Lynch v. Lyng
| Decision Date | 07 April 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-5533,88-5533 |
| Citation | 872 F.2d 718 |
| Parties | Gwendolyn LYNCH, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Richard LYNG and Nancy-Ann E. Min, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Russell J. Overby, argued, Legal Services of Middle Tennessee, Inc., Nashville, Tenn., for plaintiff-appellant.
Jimmy G. Creecy, Dianne Stamey, Asst. Attys. Gen., Office of the Atty. Gen. of Tennessee, Joe B. Brown, James C. Thomason, III, Asst. U.S. Attys., Nashville, Tenn., Sheila Lieber, Richard A. Hertling, Federal Programs Branch, Michael Jay Singer, Jeffrica Jenkins Lee, argued, Dept. of Justice, Civ. Div., Appellate Staff, Washington, D.C., for defendants-appellees.
Before GUY and NORRIS, Circuit Judges, and BELL, District Judge. *
Gwendolyn Lynch brought a class action against the United States Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services. Lynch claimed that she and members of the class were entitled to the payment of retroactive food stamp benefits for the period between December 23, 1985, and August 1, 1986. The district court hearing Lynch's claim granted the Secretary's motion to dismiss. Lynch timely appealed to this court, and we now reverse.
Plaintiff, Gwendolyn Lynch, is a food stamp recipient residing in Tennessee. As a result of amendments made to the Food Stamp Act by the Food Security Act of 1985, Lynch became entitled to greater food stamp benefits. The relevant amendment for Lynch's purposes was one expanding the definition of "disability" for purposes of the Food Stamp Act.
The Food Security Act of 1985 was enacted on December 23, 1985, and on May 21, 1986, Richard Lyng, the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, passed regulations implementing the amendment affecting Lynch. The Secretary's rules made the change in definition effective June 20, 1986, to be implemented by the States between June 20, 1986, and August 1, 1986. On September 18, 1986, the Tennessee Department of Human Services notified local offices of the expanded definition of "disability" and required local offices to implement this change effective August 1, 1986. Since September of 1986, retroactive to August 1, 1986, Lynch has received increased food stamp benefits.
On December 29, 1986, Lynch brought a class action on behalf of herself and all others whose benefits were increased by the disability-expanding amendment. Suing both Richard Lyng and Margarete Sallee, the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services for the State of Tennessee, Lynch alleged that she should have been awarded increased benefits for the period between enactment of the Food Security Act of 1985, December 23, 1985, and the implementation of these amendments. Nancy-Ann Min subsequently replaced Sallee as Tennessee Commissioner, and has been substituted as a defendant.
Both defendants filed motions to dismiss, while plaintiff filed a motion for class certification and a motion for summary judgment. On July 17, 1987, Lynch and defendant Min entered into a consent decree. The decree provided that the action was certified as a class action, and that Min was to inform affected food stamp households of the change in the definition of "disability." The decree further provided that Min took no position as to plaintiff's claim that benefits should be awarded as of December 23, 1985, but that should December 23, 1985, be found to be the effective date of the amendment, Min will be obligated to make all reasonable efforts to locate and provide retroactive benefits to affected class members.
On April 8, 1988, the district court issued an opinion and order granting Lyng's motion to dismiss. This ruling held that the Secretary was not required to make the implementing regulations effective on December 23, 1985, 684 F.Supp. 498. Lynch appeals that decision to this court.
The sole issue in this case, if not easily resolvable, is at least clearly definable. Plaintiff argues that section 1504 of the Food Security Act of 1985, Pub.L. 99-198, 99 Stat. 1354 (the Act), must be made effective as of the date of enactment, December 23, 1985, while the Secretary argues that he has the authority to delay the effective date of section 1504.
As enacted, the Act contains seventeen titles, each dealing with a somewhat different substantive area. Title XV of the Act amends the Food Stamp Act, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 2011, et seq.
