Kivalina Relocation Planning Committee v. Teck Cominco Alaska, Inc.
Kivalina Relocation Planning Committee v. Teck Cominco Alaska, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
ORDER FROM CHAMBERS
I. MOTIONS PRESENTED
At docket 87 defendant Teek Comineo Alaska Incorporated (“Teek”) moves for summary judgment. The motion is opposed by plaintiff Kivalina Relocation Planning Committee (“KRPC”). At docket 88 intervener/defendant NANA Regional Corporation (“NANA”) also moves for summary judgment. KRPC has opposed NANA’s motion. Both motions have been fully briefed. Oral argument has not been requested, and the court has determined that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of the motions. This order also disposes of KRPC’s motion for partial summary judgment at docket 47, Teck’s cross-motion for partial summary judgment at docket 92, KRPC’s motion to strike certain of Teck’s exhibits at docket 111, Teck’s motion to stay consideration of certain of KRPC’s summary judgment claims at docket 120, and KRPC’s motion to strike portions of Teck’s reply at docket 143.
II. BACKGROUND
The court incorporates the background section in several earlier orders for a full description of the parties and the litigation.
III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment should be granted if there is no genuine dispute as to material facts and if the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The moving party has the burden of showing that there is no genuine dispute as to material fact.
IV. DISCUSSION
A. Pleading Requirements
Initially, the court must determine whether the capacity issue has been properly raised. A party wishing to raise the issues of legal existence of a party, capacity to sue, or the authority of a party to sue in a representative capacity must do so by specific negative averments.
13. Nature of Kivalina Relocation Planning Committee
Inquiry begins with an examination into the purpose, function, and power of KRPC. Although some facts may be in dispute, the facts material to disposition of the issues presented are undisputed. KRPC was initially formed in or about August 1995 as a result of a joint meeting of the Kivalina City and the Kivalina IRA Councils.
KRPC acknowledges that its purpose is to act as a citizens’ advisory committee advising the City and Village on matters related to the relocation of the Village of Kivalina.
1. The KRPC will be responsible for conceptually forming the relocation master plan and the related comprehensive plan.
2. The KRPC will be involved in all other relocation studies, projects, and related actions.
3. The KRPC will report to the City and IRA.
C. Capacity
There are two alternative means by which KRPC can establish capacity to sue. It has capacity to bring the instant lawsuit if, under applicable state law, it has an independent existence with the power to sue or be sued.
1. Capacity Under State Law
As discussed in greater detail in IV. B., below, KRPC is an intergovernmental committee. As such, it may sue and be sued only if the Borough, City, and Village intended to create a separate legal entity.
2. Capacity under Federal Law
Federal “courts have generally defined an ‘unincorporated association’ as ‘a voluntary group of persons, without a charter, formed by mutual consent for the purpose of promoting a common objective.’ ”
Interestingly, KRPC takes the position that, although it is “representative of’ the Borough, City, and Village, it represents only the six individuals serving on the committee.
The “unincorporated association” exception in Rule 17(b)(1) does not extend to governmental units, subdivisions, agencies or committees.
KRPC is nothing more than a committee formed by three governmental entities, the Borough, City, and Village,
D. Standing
KRPC, serving as a citizen advisory committee to the Borough, City, and Village on the planning of the relocation of Kivalina, cannot establish its standing on that basis alone. Decisions of the United States Supreme Court make clear that an organization’s abstract concerns with a subject that could be affected by adjudication do not suffice for the concrete injury required by Article III of the Constitution. Insofar as KRPC asserts standing based upon its special interest in the planning of the relocation project it must fail.
As the Supreme Court has held:
[A]n association has standing to bring suit on behalf of its members when: (a) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (b) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization’s purpose; and (c) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit.
KRPC fails the standing test on two counts.
