Hardaway v. Dist. of Columbia Hous. Auth.

• Citation: 843 F.3d 973
• Decision Date: 16 December 2016
• Docket Number: No. 14-7144,14-7144
• Parties: Angelene Hardaway and Lena Hardaway, Appellants v. District of Columbia Housing Authority, Appellee
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (District of Columbia)

843 F.3d 973

Angelene Hardaway and Lena Hardaway, Appellants

v.District of Columbia Housing Authority, Appellee

No. 14-7144

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued October 7, 2016

Decided December 16, 2016

Dina B. Mishra, appointed by the court, argued the cause as amicus curiae in support of appellants. With her on the briefs were Steven H. Goldblatt, Washington, DC, appointed by the court, and Sarah McDonough, Student Counsel.

Lena Hardaway and Angelene Hardaway, pro se, filed the briefs for appellants.

Alex M. Chintella, Washington, DC, argued the cause for appellee. With him on the brief were Frederick A. Douglas and Curtis A. Boykin. Nicola Grey, Washington, DC, and Mashanda Y. Mosley entered appearances.

Before: Rogers, Tatel and Griffith, Circuit Judges.

Opinion concurring in part filed by Circuit Judge Rogers.

Tatel, Circuit Judge:

Appellants Angelene and Lena Hardaway ("the Hardaways") challenge the District of Columbia Housing Authority's ("the Authority") denial of approval for a live-in aide to care for Angelene. That denial, they argue, violates provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12132, Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, and Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(1). The district court dismissed the case on standing and mootness grounds and, in the alternative, granted summary judgment. Because these rulings were erroneous, we reverse. And because the district court abused its discretion in summarily denying the Hardaways' motion to seal certain medical records, we reverse that decision as well.

I.

Because this case arises from the district court's grant of a motion to dismiss and, in the alternative, summary judgment, we take the factual allegations contained in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in the Hardaways' favor. See Information Handling Services, Inc. v. Defense Automated Printing Services , 338 F.3d 1024, 1029, 1032 (D.C. Cir. 2003). Moreover, we construe those allegations liberally given that the Hardaways filed their complaint pro se. See, e.g. , Erickson v. Pardus , 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007).

Under the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher Program ("the program"), eligible families receive government subsidies to pay for "decent, safe, and sanitary housing." 24 C.F.R. § 982.1(a)(1) ; see also 42 U.S.C. § 1437f (authorizing HUD to administer the program). State or local government entities called public housing agencies administer the program using funds HUD provides. 24 C.F.R. § 982.1(a)(1). Once a public housing agency selects a family to participate in the program, it issues that family a voucher based on the family's size. Id. § 982.402(a). A family of one, for instance, normally receives a one-bedroom voucher. The program then works in a three-step process: First, the family "select[s] and rent[s] [a] unit that meet[s] program housing quality standards"; second, the public housing agency approves the unit and tenancy; and third, the public housing agency contracts with the unit's owner to make rent subsidy payments on the family's behalf. Id. § 982.1(a)(2).

In March 2013, the Montgomery County, Maryland Housing Opportunities Commission ("the Commission") selected Angelene Hardaway to participate in the program. Based on a medical form provided by Angelene's doctor, the Commission determined that Angelene has a disability and requires a live-in aide to care for her. Because HUD regulations mandate that "[a]ny live-in aide (approved by the [public housing agency] to reside in the unit to care for a family member who is disabled ...) must be counted in determining the family unit size," the Commission issued Angelene a two-bedroom voucher, rather than a one-bedroom voucher. Id. § 982.402(b)(6). Lena Hardaway, Angelene's sister, served as Angelene's live-in aide.

Two months after being selected for the program, Angelene decided to move to the District of Columbia. Federal law requires that program vouchers be portable: once a family secures voucher assistance in one jurisdiction, it has a right to receive such assistance if it moves to another. See 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(r)(1) ; 24 C.F.R. § 982.353(b). Relying on this guarantee, Angelene obtained a two-bedroom voucher from the Authority on June 6, 2013, and Angelene and Lena moved into a two-bedroom apartment in the District three weeks later.

