Midkiff v. Adams County Reg. Water District
| Citation | 409 F.3d 758 |
| Decision Date | 24 May 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-3508.,04-3508. |
| Parties | Brian MIDKIFF; Monica Midkiff, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. ADAMS COUNTY REGIONAL WATER DISTRICT, et al., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit) |
Kimberly M. Skaggs, Equal Justice Foundation, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellants.
John W. Hust, Schroeder, Maundrell, Barbiere & Powers, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellees.
Kimberly M. Skaggs, Equal Justice Foundation, Columbus, Ohio, Edward A. Icove, Smith & Condeni, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellants.
Before: SUHRHEINRICH and GILMAN, Circuit Judges; ACKERMAN, District Judge.*
Plaintiffs Brian and Monica Midkiff ("Midkiffs") appeal from the District Court order that granted the motions to dismiss of Defendants Adams County Regional Water District ("Water District") and the Water District's manager, Brian Ast. The District Court also denied the Midkiffs' motion for leave to file a Second Amended Complaint. Following a dispute between the Midkiffs and their landlords, the Water District terminated water service to the Midkiffs' property pursuant to the request of the Midkiffs' landlords. The landlords were the customers of the Water District and held the account for water service to the property. Plaintiffs filed a purported class action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, attacking the Water District's policy that tenants and other non-property owners cannot establish water service accounts in their own names because they are not property owners. The Midkiffs claimed that the Defendants' policy violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. We hold that the Plaintiffs have not established a due process or equal protection violation because they have not shown a legitimate claim of entitlement to water service and because Defendants' conduct does not shock the conscience. This Court also concludes that the Magistrate Judge in this case did not err in denying the Midkiffs' motion for leave to file a Second Amended Complaint. We AFFIRM the judgments below in their entirety.
Because this matter is before the Court on an appeal from a grant of a motion to dismiss, the following facts are derived from the Midkiffs' First Amended Complaint and construed in the light most favorable to the Midkiffs.
The Midkiffs leased a home at 2197 Bailey Road in Peebles (Adams County), Ohio from their landlords, Defendants William and Phyllis Albrecht ("Albrechts"). The Midkiffs have four young children, and at the time of the events that gave rise to this suit, Monica Midkiff was pregnant and experiencing complications due to diabetes. The Water District is the exclusive supplier of water services to residents of Adams County, and provided water service to the Midkiffs' home through an account maintained by the Albrechts, the owners of the property. The Water District billed the Albrechts each month, and under the terms of the Midkiffs' lease, the Albrechts presented the water bill to the Midkiffs each month for payment. Following a dispute between the Midkiffs and the Albrechts over the repair of a hot water heater, the Midkiffs allegedly failed to make a timely rent payment in November 2002. Instead of initiating collection or eviction proceedings, the Midkiffs allege that on November 26, 2002, the Albrechts requested that the Water District terminate water services to the leased premises and close the account held by the Albrechts for that address. The Water District immediately obliged, and terminated water services to the Midkiffs' home without giving any notice to the Midkiffs.
On November 26 and again on November 27, 2002, the Midkiffs contacted the Water District and requested that they be allowed to establish an account in their own names and have water service resumed. Representatives of the Water District informed the Midkiffs on both occasions that they could open their own account only if they "produced a deed" to the premises or other proof of ownership. First Am. Compl. ¶ 14. The representatives stated that Water District policy dictated that only property owners, not lessees or tenants, could establish an account. On November 27, the office manager of the Water District contacted the Midkiffs' counsel and left a message stating that she could do nothing about the Midkiffs' situation because she was "following company rules." First Am. Compl. ¶ 15.
The Water District allegedly restored service to the premises on December 2, 2002. However, William Albrecht then allegedly trespassed onto the premises without the Midkiffs' knowledge or consent and shut off the water supply. The Midkiffs allegedly lacked water service until December 17, 2002, when they vacated the premises.
The Midkiffs filed this purported class action suit against the Water District and its manager Ast on November 29, 2002, just three days after the initial service termination. The purported class consists of all tenant/lessee consumers who cannot establish water service accounts in their own name because such consumers are not owners of the property for which water service is sought. The Midkiffs brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violation of the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, and sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the Water District and Ast, as well as compensatory and punitive damages. The Midkiffs later amended their complaint to add a claim against the Albrechts under the Ohio Landlord-Tenant Act ("LTA"), Ohio Rev.Code Ann. §§ 5321.01-5321.19.
All Defendants filed motions to dismiss the complaint in January 2003. In conjunction with their opposition, the Midkiffs moved for leave to file a Second Amended Complaint to add a claim under the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691a-1691f, and to add an allegation that the Water District acted as the agent of the Albrechts under the LTA. Without objection, the District Court on February 12, 2003, stayed class certification proceedings pending resolution of the motions to dismiss.
On September 2, 2003, Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hogan rendered a Report and Recommendation ("R & R") proposing that Defendants' motions to dismiss be granted. With regard to the due process claim, Magistrate Judge Hogan concluded that the Midkiffs had no property right to continued water service and therefore no procedural due process violation existed. He also found that the Water District did not violate substantive due process because the service termination did not shock the conscience. The R & R rejected the equal protection claim because, under rational basis scrutiny, the Water District's policy was rationally related to legitimate government interests. Because no constitutional violation existed, the R & R suggested that Ast be granted qualified immunity and dismissed. The Magistrate Judge denied the Midkiffs' motion to amend their complaint, holding that such amendment would be futile because they could not state valid ECOA claims and because, due to the recommended dismissal of all the federal claims, the agency allegations could be better presented in a state-court complaint. Finally, the Magistrate Judge suggested that the District Court decline to exercise jurisdiction over the Midkiffs' pendant state landlord-tenant claim because no viable federal cause of action remained in the case.
The District Court adopted the Magistrate Judge's R & R without elaboration and dismissed the complaint against all Defendants on March 25, 2004. The Midkiffs timely appealed. The District Court had subject matter jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343(a)(4), and 2201, and had supplemental subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' pendant state-law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367. We have jurisdiction over the present appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
This court reviews de novo a district court's dismissal of a complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. Fidel v. Farley, 392 F.3d 220, 226 (6th Cir.2004). Dismissal of a claim is improper "unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). The court must accept the facts set forth in the complaint as true and construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Eubanks v. CBSK Fin. Group, Inc., 385 F.3d 894, 897 (6th Cir.2004).
The Midkiffs claim that the Water District's termination of water service constituted deprivation of property without due process in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. "This Court has analyzed section 1983 actions based on deprivations of due process as falling into two categories: violations of procedural due process and violations of substantive due process." Mansfield Apartment Owners Ass'n v. City of Mansfield, 988 F.2d 1469, 1473-74 (6th Cir.1993). For a procedural due process claim, a plaintiff must establish a constitutionally protected liberty or property interest and show that such an interest was deprived without appropriate process. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 569-70, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972); LRL Props. v. Portage Metro Hous. Auth., 55 F.3d 1097, 1108 (6th Cir.1995). This Court applies a two-part analysis to procedural due process claims. Thomas v. Cohen, 304 F.3d 563, 576 (6th Cir.2002).
To establish a protected property interest in a government service, a plaintiff must...
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