Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/482/361/419318/
Timestamp: 2019-11-18 03:28:30
Document Index: 756939369

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1292', '§ 201', '§ 216', '§ 203', '§ 51', '§ 51', '§ 51', '§ 216', '§ 491', '§ 494', '§ 494', '§ 401', '§ 401', 'sui generis', '§ 491', '§ 491', '§ 1331', '§ 491', '§ 216', '§ 495', '§ 401', '§ 401', '§ 401', '§ 401', '§ 491', '§ 401', '§ 401', '§ 1333']

Intracoastal Transportation, Inc., and Anderson Marineconstruction, Inc., Plaintiffs-appellees, v. Decatur County, Georgia, et al., Defendants,department of Transportation, Defendant-appellant, 482 F.2d 361 (5th Cir. 1973) :: Justia
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Intracoastal Transportation, Inc., and Anderson Marineconstruction, Inc., Plaintiffs-appellees, v. Decatur County, Georgia, et al., Defendants,department of Transportation, Defendant-appellant, 482 F.2d 361 (5th Cir. 1973)
US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - 482 F.2d 361 (5th Cir. 1973) June 29, 1973. Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied Aug. 28, 1973
In this admiralty action, the State of Georgia appeals pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) from the district court's denial of its motion to dismiss on the grounds of sovereign immunity. After a careful review of the applicable law, we conclude that Georgia was entitled to avail itself of the sovereign immunity defense, and therefore reverse.1
At least one circuit has upheld a state's sovereign immunity defense even where Congress has created a private cause of action under a federal regulatory scheme. See, Employees of the Department of Public Health & Welfare v. Department of Public Health & Welfare, State of Missouri, 452 F.2d 820 (8th Cir. 1971) (en banc). The Eighth Circuit rejected a simplistic reading of the Parden decision, correctly recognizing that many policy considerations must be weighed before a State can be said to have "waived" its immunity by conducting activities subject to federal regulation. The Employees case involved an action by state hospital workers against Missouri for overtime compensation provided by the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.
The hospital workers based their waiver claim on 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) which created a private cause of action for an employer's violation of the FLSA's applicable substantive provisions. By a 1966 amendment to the Act, Congress subjected state hospitals to the overtime provisions of the Act. 29 U.S.C. § 203(s) (4). The Eighth Circuit rejected the argument that Missouri had waived its sovereign immunity defense by operating hospitals subject to the overtime provisions of the Act and in face of the provision in the act which created a private cause of action for employees whose employers violated the overtime provisions of the Act.
Certiorari was granted and the Supreme Court in an opinion by Mr. Justice Douglas, affirmed.11 The Court carefully distinguished the Parden decision. Whereas in Parden, Alabama began operation of a railroad twenty years after the enactment of the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. §§ 51-60, the state of Missouri had operated hospitals long before the enactment of the 1966 amendment which subjected them to the FLSA's overtime provisions.
It is not easy to infer that Congress in legislating pursuant to the Commerce Clause, which has grown to vast proportions in its applications, desired silently to deprive the States of an immunity they have long enjoyed under another part of the Constitution. Thus, we cannot conclude that Congress conditioned the operation of these facilities on the forfeiture of immunity from suit in a federal forum. 411 U.S. at 285, 93 S. Ct. at 1618.
But we decline to extend Parden to cover every exercise by Congress of its commerce power, where the purpose of Congress to give force to the Supremacy Clause by lifting the sovereignty of the States and putting the States on the same footing as other employers is not clear. 411 U.S. 286, 93 S. Ct. at 1619.
Today, the Court holds that even though a state has waived its immunity at common law and under the eleventh amendment by entering a federally regulated sphere of activity, it is still not amenable to suit by a private person for violating a federal statute unless Congress has expressly provided that the private enforcement remedy is applicable in suits against the states. The majority relies on Employees of the Department of Public Health and Welfare of Missouri v. Department of Public Health and Welfare of Missouri, 1973, 411 U.S. 279, 93 S. Ct. 1614, 36 L. Ed. 2d 251 (April 18, 1973), to support its holding. I think, however, that a fair reading of that case discloses no such requirement. Furthermore, the Court's holding is in direct conflict with Parden v. Terminal R. Co., 1964, 377 U.S. 184, 84 S. Ct. 1207, 12 L. Ed. 2d 233, a case which the Supreme Court did not purport to overrule in Employees.
