Perez v. Tynan

• Decision Date: 26 March 1969
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 12859.
• Citation: 307 F. Supp. 1235
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: Rafael PEREZ and Virginia Hiltz, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. John J. TYNAN, Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, Defendant.

307 F. Supp. 1235

Rafael PEREZ and Virginia Hiltz, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. John J. TYNAN, Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 12859.

United States District Court D. Connecticut.

March 26, 1969.

Bruce N. Berwald, Norman K. Janes, Tolland-Windham Legal Assistance Program, Inc., Willimantic, Conn., for plaintiffs.

Raymond J. Cannon, Stephen J. O'Neill, Asst. Attys. Gen., Hartford, Conn., for defendant.

RULING ON PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR A THREE-JUDGE COURT

CLARIE, District Judge.

This action was commenced pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, in behalf of the plaintiffs and others similarly situated. They request the convening of a three-judge court, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2281, 2284, to test the constitutional validity of a vital part of the Connecticut Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Act, §§ 14-114, 14-117. The plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment and permanent injunctive relief declaring that the aforesaid state laws are unconstitutional. They also request that an injunctive order issue restraining the defendant from suspending the right of the plaintiffs and others in the class they represent to operate and register motor vehicles and ordering the reinstatement to them of their full rights to operate and register motor vehicles in this State. It is represented that the challenged statutes, both on their face and as applied and interpreted by the defendant, deny to the plaintiffs and the class they represent substantive and procedural due process of law and the equal protection of the laws guaranteed and protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. The Court finds their claims to be without legal merit and accordingly dismisses the action.

FACTS

The plaintiffs, Rafael Perez and Virginia Hiltz, were each involved in separate and unrelated motor vehicle accidents; the former on April 25, 1968 and the latter on May 16, 1968. In the Perez accident, there was damage to the property of a third party in excess of $200 and in the Hiltz accident a six-year old boy suffered bodily injury. The plaintiffs had no liability insurance at the time and neither was within the exceptions which excluded them from filing financial security under § 14-119 of the Connecticut General Statutes. Under the circumstances, the provisions of § 14-117 required each of them to deposit security with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, sufficient to "satisfy any judgment or judgments for damages * * *," which might be recovered against them. Their failure to comply with the law, obligated the Commissioner to suspend their respective operator's licenses and motor vehicle registrations.

Perez denied fault or liability for the accident in which he was involved. He has since commenced court action seeking damages against the operator of the other vehicle. Hiltz claimed that her vehicle, while proceeding lawfully on the highway, was run into by a bicycle being ridden by a six-year old boy; and that he was the proximate cause of the accident.

Perez was ordered to file a $280 security deposit and Hiltz a $500 deposit. Neither of them challenged the amount of their bonds as being excessive, nor did they otherwise request a review hearing or appeal the order. Both plaintiffs claim to be without adequate financial means to post the required bond. In due course, pursuant to the statutes, Perez's operating and registration privileges were suspended in Connecticut by the defendant Commissioner on September 16, 1968; and Hiltz's were likewise suspended on September 23, 1968.

ISSUES PRESENTED

(1) Is it a denial of due process and equal protection of the laws to require security deposits from uninsured operators and owners of motor vehicles involved in accidents, without first requiring a hearing to determine fault?

(2) Is one, who is ordered to file such a security deposit deprived of equal protection of the law, if he cannot comply, because he is too poor to pay the required insurance premiums or to file the required security?

JURISDICTION

The plaintiffs invoke the jurisdiction of this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1343 (3) and (4), which provides for original jurisdiction in this Court in those suits authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In accordance with 28 U.S.C. §§ 2281 and 2284, the plaintiffs have requested that a three-judge court be convened to determine the constitutional issues raised.

It is now generally recognized that when an application for a three-judge court is filed, the Court's threshold question is whether the constitutional question raised is substantial, whether the complaint alleges a basis for equitable relief and whether the case as presented is within the requirements of the three-judge court statute.

"When a complaint for an injunction makes a claim of unconstitutionality which on its face would require a court of three judges under 28 U.S.C. § 2281 or 2282, the single district judge should consider whether the claim is substantial and, if he finds it is not, refuse to convoke a court of three judges and dismiss the action. Ex parte Poresky, 290 U.S. 30, 54 S.Ct. 3, 78 L.Ed. 152 (1933); California Water Service Co. v. City of Redding, 304 U.S. 252, 254-255, 58 S.Ct. 865, 82 L.Ed. 1323 (1938); * * * Powell v. Workmen's Compensation Board, 327 F.2d 131, 138 (2 Cir. 1964). This is not merely a power confided to the single district judge but an important responsibility."

