Tocher v. City of Santa Ana

• Decision Date: 14 July 1999
• Docket Number: 97-55660,Nos. 97-55628,s. 97-55628
• Citation: 219 F.3d 1040
• Parties: (9th Cir. 2000) PATRICK P. TOCHER, an individual, dba Pacific Coast Motoring, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CITY OF SANTA ANA; PAUL WALTERS, Defendants-Appellants, and CITY OF TUSTIN; CITY OF COSTA MESA; SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT; W. DOUGLAS FRANKS; TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT; COSTA MESA POLICE DEPARTMENT, Defendants. PATRICK P. TOCHER, an individual, dba Pacific Coast Motoring, PlaintiffAppellee, v. CITY OF SANTA ANA; PAUL WALTERS, Defendants. SANTA ANA POLICE TOWING ASSOCIATION, Applicant in Intervention-Appellant. Office of the Circuit Executive
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 1040

219 F.3d 1040 (9th Cir. 2000)

PATRICK P. TOCHER, an individual, dba Pacific Coast Motoring, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CITY OF SANTA ANA; PAUL WALTERS, Defendants-Appellants and CITY OF TUSTIN; CITY OF COSTA MESA; SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT; W. DOUGLAS FRANKS; TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT; COSTA MESA POLICE DEPARTMENT, Defendants PATRICK P. TOCHER, an individual, dba Pacific Coast Motoring, PlaintiffAppellee, v CITY OF SANTA ANA; PAUL WALTERS, Defendants.

SANTA ANA POLICE TOWING ASSOCIATION, Applicant in Intervention-Appellant.

Nos. 97-55628, 97-55660

Office of the Circuit Executive

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Argued and Submitted July 14, 1999--Pasadena, California

Filed July 14, 2000

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Benjamin Kaufman, Robert J. Wheeler, Deputy City Attorneys, Santa Ana, California, for the defendants-appellants.

Michael P. McGovern, Ayres and Parkey, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the plaintiff-appellee.

Mark S. Rosen, Santa Ana, California, for the intervenor-appellant.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Alicemarie H. Stotler, District Judge, Presiding; D.C. Nos. CV-95-00224-AHS, CV-95-00224-AHS

Before: Melvin Brunetti, Pamela Ann Rymer, and Barry G. Silverman, Circuit Judges.

BRUNETTI, Circuit Judge:

Patrick Tocher ("Tocher"), the operator of a tow truck business in Santa Ana, California, filed this action against the City of Santa Ana ("City"), alleging that the city's ordinances regulating the automobile towing industry are preempted by 49 U.S.C. S 14501(c). The district court concluded that Santa Ana's tow truck ordinances were preempted by section 14501(c) and entered a judgment permanently enjoining the City of Santa Ana from enforcing any law related to the price, route, or services of towing businesses and/or individuals engaged in the tow truck business as either principals or employees. The City of Santa Ana and the Santa Ana Police Towing Association appeal from the district court's final judgment. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. S 1291, and we affirm in part and reverse in part.

I.

The City enacted a set of municipal ordinances that regulate automobile towing operations and tow trucks. See Santa Ana Municipal Code ("SAMC"), S 32-81, et seq. The ordinances create a dual permit system that requires towing businesses and individual tow truck operators to obtain City permits and comply with certain City regulations. To operate a towing company, a person must, among other things, obtain a "towing operation" permit from the City, see SAMC S 3282, maintain approved storage facilities, see SAMC S 32-93, and keep certain business hours. See SAMCS 32-97. The ordinances also establish certain standards that regulate the interaction of towing companies and private individuals. For instance, towing companies must obtain written authorization before making consensual tows, see SAMCSS 32-93, notify the police of any non-consensual tows, see SAMC 32-94, provide itemized statements to people who authorize vehicle tows, see SAMC 32-95, and publicly display their rates and charges for towing services. See SAMC 32-98. To operate a tow truck in the City, a tow truck operator must obtain an operator's permit, which requires an applicant to pay a fee and provide the chief of police with information about the applicant's criminal and employment history. See SAMC SS 32-99 and 32-100.

The ordinances also authorize the chief of police to establish a rotational tow list for the Santa Ana Police Department that provides towing services for vehicle impoundment. See SAMC S 32-107. The Santa Ana chief of police has established a rotational tow list and that list is currently limited to eight towing companies that hold City-issued operation permits. Under the rotational tow list, the City dispatches the towing companies in turn whenever it needs a car impounded, but the owner of an impounded vehicle, not the City, pays for the towing services.

