George v. Evans
Opinion of the Court
SUMMARY ORDER
UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court, entered on March 29, 2007, is AFFIRMED.
Pro se plaintiffs George and Baxter appeal the dismissal of their complaint against federal, state, city, and private defendants for alleged violations of the Coastal Zone Management Act (“CZMA”), 16 U.S.C. § 1451 et seq., and the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706.
1. The CZMA
Plaintiffs’ argument that the CZMA provides a private cause of action is foreclosed by two previous opinions of this court in which we rejected plaintiff George’s claims arising from essentially the same set of facts. See George v. NYC Dep’t of City Planning, 436 F.3d 102, 104 (2d Cir. 2006) (“George I”); see also George v. Home Impressive, Inc., 180 Fed.Appx. 256, 257 (2d Cir. 2006) (“George II ”). In George I we ruled that “[t]he [CZMA] is neither a jurisdictional grant, nor a basis for stating a claim upon which relief can be granted.” 436 F.3d at 104. We explained that “the structure of the [CZMA] only reinforces the view that the Act affords no private right of action.” Id. at 103. We reiterated this holding in an unpublished summary order in George II, 180 Fed.Appx. at 257, and we do so again here. The CZMA does not entitle plaintiffs to assert a private cause of action against the federal, state, city, or private defendants.
2. The APA
In George I we suggested, without deciding, that the “only possible private right of action under the [CZMA] would be against the federal government through the Administrative Procedure Act.” George I, 436 F.3d at 104 (citing New York v. DeLyser, 759 F.Supp. 982, 987 (W.D.N.Y.
3. Mandamus
We also conclude that the district court properly dismissed plaintiffs’ request for a writ of mandamus on the ground that plaintiffs have failed to identify a “nondiscretionary duty” defendants owe to them. Duamutef v. INS, 386 F.3d 172, 180 (2d Cir. 2004) (emphasis omitted).
4. Sanctions
As noted above, this is George’s third appeal raising essentially the same frivolous claims arising from the same set of facts. We caution George that, should he persist in pursuing such frivolous claims, this court “may resort to restrictive measures that except from normally available procedures litigants who have abused their litigation opportunities.” In re Martin-Trigona, 9 F.3d 226, 228 (2d Cir. 1993). These measures include barring a party from filing further appeals or motions without the leave of this court, see Gyadu v. Hartford Ins. Co., 197 F.3d 590, 592 (2d Cir. 1999) (imposing leave-to-file requirement on litigant who had filed seven appeals and “numerous other motions”), and monetary sanctions, including attorney’s fees, for filing and prosecuting a frivolous appeal, see Fed. R.App. P. 38; 60 E. 80th St. Equities, Inc. v. Sapir, 218 F.3d 109, 119 (2d Cir. 2000).
We have considered all of plaintiffs’ remaining arguments and have found them to be without merit. For the foregoing reasons we AFFIRM the district court’s judgment.
. To the extent plaintiffs also sued defendants under the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4321, et seq., the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution, and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983, they do not challenge the dismissal of these claims on appeal. Nor do they independently challenge the district court's decision not to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims. Accordingly, we deem any such argument waived. See JP Morgan Chase Bank v. Altos Hornos de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., 412 F.3d 418, 428 (2d Cir. 2005).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Richard GEORGE, John Baxter v. Donald EVANS, Secretary of Commerce Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Vice Admiral Eldon Hout, Director L. Christine McCay Helen Farr-Bass New York 312 & 312 Evaluation Team Members Public Officers of the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Office of Coastal Resource Management Alphonso Jackson, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary of State Lorraine A. Cortes-Vazquez Vance Barr, Consistency Review Specialists, Division of Coastal Resources Public Officers of New York State Department of State Pete Grannis, Commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Protection Deborah Van Amerongen, Commissioner, New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal Audrey I. Pheffer, New York State Assembly Member Jill Konviser-Levine, New York State Inspector General, Office of Inspector General Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General of New York State Amanda Burden, Chair David Karnovsky, Counsel Wilber Woods, Director, Waterfront and Open Space Division John Young, Director, City Planning, Queens Public Officers of the New York City Department, Acting As the City Coastal Commission Patricia Lancaster, Commissioner Magdi Mossad, Queens Borough Commissioner Phyllis Arnold, General Counsel, New York City Department of Buildings Shaun Donovan, Commissioner Joseph Rosenberg, Deputy Commissioner Helen Gitelson, Public Officers, New York City Housing Preservation and Development Emily Youssouf, President, New York City Housing Development Corporation Iris Weinshall, Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation David Yassky, New York Counsel Member Chairman, Waterfront Committee Helen Marshall, Queens Borough President Jonathan Gaska, Community Board 14 District Manager New York State Department of State United Homes, LLC NYC Dep't of Buildings and Dep't of Planning
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published