Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/440/391/case.html
Timestamp: 2016-07-02 05:47:52
Document Index: 749352906

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1983', '§ 1343', '§ 1983', '§ 1331', '§ 1983', '§ 1343', '§ 1331', '§ 1983', '§ 1343', '§ 1983', '§ 6']

Lake County Estates v. Tahoe Reg. Planning Agency :: 440 U.S. 391 (1979) :: Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center Log In
› Lake County Estates v. Tahoe Reg. Planning Agency
Lake County Estates v. Tahoe Reg. Planning Agency 440 U.S. 391 (1979)
U.S. Supreme CourtLake County Estates v. Tahoe Reg. Planning Agency, 440 U.S. 391 (1979)Lake Country Estates, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning AgencyNo. 77-1327Argued December 4, 1978Decided March 5, 1979440 U.S. 391CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
1. Petitioners stated a cause of action under § 1983, and hence properly invoked federal jurisdiction under § 1343. The requirement of federal approval of the Compact did not foreclose a finding that respondents' conduct was "under color of state law" within the meaning of § 1983. The facts with respect to TRPA's operation -- such as that its implementation depended upon the appointment of members by Page 440 U. S. 392 both States and their subdivisions and upon financing by counties; that the appointees, in discharging their duties as TRPA officials, also serve the interests of the appointing units; that federal involvement is limited to the appointment of one nonvoting member; and that each State has an absolute right to withdraw from the Compact -- adequately characterize respondents' alleged actions as "under color of state law." Pp. 440 U. S. 398-400.
STEVENS, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and STEWART, WHITE, POWELL, and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined, and in which BRENNAN, MARSHALL, and BLACKMUN, JJ., joined in part. BRENNAN, J., post, p. 440 U. S. 406, and MARSHALL, J., post, p. 440 U. S. 406, filed opinions dissenting in part. BLACKMUN, J., filed an opinion dissenting in part, in Part I of which BRENNAN, J., joined, post, p. 440 U. S. 408. Page 440 U. S. 393
Lake Tahoe, a unique mountain lake, is located partly in California and partly in Nevada. The Lake Tahoe Basin, an area comprising 500 square miles, is a popular resort area that has grown rapidly in recent years. [Footnote 2] Page 440 U. S. 394
Petitioners advanced alternative theories to support their Page 440 U. S. 395 federal claim. First, they asserted that the alleged violations of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments gave rise to an implied cause of action, comparable to the claim based on an alleged violation of the Fourth Amendment recognized in Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U. S. 388, and that jurisdiction could be predicated on 28 U.S.C. § 1331. [Footnote 7] Second, they claimed that respondents had acted under color of state law, and therefore their cause of action was authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 1983 [Footnote 8] and jurisdiction was provided by 28 U.S.C. § 1343. [Footnote 9]
The District Court dismissed the complaint. Although it concluded that the complaint sufficiently alleged a cause of Page 440 U. S. 396 action for "inverse condemnation," [Footnote 10] it held that such an action could not be brought against TRPA because that agency did not have the authority to condemn property. The court also held that the individual defendants were immune from liability for the exercise of the discretionary functions alleged in the complaint.
Petitioners ask this Court to hold that TRPA is not entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity and that the individual Page 440 U. S. 397 respondents are not entitled to absolute immunity when acting in a legislative capacity. Because none of the respondents filed a cross-petition for certiorari, we have no occasion to review the Court of Appeals' additional holding that a violation of the Due Process Clause was adequately alleged. [Footnote 11] For purposes of our decision, we assume the sufficiency of those allegations. Page 440 U. S. 398
Second, even if the lack of a cause of action were considered a jurisdictional defect in a suit brought under § 1331, [Footnote 12] we may not dismiss for that reason if the record discloses that federal jurisdiction does, in fact, exist. In this case, we need not even reach the Bivens question to conclude that there is both a cause of action and federal jurisdiction. Page 440 U. S. 399
Even if it were not well settled that § 1983 must be given Page 440 U. S. 400 a liberal construction, [Footnote 17] these facts adequately characterize the alleged actions of the respondents as "under color of state law" within the meaning of that statute. Federal jurisdiction therefore rests on § 1343, and there is no need to address the question whether there is an implied remedy for violation of the Fifth or the Fourteenth Amendment.
We cannot accept such an expansive reading of the Eleventh Amendment. By its terms, the protection afforded by that Amendment is only available to "one of the United States." It is true, of course, that some agencies exercising Page 440 U. S. 401 state power have been permitted to invoke the Amendment in order to protect the state treasury from liability that would have had essentially the same practical consequences as a judgment against the State itself. [Footnote 18] But the Court has consistently refused to construe the Amendment to afford protection to political subdivisions such as counties and municipalities, even though such entities exercise a "slice of state power." [Footnote 19]
California and Nevada have both filed briefs in this Court disclaiming any intent to confer immunity on TRPA. They point to provisions of their Compact that indicate that TRPA is to be regarded as a political subdivision, rather than an arm of the State. Thus, TRPA is described in Art. III(a) as a "separate legal entity," and in Art. VI(a) as a "political subdivision." Under the terms of the Compact, 6 of the 10 governing members of TRPA are appointed by counties and cities, and only 4 by the 2 States. [Footnote 20] Funding under the Page 440 U. S. 402 Compact must be provided by the counties, not the States. [Footnote 21] Finally, instead of the state treasury being directly responsible for judgments against TRPA, Art. VII(f) expressly provides that obligations of TRPA shall not be binding on either State.
