Ponce v. Housing Authority of County of Tulare
Decision Date | 16 January 1975 |
Docket Number | Civ. No. S-2762. |
Citation | 389 F. Supp. 635 |
Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California |
Parties | Manuel PONCE et al., Plaintiffs, v. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF the COUNTY OF TULARE et al., Defendants. |
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Richard M. Pearl, Charles F. Elsesser, Jr., Robert T. Olmos, Cal. Rural Legal Assistance, McFarland, Cal., for plaintiffs.
Lloyd L. Hicks, Bradley, Conn & Hicks, Visalia, Cal., for defendant HATC.
Dwayne Keyes, U. S. Atty., Richard W. Nichols, Asst. U. S. Atty., Sacramento, Cal., for defendant U. S. Secretary of Agriculture.
Plaintiffs in this action seek to have this court declare invalid and enjoin the assessment of rent increases at the Linnell Farm Labor Center and the Woodville Farm Labor Center, two housing projects operated and maintained by the Housing Authority of Tulare County on behalf of low-income, farm labor families in Tulare County.
The named plaintiffs are residents at Linnell and Woodville, and Tulare County Tenants Union is an unincorporated association of low-income tenants in Tulare County. In accordance with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure hereafter F.R.C.P. 23, they seek to represent a class of similarly situated plaintiffs, e. g. tenants residing in the 356 apartment units comprising Linnell and Woodville.
There are two distinct groups of defendants in this case. The "federal defendants" include the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of the Farmers Home Administration hereafter FmHA, and the State Director of the FmHA. The Housing Authority of Tulare County hereafter HATC on the other hand, is a local agency created by virtue of California law. California Health and Safety Code §§ 34200-34380 and §§ 36050-36071 (West 1973).
Jurisdiction is invoked by plaintiffs under three bases: (1) Title 28 U.S.C. § 1361 granting district courts original jurisdiction of any action in the nature of mandamus to compel an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof to perform a duty owed to plaintiffs; (2) Title 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-704 providing for judicial review of any final agency action for which there is no other adequate remedy; and (3) Title 28 U.S.C. § 1331 conferring jurisdiction to district courts as to civil actions arising under the Constitution or laws of the United States when the matter in controversy exceeds $10,000. Plaintiffs also seek declaratory relief by virtue of Title 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202 but those sections are not by themselves independent grants of jurisdiction. Skelly Oil Co. v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 339 U. S. 667, 70 S.Ct. 876, 94 L.Ed. 1194 (1950).
In essence, plaintiffs contend that defendants, in the process of implementing the rent increase have (1) denied plaintiffs due process of law, and (2) violated the federal and state statutes and regulations requiring that the rentals charged in projects such as Linnell and Woodville be kept as low as possible and within financial reach of low-income families. In this regard, plaintiffs seek to enjoin defendants from implementing any rent increase prior to the granting of procedural due process to plaintiffs, and a declaratory judgment that defendants' actions have violated the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment as well as various federal and state laws and regulations.
Earlier in this action, plaintiffs sought but the court did not grant either a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction to halt the proposed rent increase. The case is currently here on defendants' motions to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment, and on plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment on the due process claim. To fully understand the posture of this case, it is necessary to review both the law on which plaintiffs rely and on the historical development of this action.
(1) Farmers Home Administration FmHA Farm Labor Housing Loans and Grants.
Subchapter III of Title 42 U.S.C. §§ 1471-1490d, authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture hereafter Secretary through the FmHA to provide financial assistance for farm housing. Of particular interest to the instant case are §§ 1484 and 1486 dealing with farm labor housing.
Title 42 U.S.C. § 1486 provides grants for up to 90 percent1 of the total development cost of proposed low-rent, farm labor housing:
Title 42 U.S.C. § 1484 permits the issuance of low-interest (one per cent)2 loans to finance costs over and above the amount granted under § 1486:
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...process clause of the fifth amendment would require the taking of such measures. Plaintiffs' reliance on Ponce v. Housing Authority of County of Tulare, 389 F.Supp. 635 (E.D.Cal.1975), is similarly misplaced. Ponce involved rental increases in a federally funded housing project. In that cas......
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