Diaz v. Blum
Diaz v. Blum
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
This action by Lydia Diaz, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, has brought in its wake a series of motions by Diaz, proposed intervenors and the defendants. Diaz and the proposed intervenors are recipients of public assistance, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (“AFDC”),
Diaz, who has been separated from her husband, receives AFDC payments for herself and her three children. Her complaint in substance alleges that the City, claiming that she has received monies from her husband, has, since May 1977 to the commencement of this action in February 1979, served at least five notices upon her that it would seek recoupment of such income by reducing her semi-monthly assistance grant; that she has contested each proposed action either at a conference with the City or at a State Fair Hearing and that in each instance the City has withdrawn its notice of proposed action; that after a number of such incidents, Diaz, at a Fair Hearing held on September 28, 1978, this time represented by counsel, insisted upon a hearing and offered evidence to dispute the City’s proposed reduction; that although the hearing was held, the State refused to decide the issue upon the merits but noted only that the agency had withdrawn its notice. Plaintiff alleges that on several occasions, in order to contest the City’s notices at the State Fair Hearings, she has had to travel from her home to the State Office Building at 80 Centre Street, New York City; that the receipt of the repeated notices, five in all, has caused her much anxiety, confusion and emotional distress and injury; and further that she has been harmed by having to prepare for and attend the City conferences and the State Fair Hearings.
The defendants are officials of the State and City charged with the administration and enforcement of the AFDC program. The relief sought is a declaratory judgment that the alleged practices of the State and the City deprive plaintiff of her liberty and property rights without due process of law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and of her rights under the Federal Social Security Act and the New York State Social Services Law. In addition, plaintiff seeks a permanent injunction to prevent the
The proposed intervenors’ claims in general track the charges made by Diaz both as to notice of reduction or termination of grants allegedly without proper evidence, and as to the repeated issuance of notices based on the same charges followed by withdrawal by the City at a conference or later at a State Fair Hearing without prejudice and without a determination upon the merits.
The class sought to be certified by Diaz and the proposed intervenors are those persons who are or will be recipients from the City of AFDC benefits and who have or will receive a notice proposing a reduction or termination of grants where the City has withdrawn a prior similar notice.
The motions now before the Court are (1) by the State and City defendants to dismiss the Diaz complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; (2) by plaintiff Diaz for class certification pursuant to Rule 23 and for leave to serve an amended complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b) to include the claims of the proposed intervenors and to add them as named plaintiffs; and (3) by each proposed plaintiff for permissive intervention pursuant to Rule 24(b) and for a preliminary injunction to enjoin action by defendants upon notices for change of grants.
We first consider the defendants’ motion to dismiss the Diaz complaint under Rule 12 and upon the additional ground that her claim has been rendered moot by events occurring during the course of the instant litigation. If the latter position is upheld, we do not reach plaintiff’s constitutional claim
While for the purpose of a motion under Rule 12 the allegations of the complaint must be accepted as true, affidavits and exhibits submitted by the parties on plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunctive relief establish pertinent matters touching upon plaintiff’s claim. It appears that following the commencement of this action, another Fair Hearing was scheduled for March 22, 1979, following receipt by plaintiff of another proposed reduction notice. Upon argument of plaintiff’s motion for injunctive relief the City stipulated to withdraw this latest notice with prejudice. Thus the stipulation has res judicata impact
It may be acknowledged that the service by the City of six notices, all based on the same ground, and their subsequent and final withdrawal “with prejudice” suggest bureaucratic red tape or marked inefficiency.
Despite the dismissal of the notice with prejudice plaintiff contends that her claim survives. Somewhat vaguely she seeks to conceptualize a liberty and property interest deprivation based upon a risk that nonetheless she may be deprived of her benefits without due process by defendants’ actions and the anxiety and worry caused by receiving multiple notices and the burden and inconvenience imposed upon her in requesting and attending conferences and Fair Hearings.
Plaintiff strongly resists dismissal of her asserted constitutional claim as moot because “there is no certainty that additional notices will not be issued in the future” and that it is “likely that the plaintiff will receive adverse notices on the same issue.”
Next, it is urged that even if the Diaz claims are moot, the action should proceed as a class action since she was a proper representative of the purported class when the action was commenced; and finally, she joins in the proposed intervenors’ application that they be permitted to intervene in this action and urges that they would be proper representatives, thus avoiding any claim of mootness.
The underlying factual basis upon which the City based its proposed reduction in order to recoup payments is different in the instance of each proposed intervenor or class member. In the case of Ana Sanchez, the claim is concealment of her husband’s return to the family home. In the instance of Carmen Benitez, the proposed reduction is because of “concealment of rent.” In the instance of Alfreida Harris, who received babysitting fees while a student at Pace University, the reduction is claimed because the City was unaware she attended school in the evening. Margaret Rosettos’ grant is sought to be eliminated because she owned a car. Proposed intervenor Beth Smith, who is a student at City College (CUNY) is the recipient of a Tuition Assistance Program and a Basic Education Opportunity Grant from the United States Government. Here the City’s proposed reduction is because of “an excess income from school grants.” As already noted, in all these cases multiple notices were sent, then withdrawn at the Fair Hearings, with the City stipulating to continue payments without reduction, whereupon the State noted “there is no issue to be decided.”
