Florida Medical Ass'n, Inc. v. U.S. Dept. of Health, Ed. and Welfare

• Decision Date: 23 August 1979
• Docket Number: No. 78-2910,78-2910
• Citation: 601 F.2d 199
• Parties: FLORIDA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida Corporation, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, American Medical Association, on behalf of its members, et al., Intervenors-Appellees, v. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE, et al., Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 199

601 F.2d 199

FLORIDA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida Corporation, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, American Medical Association, on behalf of its members, et al., Intervenors-Appellees, v. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE, et al.,

Defendants-Appellants.

No. 78-2910.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Aug. 23, 1979.

Leonard Schaitman, Terrence G. Jackson, Linda M. Cole, Appellate Staff, Civil Division, U. S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for defendants-appellants.

Mahoney, Hadlow & Adams, Peter L. Dearing, Stephen D. Lobrano, William H. Adams, III, Jacksonville, Fla., for Fla. Medical Assn., Inc.

Fazio, Dawson & Thompson, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Jack R. Bierig, Newton N. Minow, Betty Jane Anderson, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Before GOLDBERG, FAY and RUBIN, Circuit Judges.

FAY, Circuit Judge:

On March 30, 1978, the Florida Medical Association and six individual physicians, on behalf of all Florida physicians whose patients were beneficiaries of the Medicare program in 1977, brought a class action suit against the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to enjoin publication of a list which identifies by name every physician in the United States who treated Medicare beneficiaries in 1977, and states the amount of income he or she received from the program in that year. Plaintiffs alleged, Inter alia, that publication of the list would violate the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (1976); the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a (1976); and their right to privacy protected by the First, Fifth and Ninth Amendments to the Constitution.

On April 21, 1978, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida referred the case to a special magistrate who held a hearing on plaintiffs' application for preliminary relief. On April 28, 1978, the district court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting HEW and Secretary Califano from disclosing the list. This temporary restraining order was extended several times upon agreement of all parties to the lawsuit. On June 2, 1978, the parties stipulated that they had "no further evidence to offer on the question of permanent relief" and requested that pursuant to Rule 65(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court enter a final judgment without further hearing.

On June 7, 1978, the American Medical Association and five individual physicians applied for leave to intervene as parties plaintiff. The district court granted the application and recertified the class of plaintiffs to include all physicians who practice in the United States and receive income from Medicare. In addition, on June 18th the court issued a temporary restraining order in favor of the intervenors. With one ten-day extension, the temporary restraining order was due to expire on July 10, 1978.

On July 11, 1978, the district court issued an "ancillary writ of injunction," restraining HEW and Secretary Califano from disclosing the list. ¹ Florida Medical Association v. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 454 F.Supp. 326 (M.D.Fla.1978). This unusual writ was warranted, the district court reasoned, because the parties had submitted all their evidence on the merits and the court was not prepared to make the usual preliminary assessment of the merits. Florida Medical Association v. Department of Health, Education and Welfare 454 F.Supp. 326, 335 (M.D.Fla.1978). The impending irreparable injury of mootness caused by disclosure of the list was, the court noted, "compelling." Id.

The district court purported to draw its power to issue the writ from two sources. First, the court relied on the principle of "ancillary jurisdiction," concluding that publication would destroy the subject matter jurisdiction of the court by mooting the controversy, and noting that issuance of the writ would ensure that the action would not be frustrated. In addition to ancillary jurisdiction, the court drew on its power under the All Writs Act to issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of its jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1651 (1976), and concluded that failure to issue injunctive relief would "stultify the existence of the Court's federal question subject matter jurisdiction to review the HEW secretary's proposed conduct . . . ." 454 F.Supp. at 333. Perhaps more simply stated, the district court, sensitive to the exigencies of the moment, fashioned its own procedural animal in order to more harmoniously meet its immediate purpose.

With few exceptions, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide the procedures to be followed in United States district courts. F.R.C.P. Rule 1. Rule 65 covers temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions. It provides for the granting of one Ex parte temporary restraining order, with only one ten-day extension available against an unconsenting party. If, after the expiration of the temporary restraining order, further restraint is mandated, preliminary injunctive relief is the appropriate avenue upon which to proceed.

Neither the doctrine of ancillary jurisdiction nor the All Writs Act empower a district court to abandon the Rules whenever they prove procedurally inconvenient. Ancillary jurisdiction contemplates two proceedings and is a limited exception to the rule that federal district courts have only such jurisdiction as is provided by the Constitution or by statute. Kleban Engineering Corp. v. Caldwell, 490 F.2d 800, 802 (5th Cir. 1974). Briefly stated, the doctrine may be employed by a federal court to obtain jurisdiction of a matter over which the court would not otherwise have jurisdiction where there is a "tight nexus" between that matter and a subject matter properly in federal court. Id. Issuance of an "ancillary writ of injunction" is simply not ancillary to a suit which was brought for the sole purpose of obtaining injunctive relief. Thus, application of the doctrine in this case is inappropriate, and cannot be used to avoid the clear charge of the Rules.

Similarly, the All Writs Act does not free a district court from the restraints of Rule 65. The statute authorizes federal district courts to "issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law." 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a) (1976). While the All Writs Act empowers a district court to fashion extraordinary remedies when the need arises, it does not authorize a district court to promulgate an Ad hoc procedural code whenever compliance with the Rules proves inconvenient. While publication of the list would appear to moot...