Delta Cab Ass'n v. City of Atlanta
Delta Cab Ass'n v. City of Atlanta
Opinion of the Court
OPINION AND ORDER
The Plaintiffs contend that their inability to obtain a permit to operate a taxicab company in Atlanta violates their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Plaintiff's argue that Atlanta’s procedures for providing taxicab owners with required permits are discriminatory and arbitrary, and that the City is interfering with their right to run their own taxicab business. However, the City’s policies and procedures have a rational basis, and the Defendant’s motion for summary judgment should be granted.
I. Background
The City of Atlanta’s taxicab industry is regulated by Chapter 162, Article II of the
The Vehicle for Hire Division issues three separate permits that form the basis of the Plaintiffs’ contentions. First, all taxicabs in the City must have a Certifí-cate of Public Necessity and Convenience (“CPNC”). The ordinances cap the total number of available CPNCs at 1600 for the whole City. These certificates are freely transferable, and private parties own 1,555 of the permits while the City retains the remaining 45.
The Plaintiffs seek to operate their own taxicab company but they do not have the requisite CPNCs. They claim that the City’s failure to transfer to them the 45 CPNCs the City holds violates the Equal Protection Clause and the Plaintiffs’ procedural due process rights.
II. Legal Standard
Summary judgment is appropriate only when the pleadings, depositions, and affidavits submitted by the parties show that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
III. Discussion
The parties both seek summary judgment on the three counts of the Plaintiffs’ complaint: declaratory relief for a violation of procedural due process; declaratory relief for a violation the Equal Protection Clause; and for injunctive relief.
A. Procedural Due Process
The Plaintiffs cannot show a deprivation of their procedural due process rights here because they cannot show that they have a property interest in a benefit. A person claiming a property interest must “have a legitimate claim of entitlement to it.”
Here, the Plaintiffs claim a property interest in either obtaining enough CPNCs to obtain a Company Permit, or in obtaining CPNCs in general. However, the City’s regulatory scheme makes clear that the number of CPNCs in circulation will be limited. Thus, the rules in place limit legitimate claims of entitlement to CPNCs rather than create claims of entitlement to them. Indeed, a quintessential property interest “is an individual entitlement grounded in state law, which cannot be removed except for cause,” not an entitlement to a city permit of which there are limited numbers.
regulatory scheme makes clear that not everyone will be entitled to CPNCs, and because the scheme encourages the private transfer of CPNCs, the Plaintiffs have not shown a legitimate claim of entitlement to the CPNCs or the related Company Permits. Accordingly, the City’s motion to dismiss should be granted in this respect.
B. Equal Protection
The Plaintiffs claim they were denied equal protection of the law based on their classification as non-CPNC holders. But the City can legally treat CPNC holders different than non-CPNC holders without violating the Equal Protection Clause.
IY. Conclusion
For the reasons set forth above, the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [Doc. 68] is DENIED and the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 76] is GRANTED. The Plaintiffs’ Motion for Oral Argument [Doc. 89] is also DENIED.
. See Atlanta City Ordinances, Chapter 162, Article II.
. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c).
. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 158-59, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970).
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 257, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
. Walker v. Darby, 911 F.2d 1573, 1577 (11th Cir. 1990).
. The Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their count for a violation of substantive due process rights.
. Doe v. Florida Bar, 630 F.3d 1336, 1342 (11th Cir. 2011) (citing Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972)).
. Id. (citing Roth, 408 U.S. at 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701).
. Id. (citing Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co., 455 U.S. 422, 430, 102 S.Ct. 1148, 71 L.Ed.2d 265 (1982)).
. See E & T Realty v. Strickland, 830 F.2d 1107, 1111 (11th Cir. 1987).
. See O.C.G.A. § 36-60-25(a).
. See Airport Taxi Cab Advisory Comm. v. City of Atlanta, 584 F.Supp. 961, 970 (N.D.Ga. 1983).
. 742 F.3d 807, 809 (8th Cir. 2013).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- DELTA CAB ASSOCIATION, INC. v. CITY OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA
- Status
- Published