Basham v. Freda

805 F. Supp. 930, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15402, 1992 WL 276028
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedSeptember 18, 1992
Docket92-1210-CIV-T-17C
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 805 F. Supp. 930 (Basham v. Freda) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Basham v. Freda, 805 F. Supp. 930, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15402, 1992 WL 276028 (M.D. Fla. 1992).

Opinions

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

KOVACHEVICH, District Judge.

This cause is before the Court upon Plaintiffs’ Motion and Memorandum for Preliminary Injunction filed August 25, 1992 and Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction filed September 4,1992. Based upon Plaintiffs’ Motion and Memorandum for Preliminary Injunction, Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction and oral argument before this Court on September 9, 1992, this Court finds that Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction should be denied. Although this Court finds that Plaintiffs have met their burden as to irreparable injury, potential harm to Defendants and public interest, the undersigned finds that Plaintiffs have not persuaded as to their substantial likelihood of success on the merits.

I. FACTS

Plaintiffs received certification for housing assistance benefits from the Hillsbor-ough County Housing and Community Development Department (the “Department”), as a participant in the Section 8 Housing Assistance Program (the Program). The Program was established by Congress in 1974 through Title II, Section 201(a), of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1437f, Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. Under 24 C.F.R. § 882.210(d), the Department may terminate the Section 8 Certification for any of these three grounds: 1) fraud; 2) violation of 24 C.F.R. § 882.118 “Obligations of the Family”; or 3) breach of a repayment agreement between the family and the Department. The family obligation under § 882.118 that is relevant to this case is the obligation to supply information to the Department, including annual or interim family income.

On November 12, 1991, Plaintiffs applied for and were granted a Section 8 Housing Certificate. Prior to the Department’s proposed termination of Section 8 Certification, Plaintiffs acknowledged their duty to disclose changes in income by twice signing a document titled “Important Notice to Section 8 Applicants and Tenants of Hillsbor-ough County Housing Assistance”, signing a “Tenant Responsibilities” document, attendance at a Section 8 orientation program, as well as two warnings from Department representatives in January and April of 1992. Further, Plaintiffs again acknowledged this obligation in writing on April 17, 1992.

On June 4, 1992, Plaintiffs were informed via letter of the proposed termination of their Section 8 Certification for their failure to report income. This letter also informed Plaintiffs of their right to request an informal hearing in writing within ten days, pursuant to 24 C.F.R. § 882.216(b)(4). Accordingly, Plaintiffs were granted two informal hearings. The [932]*932first informal hearing occurred on June 23, 1992 and the second informal hearing occurred on July 17, 1992. Based on these informal hearings, the Department upheld the decision to terminate Section 8 Certification and Plaintiffs were informed thereof via letter dated July 23, 1992.

II. STANDARD FOR GRANTING A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

A preliminary injunction authorized by Rule 65, Fed.R.Civ.P. is not granted as a matter of right, but is a extraordinary remedy and must be sparingly granted. Black & Decker Corp. v. American Standard, Inc., 679 F.Supp. 1183 (D.Del.1988). The issuance of a preliminary injunction falls within the sound discretion of a district court. Frio Ice, S.A. v. Sunfruit, Inc., 918 F.2d 154, 159 (11th Cir.1990). A district court should grant a preliminary injunction only if the moving party clearly shows: a substantial likelihood that the moving party will prevail on the merits; that they will suffer irreparable injury if an injunction is not issued; that the potential injury outweighs the possible harm to the opposing party; and that the injunction would not be adverse to the public interest. Id. at 159. Further, since an injunction is an extraordinary and drastic remedy, it will not be granted unless the movant clearly carries the burden of persuasion as to all four prerequisites. United States v. Jefferson County, 720 F.2d 1511, 1519 (11th Cir.1983).

Plaintiffs have met their burden as to every element except the substantial likelihood of success on the merits. First, Plaintiffs have demonstrated irreparable injury in that a denial of this motion could render them homeless. Defendants’ contention that this Court should “assume” that Plaintiffs will move in with their grandmother is misplaced. Second, there is no potential harm to Defendants if this injunction is granted, because the Department demonstrated no harm to itself if ordered to reinstate Section 8 Certification to Plaintiffs.

Third, the public interest is in the proper administration of the Program. This Court finds that there is a great public interest in guaranteeing that those in financial need are not unreasonably terminated from public assistance benefits. However, the Court recognizes that Defendants also have an obligation to the public at large to maintain the proper administration of the Program. Consequently, in addition to the public interest in the reasonable termination of public assistance benefits, there is a great public interest in providing Section 8 housing benefits to other needy individuals who desire it and would use it in a lawful manner, if Plaintiffs were properly terminated from the Program. This is not sufficient to find that this factor weighs in favor of Defendants, but it has been considered by the Court.

Further, this Court finds that Plaintiffs have not met their burden of persuasion as to the likelihood of success on the merits. This Court’s review indicates that the Department complied with all C.F.R. regulations regarding the termination of Plaintiffs’ Section 8 certification; the Department complied with the Supreme Court’s procedural due process requirements regarding an informal hearing; and Judge Castagna’s granting of a preliminary injunction in a case similar to this one can be distinguished.

Plaintiffs contend that they reported their change in employment and income in a timely fashion, and thus, the Department’s reliance on Plaintiffs failure to meet their “Family Obligations” is pre-textual. Plaintiffs further contend that the Department’s real motive for termination is because they are “morally unworthy” of Section 8 participation. This motive is evident, Plaintiffs contend, from the fact that the Department erroneously told Plaintiffs that their Section 8 Certification would be terminated if they were evicted from their apartment; thus, they improperly applied 24 C.F.R. § 882.118(a)(1) “Family Obligations” as grounds for the termination of Plaintiffs’ Section 8 Certification, (i.e. the failure to disclose changes in income).

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Basham v. Freda
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Basham v. Freda
805 F. Supp. 930 (M.D. Florida, 1992)

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Bluebook (online)
805 F. Supp. 930, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15402, 1992 WL 276028, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/basham-v-freda-flmd-1992.