Morris v. Runyon, Civ. A. No. 94-2098 (GK).
| Decision Date | 18 November 1994 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 94-2098 (GK). |
| Citation | 870 F. Supp. 362 |
| Parties | Michael A. MORRIS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Marvin RUNYON, Postmaster General of the United States of America, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Donald Louis Schlemmer, Myron George Hill, Jr., Washington, DC, for plaintiffs.
Stacy M. Ludwig, Asst. U.S. Atty., Washington, DC, for defendants.
This case, brought by six stamp collectors and one stamp dealer against the United States Postal Service, involves a dispute over the fate of a postage stamp prepared by the Postal Service to commemorate Bill Pickett, a famous African-American cowboy. The Postal Service had intended to issue the stamp as part of its commemorative stamp program, in a 20-stamp sheet depicting American western celebrities and themes titled "Legends of the West." A few months before the Legends of the West stamps were scheduled to be officially distributed, the Postal Service discovered that the stamp featured a picture of Bill Pickett's brother rather than of Bill Pickett himself. Although the Postal Service recalled all of the stamps before their official release date, it soon learned that about 183 Legends of the West sheets containing the incorrect picture of Bill Pickett had been sold to private hands. Understandably, this very rare stamp quickly became a valuable item in the philatelic — or stamp — community and market.
Plaintiffs claimed that because they believed, based on a press release issued by Defendants, that the 5.2 million stamps bearing the same incorrect picture would be shortly destroyed by the Post Office, they invested between $2500 and $4700 to purchase the stamp. Nonetheless, to Plaintiffs' dismay, when the Postal Service learned that 183 stamps had escaped its recall, it changed its mind and decided to release 150,000 more of the stamps in order to "give everyone a chance to own a collectible." The release of these additional stamps will make Plaintiffs' stamps less rare, and, consequently, less valuable on the stamp market. Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit to prevent that result.
On September 29, 1994, Plaintiffs filed Motions for a Temporary Restraining Order and a Preliminary Injunction in this action. In these Motions, Plaintiffs requested that this Court enjoin the Defendants from selling or issuing the Legends of the West Pickett Error stamp sheets ("Pickett Error Sheets"); declare that the sale or issuance of those stamps violates the United States Constitution as well as the United States Postal Service ("Postal Service") regulations; and order the Defendants to destroy all remaining Pickett Error Sheets.
On September 30, 1994, the parties entered into a Joint Stipulation, approved by the Court, in which the Plaintiffs agreed that the Defendants may proceed with all of their plans to identify the orders to be fulfilled for the Pickett Error Sheets and to prepare to fulfill the orders. Defendants agreed that they would not sell, distribute, or transfer title to the Pickett Error Sheets until December 1, 1994, as the Postal Service had previously set for distribution of the Sheets. The parties further agreed that the Joint Stipulation would not affect any of the Postal Service's plans to identify and to prepare to fulfill Pickett Error Sheet orders. Finally, the parties agreed that the hearing on Plaintiff's Preliminary Injunction on October 28, 1994 would also serve as the final hearing on the dispositive motion and merits of this case.
Accordingly, this matter is now before the Court upon Plaintiffs' Motions for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction, and Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment.
For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs' Motions for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction should be denied, and Defendants' Motion to Dismiss should be granted.1
Plaintiffs include six stamp collectors and one stamp dealer. Complaint, ¶¶ 2-8. Plaintiffs are all owners of a stamp called the "Pickett Error" stamp. They each paid between $2500 and $4700 for the "Legends of the West" sheet of stamps containing this stamp.3 Defendants include the United States Postal Service ("Postal Service"), Sam Winters, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Postal Service, and Marvin Runyon, Postmaster General. Complaint, ¶¶ 9-11.
Defendant Postal Service was established by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, Pub.L. 91-375, 84 Stat. 719 (August 12, 1970) (codified at Title 39, United States Code), as an independent entity of the United States Government responsible for providing postal service throughout the country. 39 U.S.C. §§ 101(a), 201. Among its many functions, the Postal Service is authorized to "provide and sell postage stamps and other stamped paper, cards, and envelopes", to provide "special,4 nonpostal, or similar services", and "to provide philatelic services".5 39 U.S.C. § 404(a). Pursuant to these provisions, the Postal Service markets postage stamps and other philatelic products.
Each year, the Postal Service issues approximately 40 to 41 billion stamps, of which nine billion are specially designed to honor and recognize events, people, and places that pertain to the cultural heritage of the United States. Declaration of Azeezaly S. Jaffer (Hereinafter, "Jaffer Dec.") ¶ 2. Designs for such stamps are selected by the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee. Id.
On May 21, 1993, the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee approved designs featuring American western celebrities and themes for twenty commemorative stamps to be sold collectively as a sheet titled "Legends of the West." Jaffer Dec. ¶ 3. The Postal Service scheduled the initial release of the sheets for March 29, 1994. Id. Production of the sheets commenced in August, 1993, and, shortly thereafter, 5.2 million "Legends of the West" sheets were distributed through normal channels directly from the production facilities to 330 postal facilities and stamp distribution offices throughout the country. Id.
On January 14, 1994, the Postal Service discovered that the sheets contained an error in the image of Bill Pickett, an African-American rodeo star. Jaffer Dec. ¶ 3. Specifically, the stamps contained the image of Ben Pickett, Bill Pickett's brother, rather than that of Bill Pickett himself. Id.