Utica Mutual Insurance Co. v. Vincent, 375 F.2d 129, 130-131 (2d Cir. 1967).

Also see Green v. Board of Elections of City of N. Y., 380 F.2d 445, 448 (2d Cir. 1967), cert. denied 389 U.S. 1048, 88 S.Ct. 768, 19 L.Ed.2d 840 (1968).

Unless there is no substantial constitutional question presented, the nature of the injunctive relief sought here would normally require the convening of a three-judge court. Swift & Co. v. Wickham, 382 U.S. 111, 116-129, 86 S.Ct. 258, 15 L.Ed.2d 194 (1965); Zemel v. Rusk, 381 U.S. 1, 85 S.Ct. 1271, 14 L.Ed.2d 179 (1965); Schneider v. Rusk, 372 U.S. 224, 83 S.Ct. 621, 9 L.Ed.2d 695 (1963); Idlewild Bon-Voyage Liquor Corp. v. Epstein, 370 U.S. 713, 82 S.Ct. 1294, 8 L.Ed.2d 794 (1962). The criteria to be considered in determining whether the issues in the complaint are "substantial" include the following: are the questions raised "obviously without merit" or does the unsoundness of these questions "clearly results from the previous decisions of the Supreme Court so as to foreclose the subject." Utica Mutual Insurance Co. v. Vincent, supra 375 F.2d 129 at 131; Ex Parte Poresky, 290 U.S. 30, 32, 54 S.Ct. 3, 78 L.Ed. 152 (1933); Bell v. Waterfront Commission, 279 F.2d 853 (2d Cir. 1960); Powell v. Workmen's Compensation Board, 214 F.Supp. 283, 286 (1963), aff'd. 327 F.2d 131 (2d Cir. 1964); Green v. Board of Elections, supra.

STATUTORY CONSTRUCTIONS

No factual question has been raised as to any of the plaintiffs' allegations; and for the limited purposes of this motion, the Court will consider them as if their truth had been admitted. Sections 14-114 and 14-117 of the Connecticut General Statutes which have been challenged, are both vital parts of the state's comprehensive financial responsibility laws and regulations, which were primarily designed to protect the travelling public. Section 14-117 requires that within 20 days after receipt of an accident report disclosing bodily injury or death, or property damage to another of $200 or more and failure to have the prescribed minimum statutory liability insurance coverage,¹ the Commissioner shall determine the amount of security sufficient to satisfy any judgment growing out of the accident. Within 90 days after receipt of the report, the Commissioner is required to suspend the license and registration of any operator who fails to post the required security. Section 14-114 requires the granting of a hearing upon the request of any person aggrieved by an order or act of the Commissioner. This statute, however, specifically directs the Commissioner not to adjudicate liability or the degree of liability. It does authorize a prompt judicial review of the Commissioner's order and it permits the court to stay the order upon the filing of any appeal.

Section 14-119 establishes the list of exceptions, wherein the posting of security is not required. It provides that the security provisions are inapplicable if only the operator himself was injured or only his property was damaged; or if he was legally parked or stopped at the time of the accident, or the vehicle was being operated without his permission. Other exclusions include circumstances wherein the other driver involved was convicted of negligent homicide, manslaughter, reckless driving, driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, or other statutory vehicular misconduct. Additional exceptions include situations where the operator has been formally released from liability, adjudged not liable, entered into a settlement or been paid by an insurance carrier.

Once the suspension becomes operative, it continues until the ordered security is posted, the one-year statute of limitations runs, the operator and/or owner are adjudicated to be not liable; an agreement is reached or the judgment is paid. CONN.GEN.STAT. § 14-120. A discharge in bankruptcy will not release the operator or owner of his statutory obligations. CONN.GEN.STAT. § 14-131.

The Connecticut Supreme Court has for many years considered the right to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways as a purely personal privilege. Dempsey v. Tynan, 143 Conn. 202, 120 A. 2d 700 (1956); Shea v. Corbett, 97 Conn. 141, 145, 115 A. 694 (1921). However, despite the Connecticut Court's characterization, an operator's license and a motor vehicle registration are entitled to the protections of the 14th Amendment and the Court will so treat the issue.

"(F)reedom to make use of one's own property, here a motor vehicle, as a means of getting about from place to place, whether in pursuit of

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