Kay v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes

504 F.3d 803, 42 Communications Reg. (P&F) 901, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 22541, 2007 WL 2743578
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 21, 2007
Docket18-16213
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 504 F.3d 803 (Kay v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kay v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes, 504 F.3d 803, 42 Communications Reg. (P&F) 901, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 22541, 2007 WL 2743578 (9th Cir. 2007).

Opinion

WARDLAW, Circuit Judge:

James A. Kay, Jr. wanted to use the pre-existing amateur antennae on the roof of a house in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes (“the City”) for commercial wireless transmissions. The City denied him a conditional use permit (“CUP”), and Kay filed suit. The district court dismissed three of his claims, but ruled in his favor on his Telecommunications Act (“TCA”) and California state law claims. Although the district court granted injunctive relief, it found that the City enjoys immunity from damages, and denied Kay’s request for compensatory damages. Kay appeals the dismissal of three of his claims, the denial of damages, and seeks reassignment to a different judge on remand. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We hold that the dismissed claims are now barred by the doctrine of res judicata, and that the City is immune from damages under controlling California law. Finally, we hold that compensatory damages are not available under the TCA, 47 U.S.C. § 332, 1 and affirm the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

Kay is an FCC-licensed amateur and commercial broadcaster who operates commercial two-way radio systems. Kay operates transmission facilities throughout Southern California. In 1994 he purchased a single-family residence located in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The house had two pre-existing vertical radio antennae mounted on the roof. 2 It has remained unoccupied since 1994. In January 1997, the City sent Kay a notice of violation claiming that he was using his rooftop antennae for commercial purposes. Kay denied using the rooftop antennae commercially. But, in April 1998, he installed antennae for commercial use inside an upstairs bedroom of the house. Then, at some point, Kay installed three more vertical antennae on the roof. On August 5, 1998, Kay filed an application with the City seeking approval for non-commercial use of the antennae on the roof. On July 7, 1999, the City notified Kay that his five antennae were exempt from regulation because they were intended for amateur use.

On April 14, 2000, the City filed suit against Kay in state court, seeking an injunction compelling him to obey the *807 City’s municipal code and requiring him to obtain approval from the City before using any of his antennae for commercial purposes. On February 25, 2002, the state court entered a permanent injunction in favor of the City. It held that the interior antennae operated on commercial frequencies and “that the use of any antenna for commercial purposes without having first obtained City approval, including but not limited to a conditional use permit, was a public nuisance per se.” The state court enjoined Kay from erecting any new antennae or using his existing antennae for commercial purposes without City approval. This decision was affirmed by the California Court of Appeal in an unpublished opinion on December 30, 2003.

On June 21, 2001, Kay applied to the City for a conditional use permit to allow commercial use of the existing five antennae. In an October 23, 2001 report, City planning staff recommended a conditional grant of his application. At a City Planning Commission meeting on the same day, the commissioners determined that Kay had lied about his past commercial use of the antennae, but took no further action on the application. In a November 13, 2001 report, City planning staff again recommended granting Kay’s application. The report also noted that after the application was filed, more antennae were added to the roof of the house. A draft resolution granting Kay’s application for only the five antennae was proposed. On November 15, 2001, the City Planning Commission issued a resolution denying commercial use of the rooftop antennae, requiring removal of three of the five antennae, and allowing commercial use of only the internal antennae.

Kay appealed to the City Council. Before his appeal could be heard, a district court decision on another challenge to the City’s commercial broadcast policies caused the City to amend its antenna regulations. 3 On March 19, 2002, City planning staff again recommended that all five antennae be approved for commercial use. Finally, on April 16, 2002, the City Council approved a resolution granting Kay the right to commercially broadcast from only two of the rooftop antennae. This approval was conditioned on, inter alia, Kay’s removal of the other three antennae.

Kay filed suit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California seeking an order that would vacate the City’s conditional use permit decision and compel it to allow him to broadcast commercially from all five antennae. He invoked both the TCA and California state law. He also asserted a number of other claims in the complaint, three of which were dismissed by the district court. Kay sought remedies including an injunction, a writ of mandate, damages resulting from the partial denial of the conditional use permit, and attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b). The district court analyzed the City’s CUP decision and determined that it was not supported by substantial evidence as required by the TCA, 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(iii), and California law. It issued a writ of mandate requiring that the City permit commercial use of all five of Kay’s antennae. The district court denied damages under both California and federal law. Kay appeals the dismissal of three claims, the denial of damages under the TCA and state law, and asks that a new judge be assigned on remand.

*808 II. DISCUSSION

1. Dismissed Claims

Kay argues that the district court erred by dismissing three of his claims without prejudice, rather than staying them under Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971). 4 “Abstention by a district court is required under Younger when three criteria are satisfied: (1) State judicial proceedings are ongoing; (2) The proceedings im plicate important state interests; and (3) The state proceedings provide an adequate opportunity to raise federal questions.” Commc’ns Telesys. Int’l v. Cal. Pub. Util. Comm’n, 196 F.3d 1011, 1015 (9th Cir. 1999). The parties do not dispute the district court’s determination that Younger applies to Kay’s claims. Nor do they disagree that “[w]hen damages are at issue, and comity dictates, courts should defer” by staying, rather than dismissing, under Younger. Gilbertson v. Albright, 381 F.3d 965, 982 (9th Cir.2004) (en banc).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
504 F.3d 803, 42 Communications Reg. (P&F) 901, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 22541, 2007 WL 2743578, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kay-v-city-of-rancho-palos-verdes-ca9-2007.