Patton v. Dole, 1657
| Decision Date | 19 November 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 1657,D,1657 |
| Citation | 806 F.2d 24 |
| Parties | Richard Thomas PATTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Elizabeth DOLE, Secretary of Transportation, Admiral Thomas King, Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Casper Weinberger, Secretary of Defense, John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy, United States Merchant Marine Academy and the United States of America, Defendants-Appellees. ocket 86-6124. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Robert W. Nishman, Mineola, N.Y., for plaintiff-appellant.
Robin Greenwald, Brooklyn, N.Y., Atty. in Charge (Andrew J. Maloney, U.S. Atty., of counsel), for defendants-appellees.
Before PRATT and MINER, Circuit Judges, and RE, Chief Judge of the United States Court of International Trade, sitting by designation.
Both statute and implementing regulations relevant to this appeal require a midshipman at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York (the "academy"), who resigns after having attended the academy "for not less than 2 years", to go on active duty in the United States Navy. The statutory language is incorporated into the service obligation agreement the midshipman must execute upon entering the academy; both use the term "2 years". The issue on appeal is whether "2 years" means two academic years or two calendar years.
Contending that "2 years" in his service obligation agreement means two academic years, Richard Thomas Patton sought preliminarily to enjoin defendants, including the academy and the Secretaries of Transportation, Defense, and the Navy, from compelling his involuntary induction into the navy following his voluntary resignation from the academy shortly before he was about to complete his second academic year. Apparently accepting the government's argument that "2 years" means two calendar years, the district court not only denied Patton's application for preliminary injunctive relief, but also, sua sponte, ordered dismissal of the complaint. In both respects the district court erred; we therefore reverse and remand the case to the district court with directions to reinstate the complaint, to issue the preliminary injunction, and to conduct such further proceedings as may be appropriate.
In signing an application for admission to the academy, a prospective midshipman states his or her understanding that he or she "must sign a service agreement form, as outlined in the catalog, on the date I report to the Academy". The terms of the service obligation agreement are derived from 46 U.S.C. Sec. 1295b(e)(1) and 46 C.F.R. Sec. 310.58(a). Among other things, that agreement obligates each midshipman who is a citizen of the United States to complete the four-year course of instruction at the academy, and provides, in paragraph 1(j), that
[i]f the Secretary of Transportation determines that any individual who has attended the [Academy] for not less than two (2) years has failed to fulfill the [requirement relating to completion of the course of instruction], such individual may be ordered by the Secretary of the Navy to active duty in the United States Navy to serve in an enlisted status for a period of time not to exceed two (2) years. In cases of hardship, as determined by the Secretary of Transportation, this paragraph may be waived; ...
Appendix to Appellant's Brief, Exhibit A. This language is taken from 46 U.S.C. Sec. 1295b(e)(2) and 46 C.F.R. Sec. 310.58(e)(1).
Does the term "2 years" refer to academic or calendar years? From the only evidence in the record it appears that the academy, at least until this case arose, consistently represented the term to refer to academic years. In both the academy's bulletin and catalog, the following statements, tying the two-year period to academic years, appear immediately after the paragraph 1(j) provision:
The following policies apply to midshipmen who enter the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy from a civilian status:
Fourth and Third Classmen (freshmen and sophomores): Any Fourth or Third Classman who is separated, or whose resignation is accepted, will be discharged from the Naval Reserve.
Second and First Classmen (juniors and seniors): Such a midshipman who fails to complete the course of instruction at the Moreover, the academy's application form states "that a Midshipman in the junior or senior year * * * who breaches the agreement may be called to active duty in a uniformed service of the United States".
Academy, unless the individual is separated by the Academy, may be ordered by the Secretary of the Navy to serve in an enlisted status for a period of time not to exceed two years. In case of hardship, the Secretary of Transportation may waive this requirement.
