Cassettari v. Nevada County, Cal.
| Decision Date | 10 August 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-2002,86-2002 |
| Citation | 824 F.2d 735 |
| Parties | Terry M. CASSETTARI; FSA Corporation, a California corporation; Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. COUNTY OF NEVADA, CALIFORNIA; Nevada County Building Company, a California corporation; Williams & Paddon, Architects & Planners, Inc.; Defendants- Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
E. John Vodonick, Auburn, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellants.
John P. Byrd and Thomas H. Smith of Barrett, Penney & Byrd, Melvin E. Raatz (argued), Sacramento, Cal., for defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.
Before FLETCHER, BEEZER and THOMPSON, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiffs-appellants Terry M. Cassettari and FSA Corporation 1 (collectively "Cassettari") appeal from the district court's order dismissing federal constitutional and section 1983 claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, and dismissing pendent state claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Cassettari alleges that defendant-appellee Nevada County, California (the County) accepted his proposal to build a County Administrative Center (the Center) on property he would acquire (the Narrow Gauge 40 property). He further alleges that after he spent over $450,000 in pre-construction development costs for the Center, the County decided to build the Center elsewhere. Cassettari alleges that the County then bought from defendant-appellee Williams & Paddon, Architects & Planners, Inc. (Williams & Paddon) architectural designs which Cassettari had paid Williams & Paddon to prepare. Cassettari contends that the County's conduct amounted to a taking of his property without just compensation in violation of the fifth amendment, and deprived him of his constitutional rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. He also contends that the County, the Nevada County Building Company, 2 and Williams & Paddon conspired to violate his section 1983 rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1985(3). Because Cassettari's allegations do not state federal claims upon which relief may be granted, we affirm the district court's dismissal of the federal claims. We also affirm the dismissal of the pendent state claims.
In 1983, Cassettari became aware that the County was interested in building a new administrative center. Cassettari entered into negotiations to acquire the Narrow Gauge 40 property, and offered to dedicate ten acres of the property to the County as a site for the Center. In response to requests by the County, Cassettari made a proposal for development of the site. In November 1983, the County passed a resolution expressing its intent to accept the site and contract with Cassettari to develop the Center, contingent on receipt of a bona fide construction bid.
Cassettari employed Williams & Paddon to prepare architectural designs for the Center, and provided them with "plans, specifications, calculations and the like" supplied by Cassettari's engineers. Williams & Paddon and Cassettari agreed that the architectural designs prepared by Williams & Paddon, as well as the plans and specifications provided by Cassettari's engineers, would be Cassettari's exclusive property. On August 6, 1984, the County entered into a written agreement with Cassettari. This agreement provided that if the County received a bona fide construction bid for the Center it would pay Cassettari $289,252.36 for the architectural designs.
On August 22, 1984, GLM Associates, a construction contractor, submitted a bid to build the Center on the Narrow Gauge 40 property. On August 27, 1984, the County determined by resolution that the bid was not bona fide because it did not include a signed bid bond or a list of subcontractors. Additional bids were taken. The County then determined that none of the bids was bona fide, and on January 7, 1985 it passed a resolution rejecting all bids. The County then decided to consider other sites for the Center, and on March 4, 1985 it selected a site other than Cassettari's. The County then paid Williams & Paddon $202,651 for copies of the architectural designs which they had prepared for Cassettari. Nothing was paid to Cassettari.
In addition to the various state claims, Cassettari alleges four federal claims. First, Cassettari contends that the County took without just compensation: (1) his interest in the architectural designs for the administrative center, and (2) part of the value of the Narrow Gauge 40 property. Second, Cassettari asserts that this taking deprived him of constitutional rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. Third, Cassettari alleges a conspiracy by the defendants to deprive him of section 1983 rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1985(3). Fourth, Cassettari requests attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1988.
The defendants moved to dismiss the federal claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and the state claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The district court granted the defendants' motion. Cassettari then filed an amended complaint, and the County again moved to dismiss. The district court dismissed the fifth amendment "taking" claim as "premature." The district court also dismissed Cassettari's section 1983 claim because "plaintiff [could] allege no facts stating a claim upon which relief can be granted." The court then dismissed the conspiracy and attorney fees claims. Having dismissed all of Cassettari's federal claims, the district court declined to exercise pendent jurisdiction over the state claims and dismissed those as well. Cassettari appeals. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291.
We review de novo a district court's dismissal of claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Jones v. Johnson, 781 F.2d 769, 771 (9th Cir.1986). An action may be dismissed for failure to state a claim only if "it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Gibson v. United States, 781 F.2d 1334, 1337 (9th Cir.1986) (citations omitted), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 928, 93 L.Ed.2d 979 (1987). Our review is limited to the contents of the complaint, and all allegations of material fact must be taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Western Reserve Oil & Gas Co. v. New, 765 F.2d 1428, 1430 (9th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1056, 106 S.Ct. 795, 88 L.Ed.2d 773 (1986).
Cassettari contends that the County's conduct "resulted in a permanent and substantial interference with Plaintiffs' use and enjoyment of their property rights amounting to a taking of an interest in Plaintiffs' property and property rights, without compensation, in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution." 3 Cassettari does not allege that he made use of the state procedures which were available for obtaining just compensation for the taking of his property. In Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank, 473 U.S. 172, 105 S.Ct. 3108, 87 L.Ed.2d 126 (1985), the Supreme Court addressed the issue whether a taking of private property by a county can be deemed a violation of the fifth amendment's just compensation clause prior to use of available state compensation procedures.
The Fifth Amendment does not proscribe the taking of property; it proscribes taking without just compensation. Nor does the Fifth Amendment require that just compensation be paid in advance of, or contemporaneously with, the taking; all that is required is that a " 'reasonable, certain and adequate provision for obtaining compensation' " exist at the time of the taking.... Thus ... if a State provides an adequate procedure for seeking just compensation, the property owner cannot claim a violation of * * *
the Just Compensation Clause until it has used the procedure and been denied just compensation.
Under Tennessee law, a property owner may bring an inverse condemnation action to obtain just compensation for an alleged taking of property under certain circumstances.... Respondent has not shown that the inverse condemnation procedure is unavailable or inadequate, and until it has utilized that procedure, its taking claim is premature.
Williamson, 473 U.S. at 194-97, 105 S.Ct. at 3121-22 (citations omitted) (footnotes omitted) (emphasis added).
California law permits a property owner to bring an inverse condemnation action to obtain just compensation for an alleged taking of property. See Cal.Code Civ.P. Sec. 1245.260 (1982). 4 Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 1235.170, " 'property' [for purposes of eminent domain and inverse condemnation] includes real and personal property and any interest therein." Baldwin Park Redevelopment Agency v. Irving, 156 Cal.App.3d 428, 435, 202 Cal.Rptr. 792 (1984); McMahan's of Santa Monica v. City of Santa Monica, 146 Cal.App.3d 683, 700, 194 Cal.Rptr. 582, 592-93 (1983). California's definition of property includes all of the property interests Cassettari claims were taken by the County. If the County did indeed take these property interests from Cassettari without payment, just compensation can be obtained by using California's inverse condemnation procedures. Thus, an adequate state compensation procedure is available to Cassettari. Until Cassettari uses this procedure, his taking claim is premature. Williamson, 473 U.S. at 196-97, 105 S.Ct. at 3122; accord Four Seasons Apartment v. City of Mayfield Heights, 775 F.2d 150, 151-52 (6th Cir.1985) (). We conclude that the district court did not err in dismissing Cassettari's fifth amendment taking claim.
"In any section 1983 action, the first question is whether section 1983 is the appropriate avenue...
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