We turn, finally, to petitioners' challenge to the Court of Appeals' holding that the individual respondents are absolutely Page 440 U. S. 403 immune from federal damages liability for actions taken in their legislative capacities.
Petitioners do not challenge the validity of the holding in Tenney, or of the decisions recognizing the absolute immunity of federal legislators. [Footnote 25] Rather, their claim is that absolute immunity should be limited to the federal and state levels, and should not extend to individuals acting in a legislative capacity at a regional level. In support of this proposed distinction, petitioners argue that the source of immunity for state legislators is found in constitutional provisions, such as the Speech or Debate Clause, which have no application to a body such as TRPA. In addition, they point out that, because state legislatures have effective means of disciplining their members that TRPA does not have, the threat of possible Page 440 U. S. 404 personal liability is necessary to deter lawless conduct by the governing members of TRPA. [Footnote 26]
We find these arguments unpersuasive. The Speech or Debate Clause of the United States Constitution [Footnote 27] is no more applicable to the members of state legislatures than to the members of TRPA. The States are, of course, free to adopt similar clauses in their own constitutions, and many have, in fact, done so. [Footnote 28] These clauses reflect the central importance attached to legislative freedom in our Nation. But the absolute immunity for state legislators recognized in Tenney reflected the Court's interpretation of federal law; the decision did not depend on the presence of a speech or debate clause in the constitution of any State, or on any particular set of state rules or procedures available to discipline erring legislators. Rather, the rule of that case recognizes the need for Page 440 U. S. 405 immunity to protect the "public good." As Mr. Justice Frankfurter pointed out:
This reasoning is equally applicable to federal, state, and regional legislators. [Footnote 29] Whatever potential damages liability regional legislators may face as a matter of state law, we hold that petitioners' federal claims do not encompass the recovery of damages from the members of TRPA acting in a legislative capacity. [Footnote 30] Page 440 U. S. 406
"* * * *" "(3) To redress the deprivation, under color of any State law, statute, ordinance, regulation, custom or usage of any right, privilege or immunity secured by the Constitution of the United States or by any Act of Congress providing for equal rights of citizens or of all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States."
""[A]ll the Rules require is a short and plain statement of the claim' that will give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiff's claim is and the grounds upon which it rests. . . . The Federal Rules reject the approach that pleading is a game of skill in which one misstep by counsel may be decisive to the outcome and accept the principle that the purpose of pleading is to facilitate a proper decision on the merits."" "Id. at 355 U. S. 47-48, . . . (citations omitted)."
The Court today extends absolute immunity to nonelected regional officials for their legislative acts. Because extension of such extraordinary protection is without support in either precedent or policy, I cannot join 440 U. S. In Tenney v. Brandhove, 341 U. S. 367 (1951), this Court declined to construe 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as abrogating state legislators' unqualified immunity from suits that arise out of their legislative activity. Underlying the decision in Tenney was a recognition of the unique status of the legislative privilege, maintained for several centuries at common law and enshrined in the Federal Constitution, Art. I, § 6, as well as in all but seven of the States' constitutions. 341 U.S. at 341 U. S. 372-375. Absent evidence of explicit congressional intent, Page 440 U. S. 407 the Court was unwilling to strip state legislators of a protection so long enjoyed when there remained power in the voters to "discourag[e] or correc[t]" abuses by their elected representatives. Id. at 341 U. S. 378.
Equally troubling is the majority's refusal to confront the logical implications of its analysis. To be sure, the Court expressly reserves the question whether individuals performing legislative functions at the local level should be afforded absolute immunity from federal damages claims. Ante at 440 U. S. 404, n. 26. But the majority's reasoning in this case leaves little room to argue that municipal legislators stand on a different footing than their regional counterparts. Surely the Court's supposition that the "cost and inconvenience and distractions Page 440 U. S. 408 of a trial" will impede officials in the "uninhibited discharge of their legislative duty,'" ante at 440 U. S. 405, quoting Tenney v. Brandhove, supra, at 341 U. S. 377, applies with equal force whether the officials occupy local or regional positions. Moreover, the Court implies that the test for conferring unqualified immunity is purely functional. Ante at 440 U. S. 405 n. 30. If the sole inquiry under that test is the nature of the officials' responsibilities, see ibid., not the common law and constitutional underpinnings of the privilege itself or the wisdom of extending it to nonelected officials, then presumably any appointed member of a municipal government can claim absolute protection for his legislative acts.
It is difficult for me to associate the members of TRPA with federal or state legislators. Their duties are not solely legislative; they possess some executive powers. They are not in equipoise with other branches of government, and the concept Page 440 U. S. 409 of separation of powers has no relevance to them. They are not subject to the responsibility and the brake of the electoral process. And there is no provision for discipline within the body, as the Houses of Congress and the state legislatures possess.