The Hardaways were soon met with disturbing news. On July 9, they received a letter from the Authority revoking Angelene's right to a live-in aide and, in turn, her legal entitlement to a two-bedroom voucher. Two days later, the Hardaways filed a complaint in district court seeking both damages and injunctive relief. In the complaint, they alleged that the Authority's denial of Angelene's request for a reasonable accommodation of her disability violated provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12132, Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, and Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(1). The Hardaways also sought a temporary restraining order and moved to seal their complaint, all medical records, and all "nondispositive materials." Hardaway v. DCHA , No. 13–1232, ECF No. 8, at 1 (D.D.C. Aug. 29, 2013). The district court denied both motions. See Hardaway , No. 13–1232, ECF No. 5 (D.D.C. Aug. 9, 2013) (denying temporary restraining order); Hardaway , No. 13–1232, ECF No. 10 (D.D.C. Sept. 5, 2013) (denying motion to seal).

On September 26, while the Hardaways' case was pending, the Authority sent another letter reaffirming that Angelene's "request for a live-in aide has been denied" on the ground that "there was no documentation submitted with [her] request to support [her] need for a reasonable accommodation." At the same time, however, the letter stated that "this determination will not reverse the decision of the [program] to provide [Angelene] with a two (2) bedroom voucher."

Shortly after sending this letter, the Authority moved to dismiss or for summary judgment, asserting that the Hardaways' complaint failed to state a claim for which relief could be granted and that their claims were moot. The district court granted the Authority's motion, holding on its own accord that the Hardaways lacked standing because they had alleged no injury in fact. "Nothing in plaintiffs' Complaint," the court reasoned, "indicates that the [Authority] denied [them] access to or participation in the [program] because of Angelene's disability." Hardaway , No. 13–1232, ECF No. 18, slip op. at 4 (D.D.C. July 30, 2014). And because, in the court's view, the Authority's September 26 letter showed that it had "acquiesced to plaintiffs' desired living arrangement," the court determined that the Hardaways had suffered no cognizable harm. Id. at 5. For that reason, too, it concluded that their claims were moot. Id. n.3. The court dismissed the case with prejudice, and the Hardaways appealed. In considering the issues before us, we have been ably assisted by a court-appointed amicus.

II.

We review dismissals for lack of Article III jurisdiction de novo. See LaRoque v. Holder , 650 F.3d 777, 785 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (standing); Schmidt v. United States , 749 F.3d 1064, 1068 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (mootness). We begin with standing and then turn to mootness.

A.

Article III standing requires, among other things, an injury in fact, which is " ‘an invasion of a legally protected interest’ that is ‘concrete and particularized’ and ‘actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.’ " Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins , ––– U.S. ––––, 136 S.Ct. 1540, 1548, 194 L.Ed.2d 635 (2016) (quoting Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife , 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992) ). As the Supreme Court has emphasized, when the plaintiff is herself "an object of [government] action [,] ... there is ordinarily little question that the action ... has caused [her] injury." Lujan , 504 U.S. at 561–562, 112 S.Ct. 2130. Indeed, this court has explained that standing is "self-evident" when the plaintiff is herself "the object of the challenged agency action." Fund for Animals v. Norton , 322 F.3d 728, 734 (D.C. Cir. 2003). Critically for this case, the standing inquiry focuses on whether the plaintiff has demonstrated an injury "at the outset of the litigation." Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC) , 528 U.S. 167, 180, 120 S.Ct. 693, 145 L.Ed.2d 610 (2000) ; see also Wheaton College v. Sebelius , 703 F.3d 551, 552 (D.C. Cir. 2012) ("[S]tanding is assessed at the time of filing....").

Applying these principles, we think it obvious that Angelene has demonstrated injury in fact. The Hardaways' complaint alleges that Angelene received a July 9 letter from the Authority denying her "request for reasonable accommodation." Construed liberally, the complaint clearly refers to a rescission of Angelene's live-in aide approval. By revoking that approval, the Authority extinguished Angelene's legal entitlement to a two-bedroom voucher because only approved live-in aides may count toward family-unit size. See 24 C.F.R. § 982.551(h)(2) ("No other person [i.e., nobody but members of the assisted family] may reside in the unit (except for a ... live-in aide....)."); id. § 982.551(h)(4) ("If the [public housing agency] has given approval, ... a live-in aide may reside in the unit."). As a result, Angelene instantly became vulnerable to losing both her round-the-clock care and her home. The Hardaways filed their complaint two days after receiving the letter.

At the outset of the litigation, then, the Authority had just stripped Angelene of a government benefit to which she claimed a legal entitlement. Because Angelene was thus the "object" of government action, there should have been "little question" that she suffered cognizable injury. See Lujan , 504 U.S. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130. Said otherwise, by rescinding Angelene's claimed statutory entitlement to a live-in aide and two-bedroom voucher, the...