City of Independence v. Bond

580 F. Supp. 780, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19171
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedFebruary 24, 1984
DocketNo. 83-0911-CV-W-1
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 580 F. Supp. 780 (City of Independence v. Bond) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Independence v. Bond, 580 F. Supp. 780, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19171 (W.D. Mo. 1984).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DISMISSING ACTION

JOHN W. OLIVER, Senior District Judge.

I.

The complaint filed by the City of Independence alleged that “this action is brought under the Declaratory Judgments Act, 28 U.S.C. Secs. 2201 and 2202.” That complaint, which alleged no other ground for invoking the limited jurisdiction of this Court, prayed for a declaratory judgment that the appointments to the Private Industry Council of Service Delivery Area 12 made by the Mayor pro tempore and the City Council of the City of Independence “were proper and in compliance with Sec. 102 of the Job Training Partnership Act”; for a declaratory judgment that “the defendant Christopher S. Bond does not have authority to make appointments to the Private Industry Council”; and for a declaratory judgment that the appointees allegedly made by the Mayor pro tempore and the City Council of the City of Independence be certified by the defendant Christopher S. Bond.

In apparent recognition that the Declaratory Judgment Act does not confer independent jurisdiction on this Court, the complaint also alleged that “this action arises under the Act of October 13, 1983 [1982], Public Law 97-300, 96 Stat. 1322, et seq., cited as the Job Training Partnership Act.”

II.

The Court convened a pretrial conference in the above case on November 14, 1983. [781]*781Defendants Bill Waris, County Executive, and Jackson County, Missouri filed a motion on the day of the conference which prayed that those two defendants be realigned as plaintiffs in the action. Those two defendants also filed an application for a temporary restraining order' on the day of the conference which sought to restrain the Governor from convening a meeting of the Private Industry Council for Service Delivery Area 12.

This Court refused to grant the application for a temporary restraining order and deferred ruling on the motion for realignment of parties until after it obtained the views of counsel in regard to the question of whether this Court had jurisdiction over the action as filed. This Court’s Memorandum and Order of November 15, 1983 reflects that the jurisdictional questions presented were fully discussed at the November 14, 1983 pretrial conference and that the following Order was entered that day:

ORDERED that on or before November 25, 1983, each of the parties shall prepare, serve and file briefs on:

(A) the obvious jurisdictional question presented;
(B) whether the question presented is a political question outside this Court’s jurisdiction under Luther v. Bordon, [Borden] 48 U.S. (7 How.) 1 [12 L.Ed. 581] (1849) and the progeny of that case; and
(C) whether the discretion to exercise whatever jurisdiction the Court may have under the Declaratory Judgment Act should or should not be exercised under the circumstances.

On November 21,1983, three days before the jurisdictional briefs were to be filed, all of the parties filed a joint application for an extension of time to December 15, 1983 to file the jurisdictional briefs required by this Court’s November 15, 1983 Order. That joint application alleged that following the November 14, 1983 conference, “counsel for the various parties have discussed the possibility and methods of settling the issues presented in this litigation”; that “substantial movement has been made toward settlement, but that this movement has taken substantial time by the parties and their counsel.” The Court granted an extension to December 15, 1983.

On December 14, 1983 a second joint application for extension of time was filed by all the parties, requesting that the time for filing the jurisdictional briefs be extended to January 15, 1984. That joint application alleged that “the parties are continuing to negotiate for a settlement of this matter and substantial movement and progress has been made toward this end.” The Court granted that joint application.

On January 17, 1984, however, plaintiff, the City of Independence, moved that the time for filing the jurisdictional briefs be further extended until January 30, 1984, representing that “the City of Independence is reviewing the entire status of this litigation and may be satisfied that the issues no longer exist.” Because that application also recited that no other party had any objection, the time for filing the jurisdictional briefs was extended to January 30, 1984. On January 30, 1984 the City of Independence requested still a further extension until February 6, 1984, reciting that no other party had any objection. The Court granted that extension.

The City of Independence and the Governor both filed briefs in accordance with this Court’s'November 15, 1983 Order, as extended, shortly after the February 6, 1984 extended deadline. Defendant Waris and defendant Jackson County, Missouri, however, have failed to comply with that Order.

We have carefully considered the jurisdictional briefs filed by the City of Independence and by the Governor. We have also conducted independent research in regard to the questions presented. We conclude that the above case must be dismissed, without prejudice, for want of jurisdiction for reasons we now state.

III.

The City of Independence’s jurisdictional brief directed attention at its outset to the allegation in the complaint for declaratory judgment which, as we above noted, al[782]*782leged that “this action arises under the act of October 13, 1982, Public Law 97-300, 96 Stat. 1322, et seq. cited as the Job Training Partnership Act.” The City relied primarily on the Eighth Circuit’s opinion in Div. 1287, Etc. v. Kansas City Area Transp. Autk, 582 F.2d 444 (8th Cir.1978), in which the Court of Appeals affirmed this Court’s conclusion that federal question jurisdiction was vested in a federal district court under the Urban Mass Transportation Act, 49 U.S.C. § 1609(c).

That Act provided that a state or local government must make appropriate arrangements to preserve transit workers’ existing collective-bargaining act rights before a state or local government would be entitled to receive federal funds for the acquisition of a privately owned transit company. This Court held, and the Court of Appeals affirmed, that it had federal question jurisdiction to hear and determine an action brought by a union in federal court for an alleged violation of an arrangement authorized by the Act and for an alleged violation of a collective-bargaining agreement between the union and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. The City of Independence, for reasons that are not readily apparent, also cited and relied on Local Div. 732, Etc. v. Metropolitan Atlanta, Etc., 667 F.2d 1327 (11th Cir. 1982) which concluded, directly contrary to the Eighth Circuit, that a federal district court did not have federal question jurisdiction under the Urban Mass Transportation Act.

The Governor’s brief, appropriately cited and relied upon the Supreme Court’s unanimous opinion in Jackson Transit Authority v. Transit Union,

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Related

City of Independence v. Bond
756 F.2d 615 (Eighth Circuit, 1985)
City of Independence, Missouri v. Bond
756 F.2d 615 (Eighth Circuit, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
580 F. Supp. 780, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19171, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-independence-v-bond-mowd-1984.