The Act contains three provisions relevant to the resolution of the present dispute. Section 1801 of the Act, which is part of no substantive title but refers to the provisions of all titles, holds that: "Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall become effective on the date of enactment of this Act." Section 1583 of the Act is part of Title XV, but it makes no changes in the substantive provisions of the Food Stamp Act. Rather, section 1583 provides that: "Not later than April 1, 1987, the Secretary shall issue rules to carry out the amendments made by this title." Section 1504 of the Act is the provision that expands the definition of "disability" under 7 U.S.C. Sec. 2012(r). Persons qualifying as disabled under the Food Stamp Act are granted a deduction from income for medical expenses. Since eligibility for benefits and the amount to which one is entitled depend upon income, the fact that a person qualifies as disabled means that the person is entitled to a reduction in income and a corresponding increase in benefits. Lynch represents all Tennessee residents whose benefits have increased as a result of the new disability definition in section 1504. 1 Unlike some provisions in Title XV, section 1504 does not contain a specific effective date.
Plaintiff argues that section 1801 requires that the Secretary, in implementing 1504 under 1583, provide an effective date for section 1504 of December 23, 1985. Obviously, establishment of such an effective date would require payment of retroactive food stamp benefits for the period between December 23, 1985, and the actual date of implementation. The Secretary argues that section 1504 need not be made effective until implemented under section 1583, and section 1583 requires only that the Secretary implement section 1504 by April 1, 1987.
The most basic tenet of statutory construction holds that courts are required where possible, to give words their plain, unambiguous meaning. United States v. Turkette, 452 U.S. 576, 101 S.Ct. 2524, 69 L.Ed.2d 246 (1981); McBarron v. S & T Industries, Inc., 771 F.2d 94 (6th Cir.1985). The presumption in construing a statute is that Congress meant exactly what it said. United States v. Jones, 542 F.2d 661 (6th Cir.1976). Given this rule, we find it difficult to harmonize section 1801 and section 1583 under the Secretary's proposed interpretation.
Section 1801 clearly and unambiguously states that, except where otherwise indicated, the amendments contained in the Act, like section 1504, are to become effective on the date of enactment--December 23, 1985. Section 1583 gives the Secretary until April 1, 1987, to implement these new rules, but it nowhere indicates the amendments are to be given an effective date other than that suggested by section 1801. The regular meaning of the words used seems to support plaintiff's interpretation.
The Secretary's interpretation requires a deviation from this plain meaning. While the district court is correct in noting that the Secretary's interpretation does not turn section 1801 into "mere surplusage," as section 1801 is still deemed applicable to most titles, Lyng's construction seemingly requires that the rule in 1801 not be applied to the provisions of Title XV. We cannot adopt such a construction, as nothing in section 1801 or Title XV even remotely suggests section 1801's mandate was intended to apply to all titles except Title XV. Section 1583 nowhere mentions effective dates, so it cannot be "otherwise indicating" an effective date under section 1801.
We recognize that there is nothing magical about an act's having an effective date, as all legislative enactments must necessarily have dates upon which they become effective, either by express provision or by operation of law. Given the basic purposes of the amendments in Title XV, however, we think it likely Congress intended its statutory effective dates, set by section 1801, to require an immediate change in the calculation of benefits. In each provision of Title XV, Congress recognized that some aspect of the food stamp program was not functioning properly; inequities were being created. These improprieties were not problems Congress saw developing in the future, but they were malfunctions that needed immediate repair. By passing the Act and explicitly saying its provisions were to take effect at once, unless otherwise specified, Congress declared that no longer would benefits be calculated in an inequitable manner. Section 1504's specific concern was the modification of a system that penalized some persons who were forced to spend large portions of their limited income on medical expenses.
Both the district court and the Secretary seem to suggest that this call for immediate reformation is inconsistent with section 1583's grant of implementation authority to the Secretary, but we disagree. We do not dispute that "legal effectiveness can be made subject to implementing regulations," Lynch v. Min, 684 F.Supp. 498, 502 (M.D.Tenn.1988), quoting Levesque v. Block, 723 F.2d 175, 186 (1st Cir.1983), but legal effectiveness is not made subject to the Secretary's power every time a provision is not self-executing. In the present case, it is reasonable to assume Congress wanted its changes to take immediate effect, but it recognized that the food stamp distribution system is a complex, multi-leveled bureaucracy. Implementing changes...
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