Halderman v. Pennhurst State School and Hospital

• Decision Date: 26 January 1982
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 74-1345.
• Citation: 533 F. Supp. 649
• Parties: Terri Lee HALDERMAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. PENNHURST STATE SCHOOL AND HOSPITAL, et al., Defendants, United States of America, Plaintiff-Intervenor, Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens, et al., Plaintiffs-Intervenors.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

533 F. Supp. 649

Terri Lee HALDERMAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. PENNHURST STATE SCHOOL AND HOSPITAL, et al., Defendants United States of America, Plaintiff-Intervenor Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens, et al., Plaintiffs-Intervenors.

Civ. A. No. 74-1345.

United States District Court, E. D. Pennsylvania.

January 26, 1982.

David Ferleger, Philadelphia, Pa., for Terri Lee Halderman.

Thomas M. Kittredge, Philadelphia, Pa., for Bucks, Chester and Delaware Counties.

Robert B. Hoffman and Alan Warshaw, Deputy Attys. Gen., Harrisburg, Pa., for the Commonwealth of Pa.

Thomas Gilhool, Public Interest Law Center, Philadelphia, Pa., for Pa. Ass'n for Retarded Citizens.

Herbert B. Newberg, Philadelphia, Pa., for David Ferleger.

Pamela P. Cohen, Philadelphia, Pa., for Pennhurst Parents Ass'n.

Adjor A. Burrow, Civ. Rights Div., Main Justice, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., R. Stephen Barrett, Asst. County Sol., Norristown, Pa., for Montgomery County.

Marc H. Myers, Asst. City Sol., Philadelphia, Pa., for Philadelphia County.

MEMORANDUM

RAYMOND J. BRODERICK, District Judge.

On August 25, 1981, this Court found defendants Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) and its secretary, the Honorable Helen O'Bannon, (hereinafter Commonwealth defendants) in contempt of court. Contempt proceedings against the Commonwealth defendants were initiated by plaintiffs, who filed a petition for a finding of contempt and levy of civil fine against the Commonwealth defendants with this Court on July 1, 1981. On July 24, 1981, a hearing was held, pursuant to this Court's Order of July 7, 1981, ordering the hearing to show cause why the Commonwealth defendants should not be held in civil contempt in connection with their failure to comply with this Court's Orders of June 4, 1981.

On August 25, 1981, this Court found the Commonwealth defendants were in civil contempt because of their failure to comply with this Court's Orders of June 4, 1981 to pay into the Registry of this Court $67,746.08 by July 1, 1981 for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the Special Master and the Hearing Master, and the Order of July 14, 1981 to pay $67,746.08 into the Court Registry by August 1, 1981 for the same purpose.

As is well-known to the litigants, the Commonwealth defendants had been ordered (Orders of March 17, 1978, July 27, 1978, and April 24, 1980) to fund the Master's offices and, pursuant to monthly orders, pay into the Registry of this Court the amounts budgeted each month for the payment of the salaries, wages, and other expenses of both the Hearing Master's office and the Special Master's office. On June 4, 1981, this Court signed, and on June 5, 1981, the Clerk entered two Orders for payment of the costs of the Special Master and the Hearing Master for the month of July, 1981, in the amounts, respectively, of $59,152.74 and $8,593.34, a total of $67,746.08. These Orders specified that payment was to be made "on or before the first day of July, 1981." The Commonwealth defendants made no payment pursuant to the Order of June 4, 1981 on or before July 1, 1981. At a conference on July 6, 1981, the Commonwealth defendants advised the Court that they would soon be paying $35,000.00 into the Registry of the Court for the purpose of closing the Office of the Special Master and that no additional sums would be paid unless the Legislature passed a supplemental appropriation.

On July 7, 1981, this Court issued an Order to show cause why the Commonwealth defendants should not be held in civil contempt in connection with their failure to comply with the Court's Order of June 4, 1981 to pay $67,746.08 into the Registry of the Court on or before July 1, 1981 for the purpose of defraying the costs of the Special Master and the Hearing Master. On or about July 13, 1981, the Commonwealth defendants paid into the Registry of the Court the sum of $35,000.00. On July 16, 1981, this Court entered an Order directing that the $35,000.00 be paid to the Office of the Special Master and made a finding that the Commonwealth defendants were in default in the amount of $32,746.08. Since that time, the Commonwealth defendants have failed to comply with eight subsequent funding Orders of this Court. The Commonwealth defendants' default now exceeds $371,478.27. On July 24, 1981, at the hearing on the Order to show cause why the Commonwealth defendants should not be held in civil contempt, the Commonwealth defendants again advised the Court that they did not intend to comply with the Court's Orders concerning the expenses of the Masters.

