Jackson v. Rapps

• Decision Date: 13 August 1990
• Docket Number: No. 89-4022-CV-C-5.,89-4022-CV-C-5.
• Citation: 746 F. Supp. 934
• Parties: Glenda JACKSON, Individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. William R. RAPPS, Individually and as Director of the Missouri Division of Child Support Enforcement, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri

746 F. Supp. 934

Glenda JACKSON, Individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. William R. RAPPS, Individually and as Director of the Missouri Division of Child Support Enforcement, Defendant.

No. 89-4022-CV-C-5.

United States District Court, W.D. Missouri, C.D.

August 13, 1990.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Jim R. Bruce, Kennett, Mo., for plaintiff.

William Cornwell, B.J. Jones, Missouri Atty. Gen.'s Office, Jefferson City, Mo., for defendant.

ORDER

SCOTT O. WRIGHT, District Judge.

Before this Court are the cross-motions of plaintiff Glenda Jackson and defendant William R. Rapps for summary judgment on the issue of liability, in an action against defendant William R. Rapps, individually and as Director of the Missouri Division of Child Support Enforcement. This cause of action concerns defendant's method of calculation of Ms. Jackson's "state debt" for money allegedly owed to the state as reimbursement for the state's Aid to Families of Dependent Children payments to Ms. Jackson's former spouse. Ms. Jackson alleges that the Director's actions are in violation of the United States Constitution and federal law. Ms. Jackson alleges, in the alternative, that the Director's actions are in violation of state statute. In accordance with the reasoning in this order, this Court grants plaintiff's motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability and denies defendant's motion for summary judgment.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. Statutory Framework

The State of Missouri, though the Division of Child Support Enforcement ("DCSE"), participates in the joint state/federal Child Support Enforcement Program under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 651-665 (1988), and the Federal Regulations promulgated pursuant to the Act, 45 C.F.R. § 302.1-307.12 (1989). Under federal law, the DCSE is responsible for the administration of the program in the State of Missouri. The State is required to adopt a state plan in conformity with the Federal Regulations established for the administration of the program by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. 45 C.F.R. § 302.1-302.12 (1989).

The Federal Regulations and state statutes require that all applicants for Aid to Families with Dependent Children ("AFDC") assign to the State any rights to support owed from any other person, which includes child support payments. 45 C.F.R. § 232.11(a)(1) (1989); Mo.Rev.Stat. § 208.040 (Supp.1990). The Federal Regulations and the state statutes also provide methods for determination of the amount of any support owed. The Federal Regulations provide two alternative methods of determining the amount owed:

(a) the support rights assigned to the IV-D agency pursuant to 45 C.F.R § 232.11 of this title or section 471(a)(17) of the Act constitute an obligation owed to the State by the individual responsible for providing such support. Such obligation shall be established by:

(1) Order of a court of competent jurisdiction,

(2) Other legal process as established by State law, such as an administrative hearing process or a legally enforceable and binding agreement;

* * * * * *

(b) The amount of the obligation described in paragraph (a) of this section shall be:

(1) The amount specified in the order of a court of competent jurisdiction which covers the assigned support rights; or

(2) If there is no court order, an amount determined by the IV-D agency as part of the legal process referred to in paragraph (a)(2) of this section in accordance with a formula which meets the criteria prescribed in § 302.53.

45 C.F.R. § 302.50 (1989).

Missouri's state plan for child support enforcement, as originally enacted in response to the federal mandate, provided that where no court order addressed the duty to provide support, that the State would administratively establish support arrearages to be referred to as the "state debt." The original Missouri statute did not require the use of a formula, but stated that the "state debt" would be equal to the amount of public assistance paid out. As originally enacted in 1982, § 454.465 provided:

Payment of public assistance by the division ... creates an obligation, to be called "state debt," which is due and owing to the division ... in an amount equal to the amount of public assistance so paid.

