Ponce v. Housing Authority of County of Tulare, Civ. No. S-2762.

Citation389 F. Supp. 635
Decision Date16 January 1975
Docket NumberCiv. No. S-2762.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 9th Circuit. United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. Eastern District of California
PartiesManuel PONCE et al., Plaintiffs, v. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF the COUNTY OF TULARE et al., Defendants.

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COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

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.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MacBRIDE, Chief Judge.

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.

THE APPLICABLE LAW

(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:

"§ 1486. Financial assistance to provide low-rent housing for domestic farm labor — Application; considerations
(a) Upon the application of any State or political subdivision thereof, or any broad-based public or private nonprofit organization incorporated within the State, or any nonprofit organization of farmworkers incorporated within the State, the Secretary is authorized to provide financial assistance for the provision of low-rent housing and related facilities (which may be located any place within the State) for domestic farm labor, if he finds that —
(1) the housing and related facilities for which financial assistance is requested will fulfill a pressing need in the area in which such housing and facilities will be located, and there is reasonable doubt that the same can be provided without financial assistance under this section;
(2) the applicant will contribute, from its own resources or from funds borrowed under section 1484 of this title or elsewhere, at least 10 per centum of the total development cost;
(3) the types of housing and related facilities to be provided are most practical, giving due consideration to the purposes to be served thereby and the needs of the occupants thereof, and such housing and facilities shall be durable and suitable for year-around occupancy or use, unless the Secretary finds that there is no need for such year-around occupancy or use in that area; and (4) the construction will be undertaken in an economical manner, and the housing and related facilities will not be of elaborate or extravagant design or material.
Maximum amount of assistance
(b) The amount of any financial assistance provided under this section for low-rent housing and related facilities shall not exceed 90 per centum of the total development cost thereof, as determined by the Secretary, less such amount as the Secretary determines can be practicably obtained from other sources (including a loan under section 1484 of this title).
Prerequisite agreements; rentals; safety and sanitation standards; priority of domestic farm labor
(c) No financial assistance for low-rent housing and related facilities shall be made available under this section unless, to any extent and for any periods required by the Secretary, the applicant agrees —
(1) that the rentals charged domestic farm labor shall not exceed such amounts as may be approved by the Secretary, giving due consideration to the income and earning capacity of the tenants, and the necessary costs of operating and maintaining such housing;
(2) that such housing shall be maintained at all times in a safe and sanitary condition in accordance with such standards as may be prescribed by State or local law, or, in the absence of such standards, in accordance with such minimum requirements as the Secretary shall prescribe; and
(3) an absolute priority will be given at all times in granting occupancy of such housing and facilities to domestic farm labor.
Payments; contracts to specify uses of housing
(d) The Secretary may make payments pursuant to any contract for financial assistance under this section at such times and in such manner as may be specified in the contract. In each contract, the Secretary shall include such covenants, conditions, or provisions as he deems necessary to insure that the housing and related facilities, for which financial assistance is made available, be used only in conformity with the provisions of this section.
Regulations for prevention of waste
(e) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to insure that Federal funds expended under this section are not wasted or dissipated.
(f) deleted
Definitions
(g) As used in this section
(1) the term `low-rent housing' means rental housing within the financial reach of families of low income consisting of (A) new structures (including household furnishings) suitable for dwelling use by domestic farm labor, and (B) existing structures (including household furnishings) which can be made suitable for dwelling use by domestic farm labor by rehabilitation, alteration, conversion, or improvement;
(2) the terms `related facilities' and `domestic farm labor' shall have the meaning assigned to them in section 1484(f) of this title; and
(3) the term `development cost' shall have the meaning assigned to it in section 1845(d)(4) of this title.
As amended Dec. 31, 1970, Pub.L. 91—609, Title VIII, § 801(c), (d), 84 Stat. 1806."

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:

"§ 1484. Insurance of loans for housing and related facilities for domestic farm labor — Authorization; terms and conditions
(a) The Secretary is authorized to insure and make commitments to insure loans made by lenders other than the United States to the owner of any farm or any association of farmers for the purpose of providing housing and related facilities for domestic farm labor, or to any State (or political subdivision thereof), or any broad-based public or private nonprofit organization or any nonprofit organization of farmworkers incorporated within the State for the purpose of providing housing and related facilities for domestic farm labor any place within the State where a need exists.
(1) deleted
(2) no such loan shall be insured if it bears interest at a rate in excess of 1 per centum per annum;
(3) (4) (5) deleted
(b) (c) (d) (e) deleted
Definitions
(f) As used in this section
(1) the term `housing' means (A) new structures suitable for dwelling use by domestic farm labor, and (B), existing structures which can be made suitable
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7 cases
  • Lifgren v. Yeutter
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota
    • June 27, 1991
    ...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......
  • Argo v. Hills
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    ...v. Kate Maremount Foundation, 365 F.Supp. 798, 804 (N.D.Cal.1972), aff'd 504 F.2d 483 (9th Cir. 1974); Ponce v. Housing Authority of County of Tulare, 389 F.Supp. 635, 656 (E.D.Cal.1975). Further, if HUD finds pre-emption necessary, then the tenants shall pay the HUD authorized increases wi......
  • Warren v. Government National Mortg. Ass'n
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    ...e. g., Geneva Towers Tenants Org. v. Federated Mortgage Investors, 504 F.2d 483, 487 (9th Cir. 1974); Ponce v. Housing Authority of Tulare County, 389 F.Supp. 635, 648 (E.D.Cal.1975). That standard is that there must exist "a sufficiently close nexus between the (government) and the challen......
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    ...to those employed to detect state action subject to the strictures of the Fourteenth Amendment. Ponce v. Housing Authority of County of Tulare, 389 F.Supp. 635, 648 (E.D.Cal.1975); see, also, United States v. Davis, 482 F.2d 893, 897, n.3 (9 Cir. In Henry v. First National Bank of Clarksdal......
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