In Parden the plaintiffs, citizens of Alabama, sued the defendant stateowned railroad in federal district court to recover damages under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq., for injuries sustained while employed by the railroad. The FELA defined the term "carrier" as including "every common carrier by railroad while engaged in [interstate] commerce." 45 U.S.C. § 51. There was no express provision that the Act applied to stateowned railroads. Nor was there any indication to that effect in the legislative history. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court held that Congress impliedly intended the Act to apply to state-owned as well as privately-owned railroads and that it had the power to do so. The Court reasoned that the states, by adopting and ratifying the commerce clause, had authorized Congress to create such a cause of action and that Alabama, by operating an interstate railroad, had consented to suit under the Act and thus waived its immunity at common law and under the eleventh amendment.1 In so holding, the Court rejected the argument of the dissenting justices that immunity should be disallowed "only when Congress has clearly considered the problem and expressly declared that any state will be deemed thereby to have waived its immunity. . . ." 377 U.S. at 198-199, 84 S. Ct. at 1216.
Employees presented a materially different situation. There, the plaintiffs, employees of state health facilities, sought to recover overtime compensation due under section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), and an equal amount as liquidated damages. The Supreme Court found that the suit was barred since Congress, in enacting the FLSA, did not intend to deprive the states of their immunity to suit by employees of state health facilities. The Court noted that originally section 3(d) of the Act defined "employer" as excluding the United States or any state or political subdivision of a state. In 1966, section 3(d) was amended to extend the Act's coverage to employees of state health facilities. But the language of section 16(b), providing for private enforcement suits, was left unchanged.2 In interpreting congressional silence on this issue, the Court focused mainly on (1) the burden that would be placed on the states by a finding that section 16(b) was applicable to suits against state health facilities and (2) the availability of alternate avenues for enforcement of the private party's rights under the Act. The Court observed that unlike the situation in Parden, extension of section 16(b) to suits against the states would have a pervasive and perhaps financially devastating effect on the operation of those facilities, which were not operated for profit. It said:
Where employees in state institutions, not conducted for profit, have such a relation to interstate commerce that national policy, of which Congress is the keeper, indicates that their status should be raised, Congress can act. And when Congress does act, it may place new or even enormous fiscal burdens on the States. Congress acting responsibly would not be presumed to take such action silently. The dramatic circumstances of the Parden case, which involved a rather isolated state activity, can be put to one side. We deal here with problems that may well implicate elevator operators, janitors, charwomen, security guards, secretaries and the like in every office building in a State's governmental hierarchy. Those who follow the teachings of Kirschbaum v. Walling, [1942, 316 U.S. 517, 62 S. Ct. 1116, 86 L. Ed. 1638] and see its manifold applications will appreciate how pervasive such a new federal scheme of regulation would be. 411 U.S. at 284, 93 S. Ct. at 1618.
It is one thing, as in Parden to make a state employee whole; it is quite another to let him recover double against a State. Recalcitrant private employers may be whipped into line in that manner. But we are reluctant to believe that Congress in pursuit of a harmonious federalism desired to treat the States so harshly. The policy of the Act so far as the States are concerned is wholly served by allowing the delicate federal-state relationship to be managed through the Secretary of Labor. 411 U.S. at 286, 93 S. Ct. at 1619.
