Farley v. Philadelphia Housing Authority

• Decision Date: 17 December 1996
• Docket Number: No. 96-1286,96-1286
• Parties: Laticia FARLEY v. PHILADELPHIA HOUSING AUTHORITY; Floyd Baker; Pamela Dunbar; Claude Ross, * Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 697

102 F.3d 697

65 USLW 2428

Laticia FARLEY v. PHILADELPHIA HOUSING AUTHORITY; Floyd Baker; Pamela

Dunbar; Claude Ross, ^* Appellants.

No. 96-1286.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued Oct. 28, 1996.

Decided Dec. 17, 1996.

Denise J. Baker (argued), Philadelphia Housing Authority, Philadelphia, PA, for appellant.

Michael Donahue (argued), Community Legal Services, Philadelphia, PA, for appellees.

Before: SCIRICA and COWEN, Circuit Judges and FEIKENS, District Judge. ^**

OPINION OF THE COURT

COWEN, Circuit Judge.

Appellants, the Philadelphia Housing Authority and its housing management personnel, Floyd Baker, Pamela Dunbar, and Claude Ross (collectively "the PHA"), appeal the March 8, 1996, order of the district court granting summary judgment to Laticia Farley, a public housing tenant, and denying their cross-motion for summary judgment. The district court held that Farley had a cognizable claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and ordered the PHA to fully comply with the arbitration award that directed it to make repairs to Farley's apartment. The PHA contends that the district court did not have jurisdiction to enforce the arbitration award, and erred in holding that Farley had a cognizable federal cause of action under § 1983 to enforce a public housing grievance award pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1437d(k) and 1983. We hold that the parties did not intend to limit enforcement of grievance awards to state court. We also hold that Farley can bring a § 1983 action to enforce her federal right to implement the grievance procedure provided for in the Housing Act.

I.

A.

The United States Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1437 et seq., was designed to provide "decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings" within the financial reach of families of low income. 42 U.S.C. § 1437 (1994). In order to encourage the construction and operation of low-income housing, the Act authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide grants, low-interest loans and tax exemptions to local public housing agencies known as PHAs. Because they receive federal subsidies, the PHAs are able to charge below-market rent to eligible low-income tenants. In exchange for receiving public funding, the local PHAs are required to operate public housing in compliance with the provisions of the Act.

Section 1437d(k) is the provision at issue in this appeal. As amended in 1983, this section provides that each public housing agency must implement an administrative grievance procedure for the resolution of all tenant disputes concerning adverse PHA action. ¹ It sets forth the grievance/arbitration procedure that the local PHAs must follow, as well as the rights to which tenants are entitled under that procedure.

The history of § 1437d(k) and its accompanying regulations dates back to 1971, when HUD issued a series of public housing circulars requiring the PHAs to recognize certain minimum tenant rights and provide an administrative grievance forum for tenant complaints concerning adverse PHA action. See U.S. Dept. Of Housing and Urban Development Circulars RHM 7465.8 and 7465.9. In 1975, HUD codified the requirements from the circulars in the Code of Federal Regulations. The circulars are currently codified in 24 C.F.R. § 966 (1994). These regulations require the local PHAs to establish and implement grievance procedures that provide tenants with hearings if they dispute any PHA action or inaction concerning lease provisions or local regulations. See 24 C.F.R. §§ 966.50, 966.51(a), 966.53(a) (1994). The City of Philadelphia's specific grievance procedure is outlined in the consent decree entered in Brown v. Philadelphia Housing Authority, No. 72-2083 (E.D.Pa. Mar. 15, 1974) ("Brown consent decree"); see also Stipulation and Order Supplementing and Clarifying the Stipulation and Order of June 14, 1974, Brown v. Philadelphia Housing Authority, 72-2083 (E.D.Pa. Apr. 24, 1978).

Farley seeks to enforce a specific regulation which states that grievance awards are binding on the local housing authorities and requires them to "take all actions, or refrain from any actions, necessary to carry out the decision [of the hearing officer]." 24 C.F.R. § 966.57(b) (1994). Her cause of action arises strictly under § 1437d(k). Regulation § 966.57(b) merely interprets that section.

B.

Farley is a tenant of a building in Philadelphia that is managed by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. She filed administrative grievances with PHA, seeking a number of repairs to her rental unit. She also sought an abatement of rent. Farley claimed that the repairs sought were necessary to prevent water from leaking into the basement of her rental unit. These repairs included repair or replacement of the heater, replacement of the windows, repair of the holes in the basement walls, repair of the leaking pipe in the basement, and repairs as necessary to remedy the low water pressure throughout her unit.

