Williams v. Wohlgemuth
| Citation | 366 F. Supp. 541 |
| Decision Date | 25 October 1973 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 73-88. |
| Parties | Marlene WILLIAMS, on behalf of the minor, Algeron Walker, and Charlene Robinson, a minor, by her next friend Louis Robinson and all other persons similarly situated v. Helene WOHLGEMUTH, Individually and as Secretary of the Department of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
Judd F. Crosby, Pittsburgh, Pa., for plaintiff.
Louis Kwall, Pittsburgh, Pa., for defendants.
Before ALDISERT, Circuit Judge, MILLER, Senior District Judge, and KNOX, District Judge.
This matter is before a three-judge statutory court duly convened pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2281 and 2284 by reason of an attack made by plaintiffs on certain Department of Public Welfare Regulations with respect to general public assistance of statewide application. Jurisdiction of the court is invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343 to enforce civil rights arising under 42 U.S. C. § 1983.
The facts as developed are relatively simple but, as usual, do not lend themselves to an easy determination as to the applicable law. The original plaintiff, Marlene Williams, brought her suit on behalf of minor, Algeron Walker, who has resided with her for several years as his next friend.1 Plaintiff sought to bring the action as a class action of Pennsylvania citizens similarly situated alleging the class to be composed of unemancipated minors who, because of the absence of natural parents and relatives, are cared for by unrelated substitute parents who do not receive public assistance.
Algeron Walker was born August 11, 1957, and it appears that he was shortly afterwards abandoned by his natural mother. His father was unknown. Plaintiff, Marlene Williams, has cared for and assumed responsibility for him since he was at this early age. He received a public assistance grant until the summer of 1972 when he engaged in summer work through the Neighborhood Youth Corps. At the termination of his summer employment, he reapplied for and again began receiving assistance but, after one check was paid, it was discontinued for the reason that the substitute parent, Marlene Williams, was not receiving public assistance since she had an income of $500 per month which made her ineligible.
The reason given for discontinuing assistance was Regulation 3131.12 contained in the Public Assistance Manual which is set forth in full in Appendix I. Specifically, insofar as we are concerned in this case, the section which operates to deny assistance to this unemancipated minor is subparagraph (b) which provides that he receives assistance if he is living with a person other than his parents and has lived with this person's family for a number of years "and this person receives assistance". In other words, if the substitute parent, in this case plaintiff Marlene Williams, is not on public assistance because ineligible, she is unable to receive any assistance for the minor who is living in her home and he is likewise ineligible for assistance. The only exception for this is where there has been a court order placing the child in the custody of an agent or institution and the child has been placed in the home by the agency.
We also have the companion situation which has been joined with this involving Louis Robinson who cares for Charlene Robinson for whom his daughter was caring at the time of her death. She had received Charlene from her natural parents who, it is asserted, neglected her. Louis Robinson likewise is ineligible for assistance because of his social security and pension income. Again we have a situation where there is no relationship and no obligation to support on the part of the non-parent custodian.
The plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment and permanent injunction to restrain defendants from enforcing these welfare regulations claiming that they violate rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to equal protection of the laws and to due process of law. It is claimed that equal protection is violated because it creates two classes of recipients with no rational basis for the distinction: (1) a class consisting of unemancipated minors who live with relatives or unrelated adults who are receiving assistance and (2) unemancipated minors living with unrelated adults who are not receiving assistance. It is claimed that due process is violated because the regulation in question is asserted to establish a conclusive presumption that such persons are not eligible for general assistance, regardless of need.
The action is entitled as a class action and it is represented that the persons in the class are so numerous that joinder of all members is impractical. The complaint in paragraph five states that the plaintiff Walker is a member of a class composed of individuals who are otherwise eligible for benefits under the general assistance (GA) program administered by defendants. This class consists of all otherwise eligible GA recipients who have been or will be declared ineligible for assistance solely because an unrelated individual with whom they live does not receive assistance. On the motion for class action filed separately, it is stated that the class to be represented is composed of unemancipated minors otherwise eligible to receive general assistance from the Department of Public Welfare of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania whose assistance has been or will be terminated under Pennsylvania Public Assistance Manual Section 3131.12 because they live with an unrelated adult who does not receive assistance. It is further represented that this class is so numerous that joinder of all members would be impractical.
The trouble is that we are not given any figures to justify the assertion that the class is so numerous that joinder is impractical nor are we furnished any basis upon which to take judicial notice of the number involved.
Officer, 429 F.2d 807 (3d cir 1970), the court said at page 812:
The evidence as presented in this case offers no light as to how many persons might constitute this class. As far as the record goes here, we have only two of them, to wit: Algeron Walker on whose behalf Marlene Williams brought suit and Charlene Robinson on whose behalf Louis Robinson brought suit. We are given no further indications as to how many people in the Western District of Pennsylvania or in the Commonwealth may have been or are likely to be deprived of public assistance as unemancipated minors living with an unrelated adult who is not on public assistance.
In plaintiff's trial brief, page 19, it is stated: "while the exact size of the class is unknown, it consists of all children who have been or will be aggrieved by defendant's policy indicating that the number is likely to run into thousands and that the joinder of all members is impracticable." There is nothing in the record to support this assertion. For ought we know the two individuals mentioned may be the only ones in the Commonwealth affected by the policy or it may be that there are ten or fifteen others located around the state but we have nothing to support the assertion that the members of the class are so numerous that joinder is impracticable. The burden was on the plaintiffs to demonstrate this and since we are left completely in the dark as to how many are involved, we will deny the class action.
In Stewart v. Wohlgemuth, 355 F. Supp. 1212 (W.D.Pa.1972), a class action was denied because the myraid of different circumstances existing in each individual case would unnecessarily complicate the action and a class action under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure would not be a superior method for fair and efficient adjudication of all these controversies. See Tindall v. Hardin, 337 F.Supp. 563 (W.D.Pa.1972), aff'd sub nom, Carter v. Butz, 479 F.2d 1084 (3d Cir. 1973.)
The same is true here but since the decision of Stewart v. Wohlgemuth, supra, the court's confidence therein expressed that the Commonwealth would abide by a decision involving one or two individuals was shaken by the fact that the Commonwealth did not so abide and it was necessary for subsequent actions to be brought in this court in order to compel compliance with the decision in Stewart v. Wohlgemuth, supra.
In addition to the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit involving Fort Dix, supra, there are other decisions clearly holding that the burden is upon the plaintiff under Rule 23(a)(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure to establish that the class is so numerous as to preclude joinder. See William Goldman Theatres, Inc. v. Paramount Film Distributing Corp., 49 F.R.D. 35 (E.D.Pa.1969); Kinzler v. New York Stock Exchange, 53 F.R.D. 75 (S.D.N. Y.1971); Minersville Coal Co. v. Anthracite Export Association, 55 F.R.D. 426 (M.D.Pa.1971).
For these reasons, the motion for maintenance of the case as a class action which was deferred to the three-judge court will be denied.
We have previously noted that the relevant state Regulation 3131.12(b) (see...
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