Hames v. City of Miami
| Decision Date | 20 March 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-22360 CIV.,06-22360 CIV. |
| Citation | 479 F.Supp.2d 1276 |
| Parties | William HAMES, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF MIAMI, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida |
Richard Francis O'Brien, III, Miami, FL, for Plaintiff.
Jennifer Lynn Cohen, Michael Fertig, Akerman Senterfitt, Miami, FL, John Joseph Quick, Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza et. al., Coral Gables, FL, Robert David Klausner, Klausner & Kaufman, P.A., Plantation, FL, Carol Ann Field, Attorney General Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS PLAINTIFF'S FEDERAL CLAIMS AND DECLINING TO EXERCISE SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION OVER PLAINTIFF'S STATE LAW CLAIMS
THIS CAUSE is before the Court on the Motions to Dismiss of Defendants Miami Police Relief and Pension Fund (the "Fund") [DE-59], the City of Miami Firefighters' and Police Officers' Retirement Trust (the "Trust") [DE-69], the State of Florida, Department of Legal Affairs ("DLA") [DE-69], and the City of Miami ("City") [DE-62].1 The case arises from pension forfeiture proceedings initiated against Plaintiff William Hames ("Plaintiff' or "Hames") under Florida's pension administration regime. The forfeiture proceedings implement Florida's constitutional and legislative mandate that public employees shall forfeit their pension benefits if convicted of certain felonies. Here, Plaintiff, a retired City of Miami police officer, pled guilty in 2001 to conspiracy to obstruct justice and to deprive inhabitants of the City of Miami of civil rights based on false statements he gave as part of a "cover up" of police shooting deaths known as the "1-395 shootings." Judgment was entered and Plaintiff was sentenced in 2004. Forfeiture proceedings were initiated in early 2006 and recently concluded with a finding of forfeiture.2 By his Amended Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that the forfeiture proceedings, including any appeals therefrom, are constitutionally defective in a myriad of ways, and also give rise to state claims for breach of contract and negligence. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief either halting the forfeiture proceedings or the enforcement of any forfeiture order, and compensatory and punitive damages.3
Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that the City, Trust and Fund: (1) initiated the forfeiture proceedings in retaliation against him for exercising his First Amendment right to testify against other Miami police officers; (2) are attempting to impose a fine that is excessive under the Eighth Amendment; (3) failed to provide due process in connection with forfeiture proceedings and (4) breached the statutory pension contract in initiating the forfeiture. Plaintiff also sues the City for negligent failure to train, supervise or oversee the individuals who sit on the pension review board and are responsible for making pension forfeiture decisions. Finally, Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against the State of Florida and the Florida Attorney General because he claims Florida's appellate procedures violate the Equal Protection Clause in that he will be unable to seek mandatory state Supreme Court review of any adverse decision by Third District Court of Appeals ("DCA") regarding forfeiture.
All Defendants move for dismissal of Plaintiffs Amended Complaint in its entirety on the ground that it presents no justiciable case or controversy and therefore the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. In particular, they contend that Plaintiffs Amended Complaint is founded upon a hypothetical outcome of a yet-to-be-concluded administrative process, and yet-to-be-initiated state court appeals process, and that any decision from this Court would, therefore, be an impermissible advisory opinion based on hypothetical facts. Defendants maintain that the dispute is not ripe given the necessary factual development required to make the dispute concrete and the lack of any injury to Plaintiff unless and until an adverse forfeiture decision materializes. In addition, the Trust, Fund and DLA move to dismiss each of Plaintiffs individual causes of action for failure to state a claim. Finally, the Trust and DLA ask the Court to abstain given the nature of the ongoing proceedings in the state venue, and DLA argues that it should be dismissed under the doctrine of sovereign immunity.4
Upon careful review of the motions, the response and replies thereto, and viewing the Amended Complaint in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, the Court finds that Plaintiffs claim that Florida's appellate procedures violate the U.S. Constitution is not a justiciable case or controversy over which this Court has jurisdiction and therefore that claim is dismissed. However, given the nature of the remaining claims, and because the administrative process is complete and a judgment on forfeiture rendered, the Court believes that these claims are ripe for review and unworthy of abstention. Nevertheless, the substantive constitutional claims should all be dismissed. Plaintiff cannot state a claim for First Amendment retaliation where forfeiture is mandated under Florida law, a predicate felony was committed, and the prevailing authorities do not clearly contradict the forfeiture determination. Likewise, pension forfeitures do not violate the Eighth Amendment where the entitlement to the pension is contingent on compliance with the pension forfeiture statute. Similarly, Plaintiffs allegations do not rise to the level of a due process violation at the administrative level; Plaintiff received all the process he was due under the Constitution. Finally, given dismissal of the federal claims, the Court declines to accept supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims.