When Patton enrolled in the academy in June 1982, he and his fellow fourth classmen, or "plebes", attended a two-week indoctrination session, during which the plebes were required to sign their service obligation agreements. See 46 C.F.R. Sec. 310.52(b) (1985); id. Sec. 310.57(d). To facilitate their signing, the academy conducted a contract-signing session. According to the sworn affidavits of Patton and two of his former classmates, the paragraph 1(j) provision was specifically discussed at that session. Officers of the academy's Department of Naval Science read the contracts aloud to the plebes and interpreted the Sec. 1295b(e)(2) language as providing that a midshipman could, at any time before commencing his second-class, or junior, year, voluntarily resign from the academy without incurring any service obligation.
Patton commenced his first academic year in late July 1982 and completed it in good standing in early June 1983. After a two-week break, he began his required six-month semester at sea. Generally, midshipmen spend the first two quarters of their sophomore and junior years at sea aboard merchant vessels. See 46 C.F.R. Sec. 310.59(b) (1985). Upon conclusion of each six-month sea experience, they are required to complete written study assignments incorporating material from the academy's academic curriculum. See id. Because Patton failed to complete his sea reports, the superintendent of the academy ordered that he be set back one academic year to the graduating class of 1987 and that he be suspended and sent home following completion of the third quarter of his sophomore year in April 1984.
Patton returned to the academy in July 1984 and repeated his sophomore sea experience. Without completing his sophomore year, he resigned from the academy in January 1985, citing personal reasons and believing he was not obligated to any naval service.
On January 29, 1985, however, Patton received from the superintendent a notification that because two and one-half calendar years had elapsed since he entered the academy, he would be nominated for involuntary active duty in the navy. The recommendation of the Naval Science Department that Patton go on involuntary active duty for a period not to exceed two years was approved by the Secretary of the Navy, and Patton was ordered to report for a physical examination on June 22, 1986. If found physically qualified, Patton would have immediately begun his two years of involuntary active duty. At that point, Patton retained counsel and commenced this action, seeking both injunctive relief and a declaratory judgment that he should be reinstated as a midshipman at the academy. The parties have agreed to stay Patton's induction pending disposition of this appeal.
In support of his application for a preliminary injunction, Patton tendered affidavits by himself and two of his former classmates. Although defendants appeared in opposition to plaintiff's application, they presented no answering papers of any kind.
A fair reading of the transcript of the hearing conducted on June 30, 1986, reveals a strong predisposition by the district court to deny Patton any relief. In reference to Patton, the lower court stated, "Show me a service man who doesn't know what he is getting into, and I will show you a guy who is not telling the truth." Rather than review the affidavits offered by Patton, the district court focused instead on the fact that Patton had to repeat his sophomore year due to his own indiscretions, stating that "[t]hese young people today know everything about what is happening The Assistant United States Attorney ("AUSA") representing the defendants centered her oral argument around the district court's earlier mischaracterization of Patton's claim as one for rescission based on duress. Additionally, the AUSA stated that the contract language at issue was not ambiguous, adding, without record support, that she had "spoken to the person who gives them the contract and he [said] they are told two years, nothing in there saying junior year." In response to this hearsay statement--the only "evidence" offered by defendants--the district court stated, "I agree with that."
from standing on the street corner and discussing it. They know how the Government would operate when it comes to them."
At the conclusion of the argument and without making any specific findings, the district court denied Patton's application from the bench. In a formal order signed later that day, the court also ordered sua sponte dismissal of the complaint and entry of judgment for defendants.
For reasons that follow, we reverse the decision below, finding the denial of preliminary injunctive relief and dismissal of the complaint to be clear abuses of discretion.
We recognize that preliminary injunctive relief is an extraordinary remedy and should not be routinely granted, Medical Society of the State of New York v. Toia, 560 F.2d 535, 538 (2d Cir.1977), that the decision whether to grant or deny it lies within the sound discretion of the district court judge, Power Test Petroleum Distributors, Inc. v. Calcu Gas, Inc., 754 F.2d 91, 95 (2d Cir.1985), and that we may ordinarily...
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