Applying this standard to the present case, I think it clear that Congress has lifted the states' veil of sovereign immunity. The Bridge Act of 1906, 33 U.S.C. § 491 et seq., establishes standards of care for the maintenance and operation of bridges over the navigable waters of the United States. In relevant part, it provides that draw bridges shall be opened promptly upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats or other water-craft, 33 U.S.C. § 494. The Act does not impose enormous fiscal burdens on the states as part of new pervasive scheme of federal regulation. Nor does it pose a threat to the harmony of our federal system by allowing recovery of double damages or invading an area traditionally reserved to the states. To the contrary, the Act represents a necessary and historically accepted application of Congress' power under the commerce clause by insuring the safe and efficient operation of bridges over navigable waters. The paramount purposes behind the Act demand that the states, who typically own the bridges involved, be made amenable to suits for enforcement of the statutory standards. This is true regardless whether the plaintiff is the United States or a private party injured by the violation of a statutory provision designed to protect him. Thus, there is no reason to presume that Congress did not intend to lift the states' immunity in all cases.
I also disagree with the majority's holding that the Bridge Act of 1906, and in particular 33 U.S.C. §§ 494 and 495, do not create a cause of action in favor of private parties. Almost a half century ago, this Court held that the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. § 401 et seq., an act similar to the one involved here, created an implied private right of action for equitable relief. Neches Canal Co. v. Miller & Vidor Lumber Co., 5 Cir. 1928, 24 F.2d 763. We stated:
In Lauritzen v. Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Authority, E.D. Va. 1966, 259 F. Supp. 633, aff'd 4 Cir. 1968, 404 F.2d 1001, the Fourth Circuit held that the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 created an implied private right of action for damages against the state. As the district court said in that case:
It is true that the federal navigation regulations do not expressly provide a cause of action for injured parties . . . but such liability is clearly implied. Even though it be conceded that the statutes pertaining to the protection of navigable waters, 33 U.S.C. § 401 et seq., are penal in nature, it is clear that civil liability may be derived therefrom, both in favor of the United States, United States v. Perma Paving Co., 332 F.2d 754 (2 Cir. 1964), and private parties, Morania Barge No. 140, Inc. v. M. & J. Tracy, Inc., 312 F.2d 78 (2 Cir. 1962). Violation of the navigation laws gives rise to a presumption of negligence, which, if not rebutted, may result in liability to the negligent party. Reading Co. v. Pope & Talbot, Inc., 192 F. Supp. 663 (E.D.Penn.1961), aff'd 295 F.2d 40 (3 Cir. 1961). We think it is evident that the regulations pertaining to the obstruction of navigable waters were manifestly intended for the protection of private parties such as the libelant here, even though the enforcement of these provisions was vested in the United States.
259 F. Supp. at 638. A similiar result was reached in Adams v. Harris County, Texas, S.D. Tex. 1970, 316 F. Supp. 938.
The majority has not attempted to distinguish Lauritzen but is satisfied instead to dismiss it perfunctorily. Private civil remedies have been implied from federal statutes beginning in 1916 with Texas & Pacific Ry. Co. v. Rigsby, 241 U.S. 33, 36 S. Ct. 482, 60 L. Ed. 874, where the Court held that an employee could recover damages under the Federal Safety Appliance Act. The Court stated: " [D]isregard of the command of the statute is a wrongful act, and where it results in damage to one of the class for whose especial benefit the statute was enacted, the right to recover the damages from the party in default is implied. . . ." See also J. I. Case Company v. Borak, 1964, 377 U.S. 426, 84 S. Ct. 1555, 12 L. Ed. 2d 423; Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 1971, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S. Ct. 1999, 29 L. Ed. 2d 619; Gomez v. Florida State Employment Service, 5 Cir. 1969, 417 F.2d 569; Note, Implying Civil Remedies from Federal Regulatory Statutes, 77 Harv. L. Rev. 285 (1963).
The present case is sui generis. The Bridge Act of 1906, 33 U.S.C. § 491 et seq., sets standards of care for the maintenance and operation of bridges over navigable waters. This Act was clearly intended to protect individuals such as the plaintiff in this case and imposed a correlative duty on the defendant to operate its bridges in accordance with those standards. " [The defendant's] violation of [its] statutory duty imposes civil liability in this as in any other case where, the violation of a duty causes injury to an individual to whom the duty is owed. For every right there is a remedy. If the right is created by a federal statute, the federal courts have the power to fashion an appropriate remedy." Breitwieser v. KMS Industries, Inc., 5 Cir. 1972, 467 F.2d 1391, 1397 (Wisdom, J., dissenting).