First, as noted above, the members of KRPC, if there are in fact any members, are the Borough, City, and Village. There is no allegation that any of the these three have suffered any injury as a result of the alleged
Second, the bringing of this action is not germane to the purpose of KRPC. It is undisputed that the purpose of KRPC is to advise the Borough, City, and Village on matters related to the relocation of Kivalina. KRPC argues that the “related actions” language in the June 1999 MOA, properly interpreted, extends the purpose of KRPC to initiating lawsuits in general and further, in any event, that at a meeting of the City and IRA Councils in June 2002 KRPC was specifically authorized to bring the instant action. Specifically, KRPC points to the Declarations of Enoch Adams, Jr., Colleen Swan, Joseph Swan, Betty Swan, and Jerry Norton attached to its oppositions to the NANA Motion
The declarations relied upon by KRPC suffer from two fatal deficiencies. First, a lay witness may not testify as to a legal conclusion, such as the legally correct interpretation of a document.
KRPC relies on a provision in the June 1999 MOA: “The KRPC will be involved in all other relocation studies, projects, and related actions.” The issue is whether the term “and related actions” implicitly includes the initiation of the instant lawsuit. The dictionary definition of the word “action” is certainly broad enough to encompass the meaning ascribed to it by KRPC. However, I interpreting the meaning of words that have different meanings depending on the context, as does the word “action,” requires examining the total context in which the word was used.
KRPC next contends that it was given specific authorization to commence the instant litigation. KRPC points to a June 27, 2002, joint meeting of the City and IRA Councils in which it is asserted authorization was given. Not only are the conclusory statements made in the declarations unsupported by the record,
KRPC lacks the capacity to sue under Rule 17(b), either under Alaska law or the federal law exception embodied in Rule 17(b)(1). Furthermore, KRPC is without standing to bring this action under either the injury in fact or assoeiational standing tests. It follows that there is no proper party plaintiff to this action and, in the absence of a proper plaintiff, the ease must be dismissed, unless other plaintiffs may be substituted.
E. Substitution of Plaintiffs
KRPC urges that the six individuals could be substituted as plaintiffs in this lawsuit. It is true that, as a general rule, a case should not be dismissed for lack of a proper plaintiff.
In July 2003, subsequent to the time this lawsuit was initiated, a second 60-day letter under § 1365(b)(1) was sent to Teck, which included the names of the six individuals in addition to KRPC.
V. CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the motions at dockets 87 and 88 are GRANTED. Having concluded that the case must be dismissed, the motions at dockets 47, 92, 111, 120, and 143 are DENIED as moot.
The Clerk will please enter judgment that this case is dismissed.
. See orders at dockets 16, 39 and 85.
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. Id. at 323-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248-49, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
. Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Id. at 248-49, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(a).
. Doc. 40.
. Doc. 7.
. Doc. 45.
. Declaration of Betty Swan, 113, and Exh. 92 attached to KRPC’s Opposition to Teck Motion [doc. 100]; Declaration of Colleen Swan, 112, and Exh. 85 attached to KRPC's Opposition to NANA Motion [doc. 99]. The court notes that although the minutes of the August 3, 1995, joint meeting between the Kivalina City Council and Kivalina IRA Council (Exhibits 85 and 92) reflect an intent to form the Kivalina Relocation Planning Committee, neither those minutes nor any other document in the record reflects any vote or other official action taken by the City or IRA Council to formally establish KRPC.
. Exh. A to NANA Motion [doc. 88]. This is the earliest document in the record officially recognizing the existence of KRPC.
. KRPC's Opposition to NANA Motion, p. 4 [doc. 99]; KRPC's Opposition to Teck Motion, p. 6 [doc. 100]; Deposition of E. Adams, Jr., pp. 3, 7 (Exh. 3 to NANA Motion) [doc. 88].
. Deposition of E. Adams, Jr., pp. 4, 6 (Exh. 3 to NANA Motion) [doc. 88].
. Exh. 92 attached to KRPC's Opposition to Teck Motion [doc. 100]; Exh. 85 to KRPC's Opposition to NANA Motion [doc. 99].