Based on these events and evidence adduced at the July 24 hearing, the Court concluded that the Department of Public Welfare and its Secretary, Helen O'Bannon, were in contempt of Court (Memorandum of August 25, 1981). Specifically, the Court found that as a result of the actions of the Secretary and the Department the Legislature did not make an appropriation for the continued functioning of the Masters' offices (Memorandum of August 25, 1981 at 14-18). This Court's Order of August 25, 1981 directed the Department to fund the Master's offices on or before September 2, 1981 or commence paying into the Registry of this Court $10,000.00 per day as a civil contempt fine. Rather than fund the Masters' offices, the Commonwealth defendants determined to remain in contempt of this Court's Orders but did, however, pay the civil fine of $10,000.00 per day. As of this date, the total amount of the civil fines paid into the Registry of this Court exceeds $1,200,000.00.

On October 21, 1981, the Court transferred $87,314.30 of the sum resulting from the Commonwealth defendants' payments of civil contempt fines to the Special Master and $13,695.60 to the Hearing Master. On December 11, 1981, the Court ordered further transfer of the sum resulting from the payment of civil contempt fines, $80,371.12 to the Special Master and $13,588.14 to the Hearing Master. More than $1,000,000.00 of the fund generated by the fine payments remains subject to Court Order.

As is now well-known to the litigants, this Court, in an opinion filed December 23, 1977, made findings of fact and conclusions of law holding that defendants were violating the constitutional and statutory rights of members of the plaintiff class by failing to provide them with minimally adequate habilitation in the least restrictive environment. As the trial record in this case reveals, all parties to this litigation admitted that the residents of Pennhurst were not receiving minimally adequate habilitation. The Court found that Pennhurst as an institution is inappropriate and inadequate to habilitate the retarded. At trial, the Commonwealth defendants represented that they intended to close Pennhurst in the early 1980's. This they have not done.

On January 6, 1978, this Court held a hearing to determine the injunctive remedy necessary. The parties were asked to attempt to agree on the terms of the Court's Orders, but no agreement was forthcoming. The Court requested that they submit separate proposed orders. On March 17, 1978, the Court issued an injunction which, among other things, created the Office of the Special Master. The Special Master was appointed to monitor defendants' planning for and the providing of community living arrangements and services. In addition, the Special Master has been directed to monitor living conditions at Pennhurst, as well as in the community facilities to which Pennhurst residents have been transferred. The Commonwealth defendants, when not faced with contempt proceedings during a two and a-half year period from the entry of this Court's Order of March 17, 1978 through the end of August, 1980, transferred only 122 of approximately 1,200 Pennhurst residents to community living arrangements. The Commonwealth defendants' failure to comply with this Court's Orders during that period underscored the need for the Masters' offices.

On December 13, 1979, the Court of Appeals approved this Court's appointment of the Special Master, and its "determination that, for the retarded class members as a whole, Pennhurst cannot be an appropriate setting in which to provide habilitation." (612 F.2d at 114). In remanding to this Court, the Court of Appeals directed that an individual hearing should be held for any Pennhurst resident who contends that the living arrangements and services available at Pennhurst are more beneficial to his or her habilitation than those made available in the community.

In light of the Third Circuit's opinion, this Court established an impartial hearing procedure and appointed a Hearing-Master who was directed to provide an individual hearing for any Pennhurst resident who contended that his or her habilitation at Pennhurst would be more beneficial than that proposed in the community living arrangement. (Order of April 24, 1980).

This Court's Orders provide that the Special Master and the Hearing Master shall be compensated by the Commonwealth defendants (Orders of March 17, 1978; July 27, 1978; April 24, 1980; and June 10, 1980). The funds required for the operation of the Master's offices are costs of litigation under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 53 and 54 and were assessed against one of the losing parties by this Court. The Commonwealth defendants did not appeal these Orders. They complied with these Orders and paid the Masters' costs during fiscal years 1978-79, 1979-80, and 1980-81. Funds for those payments were included in the Commonwealth's budget for Pennhurst. In fiscal year 1981-82, however, the Department of Public Welfare and Secretary Helen O'Bannon took steps which this Court found to have been designed to thwart the Court's Orders mandating funding for the Masters' offices. As heretofore discussed in greater detail, the Court found the Department and Secretary O'Bannon in contempt of court and imposed a compensatory coercive civil contempt fine upon the Commonwealth defendants...