At the outset it should be noted that this appeal deals exclusively with the Georgia Department of Transportation. There is no dispute that the Department of Transportation is the alter ego of the State of Georgia. See, Tounsel v. State Highway Department, 180 Ga. 112, 116, 178 S.E. 285 (1934). The propriety of the suit against Decatur County, Georgia, is not before this court. See, County of Lincoln v. Luning, 133 U.S. 529, 530, 10 S. Ct. 363, 33 L. Ed. 766 (1890)
Thus, the dissent's conclusion that we have foreclosed all avenues of relief to the appellees is completely erroneous. We assume that on remand, appellees will be permitted to pursue whatever remedies under common law negligence are open to them against the county. In such event, as we recognize later in this opinion, the standards of care established by the Bridge Act of 1906, 33 U.S.C. § 491 et seq. may be utilized when an otherwise suable party is involved.
Jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (admiralty). Apparently appellee's tug and barge had no difficulty in moving under the bridge on their trip upstream. On March 5, 1971, after receiving heavy cargo, the tug and barge arrived upstream of the bridge on their return trip. It being the rainy season, the waters of the Flint River had risen to such an extent that the tug could not pass beneath the bridge. After notice was given by the tug, the bridge was not raised for twenty-six days because it had been paved over by the state. On oral argument counsel for both parties informed the court that the bridge had not been opened for a long time, perhaps 40 years. The court was also informed that the bridge has now been officially closed and a new bridge will be constructed
See, Bridge Act of 1906, 33 U.S.C. § 491 et seq., which establishes standards for bridges over navigable waters
Ex parte State of New York No. 1, 256 U.S. 490, 500, 41 S. Ct. 588, 590, 65 L. Ed. 1057 (1921); Ex parte Madrazzo, 32 (7 Pet.) U.S. 627, 8 L. Ed. 808 (1833)
377 U.S. 184, 84 S. Ct. 1207, 12 L. Ed. 2d 233 (1964)
377 U.S. at 196, 84 S. Ct. at 1215
"Our conclusion is simply that Alabama, when it began operation of an interstate railroad approximately 20 years after enactment of the FELA, necessarily consented to such suit as was authorized by that Act." 377 U.S. at 192, 84 S. Ct. at 1213
"Recognition of the congressional power to render a State suable under the FELA does not mean that the immunity doctrine, as embodied in the Eleventh Amendment with respect to citizens of other States . . . is here being overridden. It remains the law that a State may not be sued by an individual without its consent." 377 U.S. at 192, 84 S. Ct. at 1213. See also, Rothstein v. Wyman, 467 F.2d 226, 238 (2d Cir. 1972); Knight v. New York, 443 F.2d 415, 418 (2d Cir. 1971); Red Star Towing & Transportation Co. v. Department of Transportation of New Jersey, 423 F.2d 104, 106 (3d Cir. 1970); Daye v. Pennsylvania, 344 F. Supp. 1337, 1347 (E.D. Pa. 1972); Elliot v. Volpe, 328 F. Supp. 831, 834 (D. Mass. 1971); Citizen's Committee for the Hudson Valley v. Volpe, 297 F. Supp. 809, 813 (S.D. N.Y.1969); DeLong Corp. v. Oregon State Highway Comm., 233 F. Supp. 7 (D. Or. 1964), aff'd, 343 F.2d 911 (9th Cir. 1965), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 877, 86 S. Ct. 161, 15 L. Ed. 2d 119 (1965)
Employees of the Department of Public Health & Welfare, State of Missouri v. Department of Public Health & Welfare, State of Missouri, 411 U.S. 279, 93 S. Ct. 1614, 36 L. Ed. 2d 251 (1973)
See, 29 U.S.C. § 216(b)
See also, Hickman v. Idaho State School and Hospital, 339 F. Supp. 463 (D. Idaho 1972); contra, Briggs v. Sagers, 424 F.2d 130 (10th Cir. 1970). For an excellent discussion of the Parden decision, see, Note, Private Suits Against States in the Federal Courts, 33 U. Chi. L. Rev. 331 (1966)
See 33 U.S.C. § 495. Compare, Bass Angler Sportsman Soc. v. United States Steel Corp., 324 F. Supp. 412 (3 Districts Ala.1971) (consolidated), aff'd per curiam, 447 F.2d 1304 (5th Cir. 1971) (Rivers & Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. § 401 et seq. does not grant enforcement powers in private parties.)
