Shakman v. Democratic Organization of Cook County

508 F. Supp. 1059, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9441
District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided March 5, 1981·No. No. 69 C 2145·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

ORDER

BUA, District Judge.

This cause comes before the court on the motions of the Democratic Organization of Cook County; the Democratic Central Committee of Cook County; Richard J. Elrod, the Sheriff of Cook County; Morgan M. Finley, the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County; Sidney R. Olsen, the Recorder of Deeds of Cook County; Stanley T. Kusper, Jr., the County Clerk of Cook County; Edward J. Rosewell, the Treasurer of Cook County; Thomas C. Hynes, the Assessor of Cook County; George W. Dunne, President, Cook County Board of Commissioners; the Chicago Park District; and the City of Chicago [hereinafter the Democratic defendants] to have the judgment order of this court dated September 24, 1979, 481 F.Supp. 1315, certified for appeal under Rule 54(b), Fed.R.Civ.P.,1 and on the motion of the plaintiffs for entry of judgment granting relief as to hiring practices. For the reasons hereinafter stated, all of these motions will be denied. The September 24, 1979 judgment order, however, will be certified for appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b).

Rule 54(b) Motions

Pursuant to Rule 54(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:

When more than one claim for relief is presented in an action, ... or when multiple parties are involved, the court may direct the entry of a final judgment as to [1061]*1061one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties .. . upon an express determination that there is no just reason for delay and upon an express direction for the entry of judgment.

Under Rule 54(b), however, only judgment orders which are final in nature can properly be certified for appeal.2 Ryan v. Occidental Petroleum Corp., 577 F.2d 298, 302 (5th Cir. 1978); Acha v. Beame, 570 F.2d 57, 62 (2d Cir. 1978). A non-final order, even when it pertains only to some of the parties in the litigation, is not appealable under the rule.

In the order entered by this court on September 24, 1979, partial summary judgment was granted to the plaintiffs on the question of whether the Democratic defendants, in their capacities as governmental employers, by conditioning their hiring of certain public employees upon party or political affiliation violated the candidate-plaintiffs’ constitutionally protected right to an equal chance to be elected, and the voter-plaintiffs’ right to have a reasonably effective voice in the electoral process. The judgment order was, by its terms, limited to the issue of the Democratic defendants’ liability, with the question of relief left for later resolution. Shakman v. Democratic Organization of Cook County, 481 F.Supp. 1315, 1325 n.4 (N.D.Ill.1979). The September 24, 1979 order thus was quite similar to that at issue in Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Wetzel, 424 U.S. 737,96 S.Ct. 1202,47 L.Ed.2d 435 (1967), regarding which the United States Supreme Court noted:

... The order ... constitutes a grant of partial summary judgment limited to the issue of petitioner’s liability. Such judgments are by their terms interlocutory, see Fed.Rule Civ.Proc. 56(c), and where assessment of damages or awarding of other relief remains to be resolved have never been considered to be ‘final’ within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

Id. at 744, 96 S.Ct. at 1206 (emphasis supplied).

After Liberty Mutual, the judgment order entered by this court on September 24, 1979 cannot reasonably be considered final for purposes of Rule 54(b). Lewis v. Tobacco Workers’ International Union, 577 F.2d 1135, 1138-39, 1138 n.5 (4th Cir. 1978); Acha v. Beame, 570 F.2d 57, 62 (2d Cir. 1978). That being true, the Democratic defendants’ motions to have that order certified for appeal under Rule 54(b) must be denied.

Motion for Entry of Judgment Granting Relief as to Hiring Practices

Through their motion for entry of judgment granting relief as to hiring practices, the plaintiffs propose to have the Democratic defendants implement a number of hiring-related procedures which, if followed, would insure that the defendants’ hiring practices did not operate to impermissibly impinge upon their [the plaintiffs’] Constitutionally protected rights.

Their proposed procedures, the plaintiffs quite properly contend, while comprehensive, are not so complex or extensive as to make implementation of them oppressive to the defendants. Implementation of these procedures, however, as they are rather numerous and reasonably involved, would very probably prove costly to the defendants, a point of significance when it is remembered that it is public money which will be expended in this regard. Further, because the plaintiffs’ proposed procedures represent a substantial change from the hiring procedures presently being utilized by the defendants, implementation of them likely will, at least at the outset, be quite burdensome and cumbersome to the defendants’ personnel.

Also, it must be remembered that the Democratic defendants herein are municipal entities who employ large numbers of people. Because they are such entities, it cannot be said with reasonable certainty that [1062]*1062the disruption caused by implementation of the procedures requested by the plaintiffs, and possibly from recission of those procedures if this court’s judgment order of September 24,1979 ultimately is overturned on appeal, will not be so severe that, from a public interest standpoint, it would outweigh the benefits which would accrue from immediate implementation of the plaintiffs’ proposals.

When consideration is given to these facts,3 as the legal questions associated with this aspect of the Democratic defendants’ liability also are reasonably unsettled, the court believes that the interests of justice would best be served if the question of the defendants’ liability is resolved more completely before any affirmative relief is imposed upon them. The plaintiffs’ motion for entry of judgment granting relief as to hiring practices, therefore, will be denied.

28 U.S.C. § 1292(b)

Regarding appeals from interlocutory orders, 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) provides in pertinent part:

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Shakman v. Democratic Organization of Cook County, 508 F. Supp. 1059, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9441 (N.D. Ill. 1981).

508 F. Supp. 1059 (Shakman v. Democratic Organization of Cook County) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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Shakman v. DEMOCRATIC ORGAN. OF COOK CTY.
508 F. Supp. 1059 (N.D. Illinois, 1981)