Tocher operates a towing business in Santa Ana. He and his employees have received citations from the City and have been threatened with legal action because they have failed to comply with the City ordinances regulating towing operations and tow truck drivers. The City has demanded that Tocher and his employees obtain the required City permits before engaging in any further towing operations within the City. Tocher filed this lawsuit in federal district court in an attempt to prevent the City from enforcing its towing ordinances. Tocher alleged that the City's ordinances are preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1995 ("FAAA"), Pub. L. No. 103-305, 108 Stat. 1605 (codified at 49 U.S.C. S 14501), as amended by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 ("ICCTA"), Pub. L. No. 104-88, 109 Stat. 899.

The district court granted Tocher a preliminary injunction and then conducted a non-testimonial bench trial based on stipulated facts in order to determine whether Tocher was entitled to permanent injunctive relief. After the bench trial, the district court granted judgment in favor of Tocher, concluding that the City's tow truck ordinances were preempted by federal law and enjoining the City from enforcing any law related to the price, route, or services of towing businesses and/or individuals engaged in the tow truck business as either principals or employees. Specifically, the district court enjoined the City of Santa Ana and its officials from enforcing any laws pursuant to Santa Ana Municipal Code sections 32-81 through 32-107. It also enjoined the further application of several provisions in the California Vehicle Code that regulate and grant cities the authority to regulate tow truck businesses. See Cal. Vehicle Code SS 21100(g), 22650, 22651.1, 22658(k), 22658(l)(1)-(l)(3), 22658.1, 22850.5.

After the district court entered judgment in favor of Tocher, the City filed a motion to amend the judgment and SAPTA filed a motion to intervene as of right under Rule 24(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The district court denied both motions. SAPTA and the City appeal from the district court's final judgment.

II.

We review the district court's decision denying or granting a motion to intervene as of right de novo. See League of United Latin Am. Citizens v. Wilson, 131 F.3d 1297, 1302 (9th Cir. 1997); Cedar-Sinai Med. Ctr. v. Shalala, 125 F.3d 765, 768 (9th Cir. 1997).

SAPTA filed a motion in the district court to intervene as of right under Rule 24(a) after the district court entered its judgment in favor of Tocher and while the City's motion to amend the judgment was pending. The district court denied SAPTA's motion to intervene, concluding that SAPTA failed to demonstrate that its interests were inadequately represented by the City.

An applicant can intervene as of right under Rule 24(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure if (1) the motion to intervene is timely filed; (2) the applicant has a `significantly protectable' interest that is related to the property or transaction which is the subject of the action; (3) the applicant is situated so that the disposition of the action may, as a practical matter, impair or impede its ability to protect that interest; and (4) the applicant's interests are inadequately represented by the parties to the action. Californians for Safe and Competitive Dump Truck Transp. v. Mendonca, 152 F.3d 1184, 1189 (9th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 119 S. Ct. 1377 (1999). To determine whether an applicant's motion to intervene is timely filed, we examine: "(1) the stage of the proceeding at which the applicant seeks to intervene; (2) the prejudice to the other parties; and (3) the reason for and length of the delay." United States ex rel. Killingsworth v. Northrop Corp., 25 F.3d 715, 719 (9th Cir. 1994).

Although SAPTA filed its motion after the district court entered its final judgment in favor of Tocher, SAPTA's motion was timely filed. A post-judgment motion to intervene is generally considered timely if it is filed before the time for filing an appeal has expired. See id. SAPTA filed its postjudgment motion to intervene while the City's motion to amend the judgment was pending. The motion was therefore timely since the time for filing an appeal had not yet expired.

In addition, Tocher was not prejudiced by SAPTA's postjudgment motion because SAPTA attempted to intervene before the litigation in the district court was complete and presented essentially the same legal arguments as the City. SAPTA also has a good reason for its late intervention because the district court's preliminary injunction did not affect the City's rotational tow list and because it only became apparent after the district court issued its final judgment that the City had failed to adequately represent SAPTA's interests.

Whether SAPTA satisfies the second, third, and fourth requirements of Rule 24(a) is controlled by Mendonca. In Mendonca, Californians for Safe and Competitive Dump Truck Transportation sued the California Department of Transportation, alleging that section 14501(c) preempted the California prevailing wage law. See Medonca, 152 F.3d at 1185. This Court concluded that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters satisfied the requirements of Rule 24(a) and had the right to intervene because: (1) the motion to intervene was timely filed; (2) the members of the Teamsters had a significant interest in receiving the prevailing wage that was the subject of the lawsuit; (3) a finding of preemption would impair the members' right to receive the prevailing wage; and (4) the California Department of Transportation could not adequately represent the narrow and parochial interests of the Teamsters. See id. at 1190.

Like the Teamsters in Mendonca , SAPTA satisfies the requirements of Rule 24(a) because: (1) its motion was timely filed; (2) its members have a significant interest in...