An arbitrator held a grievance hearing and entered an award in Farley's favor. The award stated:

1. The Philadelphia Housing Authority shall inspect and repair all items of a non-contract nature within thirty (30) days of the date of this Award. Any matters which require contract work shall be noted and written advice thereof shall be provided Ms. Farley and her counsel within thirty (30) days of this Award. All contracted work shall be completed within ninety (90) days of the date of this Award.

2. Ms. Farley is awarded a Ten (10%) percent abatement of rent for the period July 1, 1995 through such time as the requested repairs are completed. The abatement shall be credited to Ms. Farley's rent account.

App. at 159.

The PHA did not make the required repairs; nor did it give Farley the rent abatement. Thereafter, Farley filed an action in the district court to enforce her grievance award. The matter was brought for resolution in the district court by cross-motions for summary judgment. The PHA argued that the district court lacked jurisdiction to enforce the award or grant relief on what was basically a garden-variety state landlord/tenant dispute. Holding that it had jurisdiction to hear the matter, the district court granted Farley's motion for summary judgment and denied the PHA's cross-motion for summary judgment. This appeal followed.

II.

The jurisdiction of the district court to hear this matter and enter judgment on the arbitrator's award, is the issue on appeal. The district court entertained subject matter jurisdiction over the action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1337, 1343(a)(2), (3), (4) and §§ 2201, 2202. We have appellate jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We exercise plenary review over questions of subject matter jurisdiction and the district court's grant or denial of summary judgment. See Clark v. Clabaugh, 20 F.3d 1290, 1292 (3d Cir.1994); see also Jordan v. Fox, Rothschild, O'Brien & Frankel, 20 F.3d 1250, 1261 (3d Cir.1994); Brown v. Francis, 75 F.3d 860, 864 (3d Cir.1996).

III.

The PHA asserts that the district court had no jurisdiction under § 1983 to enforce Farley's grievance award. It argues that under the Brown consent agreement, the PHA consented only to the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania state courts to enforce arbitration awards. It further contends it had no reasonable expectation that it would be called upon to defend arbitration enforcement proceedings in federal court.

In support of its argument, the PHA states that the express terms of Brown incorporate the entire Pennsylvania Arbitration Act of 1927. It also points to a provision in the 1978 amendment to Brown that reads, "[i]f either party should appeal an arbitrator's award, such appeal shall be governed by the provisions of the Pennsylvania Arbitration Act of 1927." Stipulation and Order Supplementing and Clarifying the Stipulation and Order of June 14, 1974, App. at 55, para. 3. The PHA argues that inclusion of this paragraph in the Brown consent agreement evidences the parties' intent to incorporate the entire Pennsylvania Arbitration Act of 1927. The PHA further cites a provision of the Pennsylvania Arbitration Act that states, "[a]n appeal may be taken from an order confirming, modifying, correcting, or vacating an award, or from a judgment entered upon an award, in accordance with the existing law in respect to appeals to the Supreme and Superior Courts." 5 P.S. § 175(a). Also brought to our attention is a provision from the Pennsylvania Act stating that all grievance awards "shall have the same force and effect, in all respects as, and be subject to, all the provisions of law relating to a judgment in an action at law, and it may be enforced as such in accordance with existing law." 5 P.S. § 174. In addition, the PHA cites to a provision that states, "[t]he provisions of this act shall apply to any written contract to which the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or any agency or subdivision thereof, of any municipal corporation or political division of the Commonwealth shall be a party." 5 P.S. § 176. The PHA argues that, taken together, the above-cited provisions indicate that the parties consented solely to the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania state courts to enforce arbitration awards. We disagree.

The Brown consent decree is a settlement agreement between the PHA and its tenants. We, therefore, construe it as a contract. See Pennwalt Corp. v. Plough, Inc., 676 F.2d 77, 79 (3d Cir.1982). The scope of the Brown decree "must be discerned within its four corners, and not by reference to what might satisfy the purposes of one of the parties to it." United States v. Armour & Co., 402 U.S. 673, 682, 91 S.Ct. 1752, 1757, 29 L.Ed.2d 256 (1971). Reading the above provisions (paragraph 3 of the Brown amendments and §§ 174, 175, and 176 of the Pennsylvania Act) and looking to the entire documents, we find nothing in the Brown consent agreement demonstrating that the parties intended that enforcement actions be brought exclusively in state court.

The Brown...