Plaintiff William Hames ("Hames") is a retired City of Miami Police officer. Amend. Compl. ¶ 6. He retired in 1998, after 25 years of service. Id. ¶ 19. Upon his retirement, Hames received a lump sum pension payment in excess of $282,000. Id. ¶ 21. Defendant Fund is a defined contribution, governmental retirement plan established pursuant to Chapter 185, Fla. Stat., and City of Miami Ordinance 6558. Id. ¶ 9. A five member board of trustees is charged with administering the Fund and ruling on forfeitures of funds paid to police officers such as Plaintiff. Id.
On July 16, 2006, Hames was notified by the Fund that a hearing was scheduled regarding the potential forfeiture of his pension benefits. Compl. ¶ 20. The hearing was scheduled for August 23, 2006, but it was later rescheduled for September 20, 2006. Id. Prior to issuing this notice, the board conducted a preliminary hearing in which the board determined that there was a basis for holding a formal forfeiture hearing. Id. ¶ 22. The board issued an Order Finding Probable Cause on February 20, 2006. Id.
The basis for initiating the forfeiture proceedings, and for issuing the Order Finding Probable Cause, stems from a shooting incident that took place while Hames was an active police officer. The incident ultimately lead to Hames' federal conviction in 2004. On November 7, 1995, Hames and other officers attempted to arrest several individuals who had committed a robbery. Amend. Compl. ¶ 23-30. After a car chase, Hames shot and killed one of the men and another officer shot and killed'a second suspect. Id. Following the killings, other officers placed "throw down" weapons on the two deceased men and reported that the men were armed, presumably in an effort to justify the shootings. Id. ¶ 31. Several days after the shootings, Hames gave a statement to investigators in which he declared that the victims possessed weapons at the time they were fired upon by officers. ¶ 32-33.
After Hames retired from the police force in 1998, he was approached by FBI agents who were investigating several shooting incidents in South Florida, including the 1-395 shootings. Id. ¶¶ 35-37. After the FBI inquiry, Hames contacted a lawyer and subsequently met with representatives from the United States Attorneys Office to discuss their investigations. Id. ¶ 37.
On September 5, 2001, an Information was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Case No. 02 — CR-208 — Gold(6) [DE-82] charging Hames with violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 242, 371 and 1512(b)(3) for conspiring with other police officers (a) to obstruct justice and (b) to deprive the citizens of Miami of their civil rights, by giving a false and misleading information regarding the 1-395 shootings. Id. In September of 2001, Hames pled guilty to the charges and agreed to cooperate With the Government's case against other officers. As part of his cooperation, Harries gave testimony at the Grand Jury proceedings and also testified in two trials. Id. ¶ 43. Shortly after pleading guilty, Hames was notified by the Fund that it would hold a preliminary hearing regarding the possible forfeiture of his pension benefits. Id. ¶ 47.
Hames was not sentenced until November of 2004, after the trials at which he gave testimony concluded. Prior to sentencing, Hames argued to the sentencing judge that he was in all likelihood going to loose his pension and that the judge should consider this fact in formulating an appropriate sentence. See DE-1284, 02 — C208 (Memorandum in Aid of Sentencing). The Government too noted that Hames would suffer pecuniary losses due to his cooperation. See DE-1303, 020CR-208 (Government's Sentencing Memorandum). Judge Gold sentenced Hames to three years probation, community service and a $100 fine. Id. ¶ 46.
As indicated, on December 8, 2006 the Trust conducted a formal hearing in which documentary and testimonial evidence was presented, along with memoranda and argument from counsel. At the conclusion of the hearing, an order was entered forfeiting Hames' pension. It is unclear whether Hames has appealed that decision,...
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