Maryland State Dept. of Educ. v. U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs
| Decision Date | 22 October 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-2626,95-2626 |
| Citation | 98 F.3d 165 |
| Parties | MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, Division of Rehabilitation Services, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS; Jesse Brown, Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs; John T. Farrar, Under Secretary for Health, Department of Veterans Affairs; Michael B. Phaup, Director, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Defendants-Appellees. National Federation of the Blind, Amicus Curiae. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
ARGUED: Carmen Mercedes Shepard, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Baltimore, MD, for Plaintiff-Appellant. William Charles Gleisner, III, Gleisner Law Offices, S.C., Milwaukee, WI, for Amicus Curiae. Stephen Woolman Preston, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Defendants-Appellees. ON BRIEF: J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Attorney General, Caroline E. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Baltimore, MD, for Plaintiff-Appellant. Kenneth M. Zuber, Gleisner Law Offices, S.C., Milwaukee, WI, for Amicus Curiae. Frank W. Hunger, Assistant Attorney General, Lynne Ann Battaglia, United States Attorney, William Kanter, Jeffrica Jenkins Lee, Appellate Staff, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Defendants-Appellees.
Before ERVIN, HAMILTON, and LUTTIG, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by published opinion. Judge HAMILTON wrote the opinion, in which Judge ERVIN and Judge LUTTIG joined.
The issue in this case is whether an arbitration panel, convened pursuant to § 107d-1(b) of the Randolph-Sheppard Blind Vending Act (Act), 20 U.S.C. §§ 107-107f, has the authority to order a federal agency or department found in violation of the Act to take specific remedial action. Appellant, the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Rehabilitation Services, asserts that the district court erred when it held that the arbitration panel convened in this case exceeded its authority when it ordered appellees, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and individuals associated with the DVA, 1 to undertake specific remedial action. Finding no error, we affirm.
Because this appeal involves the interpretation of a statute, it is helpful to begin our discussion with an overview of the Act and the statutory provisions at issue in this case.
Congress enacted the Act to "provid[e] blind persons with remunerative employment, enlarg[e] the economic opportunities of the blind, and stimulat[e] the blind to greater efforts in striving to make themselves self-supporting." 20 U.S.C. § 107(a). The Act requires that all new buildings constructed by any federal department or agency contain within them a "satisfactory site ... for the location and operation of a vending facility by a blind person." Id. § 107a(d)(1)(B). The Act provides that the Secretary of the United States Department of Education (Secretary) shall administer the Act and designate a state licensing agency, which will be responsible for implementing the provisions of the Act in each state. Id. § 107a(a). The responsibilities of the state licensing agency under the Act include issuing licenses to blind persons for operating vending facilities and administering the blind vending program within the state. See id. § 107a(a)(5). In addition, the Act grants the state licensing agency the authority to select a location for a blind vending facility within federal buildings and to determine the type of vending facility to be maintained, though this authority is subject to the approval of the head of the department or agency in control of the building. Id. § 107a(c).
In addition to its substantive provisions, the Act provides a procedural mechanism for resolving disputes that arise out of the administration of the Act. Section 107d-1(a), for example, provides for a full evidentiary hearing before the state licensing agency for any blind licensee who is "dissatisfied with any action arising from the operation or administration of the vending facility program." 20 U.S.C. § 107d-1(a). A blind licensee who is dissatisfied with the agency's decision following such a hearing may file a complaint with the Secretary who shall convene an arbitration panel to settle the dispute. Id.
Section 107d-1(b) provides a parallel provision for a state licensing agency that is dissatisfied with the efforts of a federal entity to comply with the provisions of the Act. Under § 107d-1(b), a state licensing agency that believes a federal entity is failing to comply with the Act may file a complaint with the Secretary and the Secretary shall convene a panel to arbitrate the dispute pursuant to § 107d-2. Id. § 107d-1(b). Section 107d-2(b)(2) discusses the composition of an arbitration panel convened under § 107d-1(b) and provides that if the panel finds that the acts or practices of the federal entity are in violation of the Act, the head of the federal entity "shall cause such acts or practices to be terminated promptly and shall take such other action as may be necessary to carry out the decision of the panel." Id. § 107d-2(b)(2). According to the Act, the decision of the panel shall be "final and binding" on the parties. Id.