The Missouri statute was amended in 1984 after initiation of a suit challenging the constitutionality of the statute based on failure to use the federally mandated formula. The current Missouri statute has language similar to the federal statute, except that under the state statute the obligation, or "state debt," is not determined by a formula, but is set by the Director of the DCSE:

(1) Where there exists a court order directed to a parent which covers that parent's support obligation to a dependent during a period in which the Division of Family Services provided public assistance to or for the benefit of that dependent, the state debt of the parent shall be an amount equal to the obligation ordered by the court including arrearages and unpaid medical expenses, up to the full amount of public assistance paid, or

(2) Where no court order covers a parent's support obligation to a dependent during a period in which the Division of Family Services provided public assistance to or for the benefit of the dependent, the state debt may be set or reset by the director of the Division of Child Support Enforcement or his designee in an amount not to exceed the amount of public assistance so provided by the Division of Family Services.

Mo.Rev.Stat. §§ 454.465.1(2) & 454.460(4) (Supp.1990).

B. Facts of the Case

Plaintiff Glenda Jackson is the mother of three children. Ms. Jackson was divorced from the father of her children on April 13, 1983. The father was awarded custody of the three minor children. Ms. Jackson was unemployed at that time, and neither she nor the father were ordered to pay child support.

Ms. Jackson subsequently filed a motion to modify the custody order by awarding to her the custody of the children along with child support payments. Ms. Jackson was granted leave of court to file her motion as a "poor person" without payment of a filing fee.

The circuit court on September 9, 1983 denied Ms. Jackson's motion subject to modifications and conditions provided in the order. One of the modifications allowed Ms. Jackson weekend visitation with the children. Another modification was a requirement mistakenly entered by the court that Ms. Jackson was to pay the father the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) a month per child for the three children while they were exercising visitation with Ms. Jackson.

The circuit court thereafter on October 4, 1983 entered a nunc pro tunc order stating that the September 9, 1983 order contained a "scrivener's error." The October 4, 1983 order stated that the September 9, 1983 order should have required the father to pay the mother, Ms. Jackson, the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) per month per child for the three children while they were exercising visitation with the mother, Ms. Jackson. The order did not require Ms. Jackson to pay child support.

The father began receiving AFDC payments in January of 1986. The prosecuting attorney for Dunklin County subsequently wrote to Ms. Jackson on October 31, 1988, stating the Division of Child Support Enforcement ("DCSE") had contacted him and requested that he seek a modification of Ms. Jackson's divorce decree to require her to pay child support for her three children. Ms. Jackson had remarried at this time, and was working outside the home. Counsel for Ms. Jackson states that the assistant prosecutor for Dunklin County informed him on January 9, 1989 that the DCSE would not be seeking child support from Ms. Jackson.

The Director of the Missouri Division of Child Support Enforcement, William R. Rapps, ("Director Rapps"), on January 4, 1989 issued a Notice of Finding of Financial Responsibility, asserting that Ms. Jackson was responsible for repaying the state $11,064.00 as a "state debt" under §§ 454.460—454.510 of the Missouri statutes. The "state debt" was reimbursement for the public assistance (i.e. AFDC and Medicaid) paid out by the State on behalf of Ms. Jackson's children.

On April 26, 1989 the Missouri Department of Revenue intercepted the joint income tax refund of Ms. Jackson and her current husband in order to satisfy the $11,064.00 "state debt" claimed by the DCSE. Plaintiff Jackson then filed the present action on January 26, 1990.

Director Rapps subsequently entered an administrative default order for $11,064.00 and ordered Ms. Jackson to maintain medical insurance on the children. The administrative order was filed in the Dunklin County Circuit Clerk's office, and has the effect of a lien on property. Mo.Rev.Stat. § 454.465 (1986).

Director Rapps issued to Ms. Jackson's employer on March 23, 1990 an order requiring her employer to withhold $424.40 per month up to fifty per cent (50%) of Ms. Jackson's disposable earnings. The order stated that Ms. Jackson owed a debt to the state of $13,495.00, and support of $187.00 per month for the two remaining children (one child had reached the age of eighteen in the interim, and was no longer eligible for child support).

Ms. Jackson filed her claims as a class action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violation of the due process and supremacy clauses of the United States Constitution. The constitutional violations are alleged to be the result of state action which does not comply with applicable federal law. Ms. Jackson alternatively alleges that the actions of Director Rapps do not comply with the state statute. The complaint demands declarative and injunctive relief, compensatory damages in the amount $100,000.00, punitive damages in the amount of $750,000.00, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Standard for Summary Judgment

Summary judgment can be granted only if there is no genuine dispute as to...