In Greer v. Blum,
While on the broadest reading the claims of the intervenors and the named plaintiff are similar, carefully read, the claims turn on particular facts and cir*936 cumstances that render each intervenor’s action separate, distinct and individual19
and that the evaluation of each intervenor’s constitutional and statutory claims turned on the individual facts in each case. In the instant case, while it does appear that a pattern of serving notices and later withdrawing them at a Fair Hearing was the same in the instances of Diaz and the intervenors, the reasons for withdrawal, whether because of lack of proof to sustain the reduction, the absence of a witness to support the charge, the change of a witness’ information to an investigator, differ from case to case.
Since the Diaz complaint, insofar as it alleges a constitutional claim, fails, her pendent jurisdiction claims of violation of the New York Social Services Law and the common law claims of abuse of process, malicious prosecution and prima facie tort are, in the exercise of the Court’s discretion, also dismissed.
In sum, the defendants’ motion to dismiss the Diaz complaint is granted; the Diaz motion to amend her complaint is denied, as is the motion for class certification and for intervention by the proposed intervenors.
Judgment may be entered accordingly.
. Aid to Families With Dependent Children, 42 U.S.C. §§ 601-610.
. Following the landmark case of Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 90 S.Ct. 1011, 25 L.Ed.2d 287 (1970), HEW promulgated regulations embodying due process rights. New York State established procedures consistent therewith. Thus, in any case of proposed action to discontinue or reduce benefits, recipients must receive timely and adequate notice (18 N.Y.C. R.R. § 358.8(a)); recipients may then request a conference with the local agency (City) and additionally a State Fair Hearing (18 N.Y.C. R.R. § 358.8(b)) pending which, if the request is timely, assistance is continued until a Fair Hearing decision is rendered (18 N.Y.C.R.R. § 358.8(c)(1)).
. Kremens v. Bartley, 431 U.S. 119, 128, 97 S.Ct. 1709, 52 L.Ed.2d 184 (1977).
. But see Chapman v. Houston Welfare Rights Organization, 441 U.S. 600, 99 S.Ct. 1905, 60 L.Ed.2d 508 (1979); Andrews v. Maher, 525 F.2d 113 (2d Cir. 1975).
. In seeking preliminary injunctive relief plaintiffs counsel contended “The decision that plaintiff Diaz is entitled to is a final decision, which, if not appealed, is entitled to res judicata effect.” Memorandum of Law in Support of Preliminary Injunction, p. 11.
. Cf. Geduldig v. Aiello, 417 U.S. 484, 491-92, 94 S.Ct. 2485, 41 L.Ed.2d 256 (1974).
. See Greer v. Blum, 462 F.Supp. 619, 623 (S.D. N.Y. 1978); Hans Piker v. D’Elia, 78 Civ. 1088 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 23, 1979).
. Andrews v. Maher, 525 F.2d 113, 116 (2d Cir. 1975).
. Although between May 1977 and the present, six notices to recoup were sent to plaintiff, Fair Hearings were held twice, which she complains required her to travel from her home to 80 Centre Street, New York City. The other no- ' tices were resolved at the City level by conference.
. After the City stipulated at one Fair Hearing held on March 8, 1978, to continue payments without reduction, it appears that 2 payments of $23.40 were withheld; however, upon plaintiffs complaint and after investigation by the State the payments were made, although delayed for approximately 5 months. While the record is not entirely clear, it appears that the 5-month delay was inadvertent. In any event, it is not disputed that plaintiff is receiving her grant without reduction. Thus plaintiffs assertion that this presents a claim of denial of due process under Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 90 S.Ct. 1011, 25 L.Ed.2d 287 (1970) is without substance.
. Plaintiffs Reply Memorandum, pp. 9-11.
. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 571, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972).
. Social Service officials are authorized to reduce public assistance grants in order to recoup overpayments. See New York Social Services Law § 106-b (McKinney’s 1976).
. See, e. g., Charge of Welfare Waste Assailed in NYC Council Hearing, N.Y. Times 3/14/78, at 69, col. 5; Plan to Fight Fraud in Welfare
. See note 2, supra.
. Supplemental Reply Memorandum on Behalf of Plaintiff and Plaintiff Intervenors, pp. 5-6.
. See Board of School Commissioners v. Jacobs, 420 U.S. 128, 95 S.Ct. 848, 43 L.Ed.2d 74 (1975).
. 462 F.Supp. 619 (S.D.N.Y. 1978).
. Id. at 625.
. In the instant case at the Fair Hearing held on September 28, 1978, plaintiff was sworn and it was only after she denied receipt of payments from her husband as alleged in her notice that the City withdrew its notice and stipulated to continue payments.
. United Mine Workers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 725, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 (1966).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Lydia DIAZ, Individually, and on behalf of all other persons similarly situated and Alfreida Harris, Ana Sanchez and Carmen Benitez, applicants for intervention v. Barbara BLUM, Individually, and in her capacity as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Social Services, Stanley Brezenoff, Individually, and in his capacity as Commissioner of the City of New York Department of Social Services, New York City Department of Social Services, New York State Department of Social Services, Peter Mullany, Individually, and in his capacity as Assistant Counsel to Barbara Blum, Martin Glover, Individually, and in his capacity as Supervising Hearing Officer, Arnold Mumford, Individually, and in his capacity as Director of the Melrose Income Maintenance Center, Roy Olsen, Individually, and in his capacity as Director of the Livingston Income Maintenance Center, Al Sawyer, Individually, and in his capacity as Director of the Lower Manhattan Income Maintenance Center, Ann Heasty, Individually, and in her capacity as Director of the Boulevard Income Maintenance Center
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published