The parties' dispute arose in 1987, when the DVA began construction of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Baltimore, Maryland without providing notice to the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Rehabilitation Services (Maryland), the state licensing agency, as required by § 107a(d)(1) of the Act. See 20 U.S.C. § 107a(d)(1). Upon learning of the VAMC project, Maryland applied to the DVA for a permit to operate a blind vending facility at the VAMC. The DVA denied Maryland's application, and an arbitration panel convened pursuant to § 107d-1(b) of the Act, held a hearing to arbitrate the dispute.
On May 5, 1994, the arbitration panel issued a unanimous order finding that the provisions of the Act applied to the VAMC and ordering that the parties enter into negotiations to permit Maryland and its licensed vendor to operate a vending facility at the VAMC. The panel's order provided further that if the parties failed to agree on a permit for the vending facility by June 1, 1994, each party should submit a proposed permit before June 15, 1994, and the permit preferred by a majority of the panel would become the final award of the panel.
On June 15, 1994, Maryland submitted a proposed permit to the panel. Although the DVA did not submit a proposed permit, it filed a motion seeking reconsideration of the panel's decision.
On October 15, 1994, the arbitration panel issued its final order in which it directed the DVA to turn over to Maryland the operation of the retail store already located at the VAMC, then operated by the DVA in accordance with the Veterans' Canteen Service Act, 38 U.S.C. §§ 7801-7810. 2 In addition to the retail store space, the arbitration panel also ordered that the DVA turn over certain fixtures and equipment.
Maryland filed this action in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in response to the DVA's continued refusal to comply with the arbitration panel's award. In its Amended Complaint, Maryland sought an order from the district court requiring the DVA to comply with the arbitration panel's award or, alternatively, an order requiring the DVA to comply with the Act by providing a satisfactory site for a blind vendor's facility at the VAMC. On May 31, 1995, the DVA issued a final order with respect to its responsibilities under the Act and offered three specific sites within the VAMC which the DVA deemed satisfactory under the Act for the operation of a blind vending facility. Maryland rejected each of these sites as unsatisfactory. Both parties moved for summary judgment, and on August 17, 1995, the district court entered judgment for the DVA. Maryland State Dep't of Educ. v. United States Dep't of Veterans Affairs, 896 F.Supp. 513 (D.Md.1995). The district court held that the arbitration panel had exceeded its authority under the Act when it ordered a specific remedy and denied Maryland's request for relief. Maryland noted a timely appeal.
On appeal, Maryland argues that the district court erred when it declined to enforce the arbitration panel's award and entered judgment for the DVA, holding that § 107d-2(b)(2) of the Act does not authorize an arbitration panel, convened under § 107d-1(b) of the Act, to award a specific remedy once a violation of the Act has been found. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the district court in favor of the DVA.
Whether a party is entitled to summary judgment is a matter of law which we review de novo. Higgins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, 863 F.2d 1162, 1167 (4th Cir.1988). Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).
Courts are charged with the duty to apply the law that Congress enacted. Therefore, we begin with the language of the statute itself, "bearing in mind that we should give effect to the legislative will as expressed in the language." United States v. Murphy, 35 F.3d 143, 145 (4th Cir.1994), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 954, 130 L.Ed.2d 897 (1995). Thus, "[c]ourts are not free to read into the language what is not there, but rather should apply the statute as written." Id. In other words, if the statutory language " 'is plain and admits of no more than one meaning, the duty of interpretation does not arise, and the rules which are to aid doubtful meanings need no discussion.' " Id. (quoting Caminetti v. United States, 242 U.S. 470, 485, 37 S.Ct. 192, 194, 61 L.Ed. 442 (1917)).
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