Rios v. Town of Huntington Housing Authority

853 F. Supp. 2d 330, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49918, 2012 WL 1185941
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedApril 10, 2012
DocketNo. 12-cv-1558 (ADS)(WDW)
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 853 F. Supp. 2d 330 (Rios v. Town of Huntington Housing Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rios v. Town of Huntington Housing Authority, 853 F. Supp. 2d 330, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49918, 2012 WL 1185941 (E.D.N.Y. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

Presently before the Court is the Plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction to stay the Defendants from terminating her from the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. For the reasons stated below, the Court finds that this case should be brought as an Article 78 proceeding under New York State Law and consequently denies the Plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction. However, because of the drastic nature of the relief sought by the Defendants, coupled with the fact that the Plaintiff is a mother of three small children and, apparently, has no funds, the Court will extend the TRO for the stipulated period, until April 17, 2012, to enable the Plaintiffs counsel to seek comparable relief in the state court.

I. BACKGROUND

The Plaintiff, Maritza Rios (“Rios” or “the Plaintiff’) is a participant in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. See Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1437(f) (“Section 8”). The Defendant the Town of Huntington Housing Authority is categorized as a public housing authority (“PHA”) under the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) regulations. This PHA is the municipal entity that monitors and administers the Section 8 program in the Town of Huntington (“the Town”). This program is administered to approximately 475 Section 8 families in the Town. The Defendant Siela A. Bynoe is the Executive Director of the PHA, and the Defendant Susan Ortega is the Deputy Director of the PHA.

On August 20, 2011, the Plaintiff was involved in a physical altercation with two other women. According to the Plaintiff, the females were unknown to her, intoxicated and physically attacked her first. Thus, she says she only responded in kind by physically defending herself.

On August 26, 2011, the Plaintiff learned that the police were looking for her and so she turned herself into the police authorities. As a result, she was arrested and charged with felony assault. As an impoverished person, Rios could not make the modest bail and was incarcerated from August 26, 2011 through October 13, 2011, during which time her mother cared for her three young children, who were aged seven, two, and one. However, by October 13, 2011, Rios’ mother could no longer care for her children. On that date, the Plaintiff asserts that because of her incarcerated circumstances, and the need to take care of her three children, she was compelled to plead guilty to the felony assault charge. On that same date, the Plaintiff was sentenced to probation for one year, with the understanding that after one year, the charge would be reduced to a misdemeanor.

In the interim, the PHA sent a notice to the Plaintiff dated October 5, 2011, stating that she was to be terminated from the Section 8 Program on account of her arrest. Appended to the notice was both proof of her criminal charges obtained from the Suffolk County Court records, and a newspaper story about the incident. According to the terms of the notice, and in accordance with HUD regulations, the Plaintiff availed herself of the opportunity [334]*334to have an informal hearing to challenge the termination.

On December 9, 2011 a hearing was held before the Defendant PHA’s customary informal hearing officer, Adam Morelli (“the HO”). This hearing was not on the record, and in accordance with the Defendants’ policy, the Plaintiff and her attorney were forbidden to transcribe or record the proceedings. However, Rios was afforded an opportunity to be heard; the right to have an attorney present; the right to present evidence; and the right of cross-examination. The Defendants offered the termination notice and the accompanying documents, but presented no other evidence or witnesses. The Plaintiff testified to the facts of the altercation; the circumstances surrounding her guilty plea because of her three young children; the fact that she had no criminal history; as well as her financial situation, in that in the absence of a Section 8 voucher, she and her children would be homeless. The Plaintiff also submitted six letters from school authorities and community agency workers attesting to her good character.

On January 2, 2012, the HO issued a written decision, in which he determined that Rios could continue to receive her Section 8 benefits. The HO wrote, in part, that:

According to § 982.553(c) (2) (ii) (A), “[t]he PHA may prohibit admission of a household to the program if the PHA determines that any household member is currently engaged in, or has engaged during a reasonable time before the admission: (2) violent criminal activity.” In this case, I do not believe your Section 8 benefits should be terminated at this time.

Neither party disputes that the HO did not refer to the correct HUD regulation, in that the hearing involved termination of Section 8 benefits, not the initial admission into the Section 8 program. However, the parties dispute whether this is a mistake in form or substance. The HO’s written decision went on to state that:

As determined by a review of documents and testimony given during the hearing, the altercation which led to your arrest was not initiated by you. In fact, you were attacked by two intoxicated women and reacted in self defense. This was your first legal infraction, and under the circumstances, I believe that you should not be punished further for this incident. Additionally, it is clear that you are in high esteem within you community, as exemplified by the numerous letters written on your behalf by Principal’s, coaches, and teachers.

In the end, the HO warned that if Rios’ probation was violated by any further legal infractions, her benefits would be terminated.

The Defendants continued to pay the Plaintiffs Section 8 rental subsidy for January and February 2012. On February 8, 2012, a meeting was held by the PHA and its Board of Commissioners. Thereafter, on February 23, 2012, the Defendants sent the Plaintiff a notice stating that they were not bound by the HO’s decision and were going to proceed to terminate her Section 8 Benefits. The PHA stated four reasons for its determination that it was not bound by the HO’s report: (1) the HO applied the wrong federal regulation in reaching his decision, in that he applied the regulation relating to the admission of benefits, not to the termination; (2) the HO failed to properly apply the standards for review of evidence of criminal activity as stated by 24 C.F.R. § 982.553, and that the criminal charges “are considered violent criminal activity”; (3) the HO incorrectly applied the federal, state, and local laws with respect to termination of a participant in the Housing Choice Voucher Program who en[335]*335gages in violent criminal activity because the HO improperly considered factors and circumstances that were not relevant; and (4) the HO wrongly applied certain mitigating circumstances concerning the penalty to be imposed.

On March 30, 2012, the Plaintiff commenced the present lawsuit alleging six causes of action, four of which are premised on violations of the Plaintiffs due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
853 F. Supp. 2d 330, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49918, 2012 WL 1185941, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rios-v-town-of-huntington-housing-authority-nyed-2012.