Reuss v. Balles

73 F.R.D. 90, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11707
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedDecember 22, 1976
DocketCiv. A. No. 76-1142
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 73 F.R.D. 90 (Reuss v. Balles) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reuss v. Balles, 73 F.R.D. 90, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11707 (D.D.C. 1976).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

PARKER, District Judge:

The Honorable Henry S. Reuss, in his capacities as a Congressman1 and as a bondholder,2 has filed suit against various individuals who serve as officers of the Federal Reserve Banks and who also serve on the Federal Open Market Committee (Committee or FOMC), and against each of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks in the United States.3 Since the Committee exercises significant governmental functions, plaintiff contends that all of its members are officers of the United States and as such must be properly appointed pursuant to the Appointments Clause4 of the Constitution. The Reserve Bank representatives to the FOMC are not appointed in accordance with the Appointments Clause but rather are selected by the boards of directors of the Reserve Banks pursuant to § 12A of the Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. § 263(a).5 Plaintiff asks the Court to declare unconstitutional those portions of [92]*92§ 12A which provide for selection and service on the FOMC of Reserve Bank representatives and to enjoin permanently both the individual defendants from serving on the Committee and the defendant banks from carrying out any instructions issued by the allegedly unconstitutionally constituted Committee.

Plaintiff alleges that the cause of action arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal question and jurisdictional amount) and § 1337 (action arises under an act regulating commerce, viz., 12 U.S.C. § 263) and under 12 U.S.C. § 632 (Federal Reserve Bank as a party to the action). He claims that as a Congressman and chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Banking, Currency and Housing the defendants are diminishing and usurping his powers. As a bondholder, he claims that he is deprived of his property without due process of law in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

Defendants have moved to dismiss the proceedings for lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, asserting that the plaintiff has no standing to sue. They contend that since he has shown no injury in fact, either as a Congressman or as a bondholder, from the allegedly unconstitutional selection and service of the Reserve Bank representatives on the Committee, there is no case or controversy as required under Article III of the Constitution and that therefore any judgment rendered by the Court would be purely advisory-

Because plaintiff seeks to enjoin enforcement of a federal statute for repugnance to the Constitution, application for a three-judge court has been made. 28 U.S.C. §§ 2282, 2284.6 However, when a motion to dismiss for lack of standing is presented, a single judge may first determine whether the court has jurisdiction to hear the case before requesting a three-judge court. Gonzalez v. Automatic Employees Credit Union, 419 U.S. 90, 100, 95 S.Ct. 289, 42 L.Ed.2d 249 (1974).

The Court has reviewed the complaint, the memoranda of the parties and the relevant case and statutory authority and concludes that this proceeding should be dismissed because the plaintiff lacks standing to maintain this action, either as a Congressman or as a bondholder.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Federal Reserve System was created by Act of Congress in 1913. It is a central banking system composed of a seven-member Board of Governors, each member appointed by the President and confirmed by the' Senate; twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks; the Federal Open Market Committee; the Federal Advisory Council; and those privately-owned commercial banks that are members of the System. 12 U.S.C. § 221 et seq.

The Federal Reserve Banks are organized in the form of private business corporations. The commercial banks which are members of the System7 own stock with voting rights in the Reserve Bank in their district. Six of the nine members of the board of directors of each Reserve Bank are elected by the member banks; the Board of Governors chooses the remaining three directors and appoints one to serve as chairman and one to serve as deputy chairman of the respective boards. The presidents and first vice presidents of the Reserve Banks are selected by the boards of directors of those banks, subject to the approval of the Board [93]*93of Governors. 12 U.S.C. § 341. The Board of Governors is empowered to exercise general supervision over the Federal Reserve Banks and may suspend or remove any director or officer of any Reserve Bank for cause.

The FOMC directs and regulates the purchase and sale of government and other securities by the Reserve Banks in the open market8 and thereby affects the supply of money.9 The Committee is composed of the seven members of the Board of Governors and five representatives of the Reserve Banks, elected by various combinations of the boards of directors of those banks. The latter five must be presidents or first vice presidents of the Reserve Banks.10

The Federal Reserve System was established:

to regulate the supply of money by raising or lowering the reserves of its member banks. When these reserves are raised, member banks find themselves with excess reserves and are thus in a position to make loans and investments by which the supply of money will increase further. Conversely, when the Federal Reserve lowers the reserves of its member banks, they will no longer be able to make loans and investments, or may even have to reduce loans or get rid of investments, thereby extinguishing deposit accounts and contracting the supply of money. Heilbroner, Understanding Macroeconomics 187 (4th ed. 1972).

The three chief means by which the System formulates and executes general monetary policy are open market operations, the regulation of member bank borrowings from the Reserve Banks through the discount rate, and the fixing of member bank reserve requirements. These actions affect the supply of money and credit in the country and thus influence interest rates. The most flexible and continuously used of these tools is the open market instrument.

THE QUESTION OF STANDING

If a party litigant fails to demonstrate that he has standing to sue, a federal court must decline to accept jurisdiction and to exercise its remedial powers.

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Related

Henry S. Reuss v. John J. Balles
584 F.2d 461 (D.C. Circuit, 1978)
Edwards v. Carter
445 F. Supp. 1279 (District of Columbia, 1978)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
73 F.R.D. 90, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11707, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reuss-v-balles-dcd-1976.