On January 18, 1994, the Postal Service announced its decision not to issue the Pickett Error Sheets in their then current form. Jaffer Dec. ¶ 4. Furthermore, after consultation with the Pickett family, the Postal Service decided that the Pickett Error Sheets would be recalled and destroyed, and that an accurate Legends of the West sheet would be created, produced, and issued at a later date. Id. In reaching its initial decision to destroy the Sheets, the Postal Service did not consider the market value of the Pickett Error Sheets, if they were prematurely sold. Id.
In accordance with its announced decision, the Postal Service issued a recall order on January 18, 1994, for all of the Pickett Error Sheets that had been distributed to postal facilities. Jaffer Dec. ¶ 5. In a January 18, 1994 News Release, the Postal Service announced this recall, described the Postmaster General's explanation for the mistake, and attributed to the Postmaster General the statement that all of the Legends of the West stamps would be destroyed and reprinted with an accurate image of Bill Picket. Plaintiffs' Exhibit 3.6
An audit of the Pickett Error Sheets returned by Postal facilities, conducted with the U.S. Postal Service Inspection Service, established that 183 of the Error Sheets were missing, and that those sheets had been prematurely sold at four offices. Jaffer Dec. ¶ 5. Defendants did not authorize the sale of the sheets at these facilities. Jaffer Dec. ¶ 6. The Postal Service counseled and disciplined those employees who prematurely sold the sheets. Id. The Postal Service contacted persons known to have purchased the Pickett Error Sheets and asked them to voluntarily exchange the defective sheets for validly issued postage stamps. Id. The Postal Service has also revised its procedures for distributing stamps. Id.
After the decision to recall the sheets was announced, the Postal Service received hundreds of requests from the public to reconsider the decision to destroy the Pickett Error Sheets. Jaffer Dec. ¶ 7. When the audit was concluded, Azeezaly S. Jaffer, Manager, Stamp Services, U.S. Postal Service, conferred with Pickett family members regarding the 183 sheets that had been sold, and told them that the sold sheets would create a rarity in the philatelic community. Id. The Pickett family gave its reluctant acceptance to the proposed plan of the Postal Service to issue 150,000 more stamps to the public. Jaffer Dec. ¶ 7.
In June of 1994, the Postal Service decided to offer 150,000 sheets to the public on a one-per-customer basis by mail order from the Postal Service's Philatelic Fulfillment Service Center. Jaffer Dec. ¶ 8. Various factors contributed to this decision, including the avoidance of a philatelic rarity, the preservation of historical accuracy, the public's interest in the Pickett Error Sheets, the interests of the Pickett family, and the recovery of costs incurred by the Postal Service in producing the Pickett Error Sheets.7 Jaffer Dec. ¶ 8.
Accordingly, on June 9, 1994, the Post Office issued a press release entitled "Newsbreak — USPS to sell 150,000 recalled `Legends of the West' stamp sheets." Plaintiffs' Exh. 4 (Hereinafter, "Newsbreak"). Noting that the inadvertent sale of 183 Pickett Error Sheets led to "thousands of letters from collectors, dealers and cover manufacturers asking the Postal Service to reconsider its decision to destroy the stamps," the press release stated that the Post Office "wished `to balance the interests of the philatelic...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Firearms Import/Export Roundtable Trade Grp. v. Jones
...because the bird owners still retained rights to possess, transport, donate and devise the animals); see also Morris v. Runyon, 870 F.Supp. 362, 371–73 (D.D.C.1994) (rejecting takings claim when plaintiffs asserted diminished value in sheets of stamps they owned as a result of government pr......
-
Currier v. Henderson
...APA applicable [to the Postal Service], an effort that would have been superfluous if the APA applied in any event"); Morris v. Runyon, 870 F.Supp. 362, 370 (D.D.C.1994) (noting that "to foster the efficiency of the redesigned Postal Service, Congress explicitly exempted it from, inter alia......
-
Alemu v. Dep't of For-Hire Vehicles
...reasonably relied on DFHV's promise to their detriment; and (4) that the promise must be enforced to avoid injustice. Morris v. Runyon , 870 F.Supp. 362, 373 (D.D.C. 1994) ; see also Robbins v. Reagan , 780 F.2d 37, 51 n.22 (D.C. Cir. 1985). DFHV argues that Plaintiffs fail to allege a prom......
-
Moore v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Nat'L Capital
...Institute involved promissory estoppel rather than equitable estoppel. Although the doctrines are distinct, see Morris v. Runyon, 870 F.Supp. 362, 372, n. 21 (D.D.C.1994), the court in Psychiatric Institute actually referred to both doctrines, and any distinction between the two doctrines i......
-
CHAPTER 2 The Strange Career of Private Property And The Police Power
...also Goldblatt v. Town of Hempstead, 369 U.S. 590 (1962); Tabb Lakes, Ltd. v. U.S., 10 F.3d 796, 801 (Fed. Cir. 1993); Morris v. Runyon, 870 F. Supp. 362, 371-2 (D.D.C. 1994); Pinnock v. International House of Pancakes, 844 F. Supp. 574, 587 (S.D. Cal. 1993). But see Florida Rock Industries......