. Declaration of E. Adams, Jr., H 2, attached to KRPC's Opposition to Teck Motion [doc. 100],
. Exh. 77 to KRPC's Opposition to NANA Motion [doc. 99]; Exh. 95 to KRPC's Opposition to Teck Motion [doc. 100].
. AS § 29.35.010(13).
. Fed.R. Civ. P. 17(b).
. Fed.R. Civ. P. 17(b)(1); Sierra Association for Environment v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 744 F.2d 661, 662 (9th Cir. 1984).
. Hervey v. Estes, 65 F.3d 784, 792 (9th Cir. 1995); North Kenai Peninsula Road Maintenance Service Area v. Kenai Peninsula Borough, 850 P.2d 636, 639 (Alaska 1993).
. See Hervey v. Estes, supra. Although it did not admit that it lacked capacity under Alaska law, KRPC offered no evidence on nor did it argue the issue, effectively conceding it.
. AS §§ 09.65.070(a); 29.35.010(14); State v. Aleut Corp., 541 P.2d 730 (Alaska 1975).
. See North Kenai Peninsula Road Service Area v. Kenai Peninsula Borough, supra.
. Committee for Idaho's High Desert, Inc. v. Yost, 92 F.3d 814, 820 (9th Cir. 1996).
. KRPC's Opposition to NANA Motion, n. 19, pp. 6-7 [doc. 99]
. KRPC's Opposition to Teck Motion, pp. 11— 15 [doc. 100],
. See, e.g., Dean v. Barber, 951 F.2d 1210, 1215, n. 4 (11th Cir. 1992). But cf. Hennessey v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass’n, 564 F.2d 1136 (5th Cir. 1977) (treating the NCAA as an unincorporated association even where some of its members were state institutions rather than individuals).
. Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission, 432 U.S. 333, 344, 97 S.Ct. 2434, 53 L.Ed.2d 383 (1977).
. Ibid.
. See, e.g., Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission, 432 U.S. at 344-45, 97 S.Ct. 2434,.
. The court is mindful that status as a governmental entity of the IRA Council, a federally-recognized Indian Tribe, is less than crystal clear. Nonetheless, it is the opinion of the court that it is appropriate to accord the IRA Council those attributes for the purposes of this decision.
. Simon v. Eastern Ky. Welfare Rights Org., 426 U.S. 26, 40, 96 S.Ct. 1917, 48 L.Ed.2d 450 (1976).
. Ibid.
. Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission, supra, 432 U.S. at 343, 97 S.Ct. 2434.
. Doc. 99.
. Doc. 100.
. Evangelista v. Inlandboatmen’s Union of Pacific, 777 F.2d 1390, 1398 n. 3 (9th Cir. 1985); Fed. R. Evid. 701.
. Arpin v. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency, 261 F.3d 912, 922 (9th Cir. 2001).
. See, e.g., United States v. King, 244 F.3d 736, 740-41 (9th Cir. 2001); Leisnoi, Inc. v. Stratman, 154 F.3d 1062, 1066 (9th Cir. 1998).
. See Exhs. 78 and 79 attached to KRPC's Opposition to NANA Motion [doc. 99].
. The declarations conclude that filing this action was authorized. However, the declarations are devoid of any factual statements to support that conclusion. There is nothing in the declarations concerning the process followed by the City or Village at the meeting, e.g., the vote on a formal motion or resolution.
. Exh. 15 to Teck's Reply [doc. 106].
. AS § 29.20.160.
. Cf. Fed.R. Civ.P. 17(a).
. Exh. A to Complaint [doc. 1].
. Washington Trout v. McCain Foods, Inc., 45 F.3d 1351, 1354-55 (9th Cir. 1995).
. Exh. 96 to KRPC's Opposition to Teck Motion [doc. 100].
. 493 U.S. 20, 25-27, 110 S.Ct. 304, 107 L.Ed.2d 237 (1989).
. Washington Trout, 45 F.3d at 1354-55.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- KIVALINA RELOCATION PLANNING COMMITTEE v. TECK COMINCO ALASKA, INC. Nana Regional Corporation, Intervener/Defendant
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published