State of California, Intervenor. Celestus BLAIR, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. PEOPLE OF the STATE of California, Intervenor-Appellant, and Steven Shanahan; James Lassus; Stephen Paulson; Frank Jordon; City of San Francisco, Defendants. Celestus BLAIR, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellant-Cross-Appellee, v. Steven SHANAHAN; James Lassus; Stephen Paulson; Frank Jordon; City of San Francisco, Defendants-Appellees-Cross-Appellants, and People of the State of California, Intervenor-Appellee-Cross-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) |
G. Scott Emblidge, Deputy City Atty., San Francisco, CA, for defendants-appellants, cross-appellees.
Michael C. Hallerud, Pettit & Martin, San Francisco, CA, for plaintiff-appellee, cross-appellant.
Enid A. Camps, Deputy Atty. Gen., San Francisco, CA, for intervenor-appellee, cross-appellant.
Kent S. Scheidegger, Sacramento, CA, for amicus.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Before WALLACE, Chief Judge, GARTH * and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges.
Opinion by Chief Judge WALLACE.
The City and County of San Francisco (City) and intervenor State of California (State) request us to review a decision of the district court, Blair v. Shanahan, 775 F.Supp. 1315 (N.D.Cal.1991) (Blair I), declaring facially unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments a state statute criminalizing aggressive panhandling. Cal.Penal Code Sec. 647(c). That statute provides that anyone "[w]ho accosts other persons in any public place or in any place open to the public for the purpose of begging or soliciting alms" is guilty of a misdemeanor. Id. After he was arrested several times for alleged violations of section 647(c), Blair brought this action, and damages were agreed upon in a subsequent settlement. He now argues that we should dismiss the appeal from the district court's declaratory judgment for lack of jurisdiction.
The City also asks us to review the district court's order refusing to vacate a consent judgment entered pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68, which settles Blair's claim for damages against the City for a sum of $4,000. Because we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to vacate, the consent judgment remains in force.
Blair cross-appeals, contending that the district judge inappropriately refused him damages because section 647(c), violates the California Constitution. In addition, the State and City appeal from the refusal of the district court to allow a Rule 54(b) interlocutory appeal of its ruling that section 647(c) was unconstitutional.
The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Secs. 2201, 2202, 1331, 1343, and 1367(a). Our jurisdiction over this timely appeal is suggested under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291. We affirm, except for the attempted review of the determination that section 647(c) was unconstitutional. As to that issue, we dismiss as moot and remand to the district court to consider whether its unconstitutionality determination should be vacated.
Blair was arrested at least five times for allegedly begging in violation of California Penal Code Sec. 647(c), but was never charged. He sued pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983, seeking compensatory and punitive damages from the City, individual police officers and the Chief of Police. Among his complaints were that the defendants violated his First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Blair also sought a declaration that section 647(c) is unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and a permanent injunction against its further enforcement.
At the time that he sued, Blair was no longer engaged in begging and had found steady employment. The City argued that because Blair no longer begged, he no longer had a personal stake in the outcome of the equitable claims, so that the district court lacked Article III jurisdiction to decide them.
The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The district court held that it had equitable jurisdiction as well as jurisdiction over the claims for damages. The court reasoned that under our precedents, the presence of claims for damages which rely on facts and legal conclusions identical to those present in an equitable claim, creates a personal stake in the equitable claim which satisfies Article III requirements. Blair I, 775 F.Supp. at 1319, citing Giles v. Ackerman, 746 F.2d 614 (9th Cir.1984) (Giles), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1053, 105 S.Ct. 2114, 85 L.Ed.2d 479 (1985), and Smith v. City of Fontana, 818 F.2d 1411 (9th Cir.1987) (Smith ), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 935, 108 S.Ct. 311, 98 L.Ed.2d 269 (1987). The court stated, Blair I, 775 F.Supp. at 1319. After deciding it had jurisdiction, the district court granted Blair's request for a declaratory judgment, holding that section 647(c) was unconstitutional on its face.
The court denied the request for a permanent injunction. Because Blair no longer begged, he could not make the needed showing of irreparable injury. Id. at 1320. Finally, in considering the claims for damages, the court held that the existence of disputed facts required that the resolution of those claims would have to wait until trial. Id. at 1329.
Although the damages claims were not yet resolved, the City and State wanted to obtain review of the declaration that section 647(c) was facially unconstitutional. They unsuccessfully moved the district court to certify an interlocutory appeal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). See Blair v. Shanahan, 795 F.Supp. 309, 311 (N.D.Cal.1992) (Blair II ) (discussing procedural history).
Thereafter, the City and Blair entered into settlement negotiations regarding the remaining claims. Blair proposed to the City an offer of judgment which would establish liability for First Amendment violations, among others, but which would "provide expressly that the City's rights to seek appellate review of the court's determination that Sec. 647(c) violates the First Amendment are not impaired by this stipulation." Id. (summarizing settlement offer).
The City never accepted or rejected this offer, but proposed its own offer of judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 68, which Blair accepted unconditionally. See id. at 312. In the offer, the City allowed judgment to be taken against it on Blair's claims of false arrest and violations of the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments with respect to his arrests on four different occasions. It proposed allowing an award of damages to be taken against it in the total amount of $4,000. The City also allowed judgment to be taken against it on the claim for declaratory relief "in accordance with the Court's Opinion and Order." Id. In addition, all records of the arrests would be expunged. The remaining claims were to be dismissed and all defendants other than the City were to be dismissed with prejudice. The offer was silent as to the City's right to appeal.
The district court conducted a hearing regarding the offer of judgment and expressed its view that the judgment, as constructed might preclude an appeal of the declaratory judgment. During this hearing, the City stated that it believed it could appeal the declaratory judgment; Blair disagreed. The district court then entered judgment pursuant to Rule 68. Id. at 312-13.
Apparently beginning to doubt that the declaratory judgment was appealable under the terms of the Rule 68 judgment, the City moved the district court to modify or vacate the judgment pursuant to Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It argued that there was a misunderstanding and mistake in the formation of the agreement: Blair believed that the judgment would preclude an appeal, while the City thought an appeal was allowed. The district court denied the motion. Id. at 313-17.
The City asks us to review the district court's denial of the Rule 60(b) motion to vacate or modify the offer of judgment. Motions for relief from judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) are committed to the sound discretion of the trial judge. Thompson v. Housing Authority, 782 F.2d 829, 832 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 829, 107 S.Ct. 112, 93 L.Ed.2d 60 (1986). We will not reverse the decision absent an abuse of discretion. Floyd v. Laws, 929 F.2d 1390, 1400 (9th Cir.1991).
The City fails to point out how the district court abused its discretion. At most, the City repeats to us the legal arguments that it made to the district court and asks us to resolve them opposite from the district judge's resolution. However, we do not review the district court's decision de novo. Under our review, we hold there was no abuse of discretion. On the contrary, its discussion of the reasons for refusing the motion are persuasive and compelling. See Blair II, 795 F.Supp. at 313-17.
The City argues that there was a mutual mistake in forming the agreement, since both Blair and the City thought that the judgment would preserve appeal rights. In the alternative, it argues that there was no meeting of the minds about the agreement if Blair did not intend to preserve appeal rights while the City did have such an intention. The simple fact is, however, that the right to appeal was not a term of the agreement. At most, the...
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