We are aware that some inroads have been made by this Court in recognizing that a cause of action is vested in private parties by the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. §§ 401 et seq. In Neches Canal Co. v. Miller & Vidor Lumber Co., 24 F.2d 763 (5th Cir. 1928), this Court held that a private party could enjoin another private party who had clearly violated 33 U.S.C. § 401 by building a dam over a navigable water-way without first obtaining the consent of Congress or the approval of the Army Corps of Engineers. However considering the constitutional complexion of the present suit we feel that the Neches Canal decision should properly be limited to the peculiar fact situation presented there.
The suit in Neches Canal was between private parties. None of the defendants there could assert the defense of sovereign immunity granted by the eleventh amendment. There the obstruction, a dam, was placed in the navigable waterway without a license or a permit; thus the acts of the defendants clearly violated 33 U.S.C. § 401. Of course an obvious difference is the fact that Neches Canal involved the Bridges and Harbors Act of 1899 while while the present suit was instituted under the Bridges Act of 1906, 33 U.S.C. § 491 et seq.
404 F.2d 1001 (4th Cir. 1968); See also, Adams v. Harris County, Texas, 316 F. Supp. 938, 947-949 (S.D. Tex. 1970); Contra, Mobile Towing Co. v. M/V Weatherly, 343 F. Supp. 276, 278 (S.D. Ala. 1971)
It is true that the federal navigation regulations do not expressly provide a cause of action for injured parties as does the FELA, [referring to Parden] but such liability is clearly implied. Even though it be conceded that the statutes pertaining to the protection of navigable waters, 33 U.S.C. § 401 et seq., are penal in nature, it is clear that civil liability may be derived therefrom, both in favor of the United States, United States v. Perma Paving Co., 332 F.2d 754 (2 Cir. 1964), and private parties, Morania Barge No. 140, Inc. v. M. & J. Tracy, Inc., 312 F.2d 78 (2 Cir. 1962), 259 F. Supp. 633, 638 (E.D. Va. 1966).
It is clear that the holding in Perma Paving is correct since obviously the defense of sovereign immunity must be denied when the United States seeks to enforce a federal regulatory statute. See, United States v. California, 297 U.S. 175, 56 S. Ct. 421, 80 L. Ed. 567 (1936); Wyandotte Transportation Co. v. United States, 389 U.S. 191, 88 S. Ct. 379, 19 L. Ed. 2d 407 (1967). However, Morania Barge merely stands for the proposition that the standards established in 33 U.S.C. § 401 et seq., may be used in a suit where independent jurisdiction already exists.
Such circuitous reasoning begs the question and flys in the face of the Parden decision. The conclusion that sovereign immunity has been waived can "only be warranted if exacted by the most express language, or by such overwhelming implication from the text as would leave no room for any other reasonable construction." Murray v. Wilson Distilling Co., 213 U.S. 151, 171, 29 S. Ct. 458, 464, 53 L. Ed. 742 (1909). A statute will not be construed to limit any of the sovereign's pre-existing rights or privileges without express language to that effect. United States v. UMW, 330 U.S. 258, 272, 67 S. Ct. 677, 91 L. Ed. 884 (1947). It is apparent that Parden and Employees require more than a conclusion that a private cause of action is impliedly created, it mandates that it be created expressly against a State.
Congressional regulation allows causes involving activities in and upon the navigable waterways of the Nation to be adjudicated in admiralty. 28 U.S.C. § 1333. Accordingly, we think liability of the Tunnel District to the Danish suitor upon the maritime tort was justiciable in the chosen instant court. 404 F.2d 1003-1004.
377 U.S. at 192, 84 S. Ct. at 1213.