Source: http://openjurist.org/613/f2d/91/billington-v-c-underwood
Timestamp: 2017-05-25 00:46:10
Document Index: 583907710

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1437', '§ 1441', '§ 355', '§ 423', '§ 860', '§ 860']

613 F2d 91 Billington v. C Underwood | OpenJurist
613 F. 2d 91 - Billington v. C Underwood HomeFederal Reporter, Second Series 613 F.2d.
613 F2d 91 Billington v. C Underwood 613 F.2d 91
Johnnie Lee BILLINGTON, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.Lewis C. UNDERWOOD, individually and as Executive Directorof the Housing Authority of the City of Tifton,Georgia, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
No. 79-2669
Clearly the housing authority must follow its own procedure. Morton v. Ruiz, 415 U.S. 199, 235, 94 S.Ct. 1055, 1074, 39 L.Ed.2d 270 (1974); Vitarelli v. Seaton, 359 U.S. 535, 539-40, 79 S.Ct. 968, 972-973, 3 L.Ed.2d 1012 (1959); Hollingsworth v. Harris, 608 F.2d 1026, at 1027 (5th Cir. 1979). Therefore, Mr. Billington was certainly entitled to the "informal hearing" mandated by the applicable federal regulation.
Our understanding of the essential elements of the informal hearing is shaped by the statutory policy that safe and sanitary housing be provided for eligible low-income families. United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1437 (1976) (formerly section 1401 (1937)). See Thorpe v. Housing Authority of City of Durham, 393 U.S. 268, 89 S.Ct. 518, 21 L.Ed.2d 474 (1969). This policy dictates that persons eligible for public housing have their applications fully and fairly considered. Cf. id. 89 S.Ct. at 525-26 ("One of the specific purposes of the federal housing acts is to provide 'a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family' that lacks the financial means of providing such a home without governmental aid. A procedure requiring housing authorities to explain why they are evicting a tenant who is apparently among those people in need of such assistance certainly furthers this goal," quoting section 2 of Housing Act of 1949, 42 U.S.C. § 1441 (footnote omitted)). While the regulatory phrase "informal hearing" is not explicit in its requirements, we interpret it in light of decisions in other contexts specifying minimal procedures deemed necessary to promote the accuracy of administrative agencies' factual determinations of the sort involved here. See Robbins v. United States Railroad Retirement Board, 594 F.2d 448, 451-53 (5th Cir. 1979) (interpreting nonprecise "fair hearing" provision of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, 45 U.S.C. § 355(c) (1976), to require at least advance notice of the exact adverse information upon which the government relied in making its decision and an opportunity to rebut that evidence).
The June 14, 1978, meeting was defective as an "informal hearing" in several respects. First, Mr. Billington was not provided with an adequate statement of the basis for the housing authority's determination that he was ineligible for public housing. Such a statement must be sufficiently specific for it to enable an applicant to prepare rebuttal evidence to introduce at his hearing appearance. See id. at 451. See also Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 345-46, 96 S.Ct. 893, 907-908, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976) (noting, in approving procedure for determining entitlement to disability insurance payments under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 423 (1956), that the information relevant to the entitlement decision is identified with particularity and the disability recipient's representative is allowed full access to all information relied upon by the state agency); Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 564, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2978, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974) ("Part of the function of notice is to give the charged party a chance to marshal the facts in his defense and to clarify what the charges are, in fact."); Greene v. McElroy, 360 U.S. 474, 496, 79 S.Ct. 1400, 1413, 3 L.Ed.2d 1377 (1959) ("where governmental action seriously injures an individual, and the reasonableness of the action depends on fact findings, the evidence used to prove the Government's case must be disclosed to the individual so that he has an opportunity to show that it is untrue."). Indeed, another federal regulation governing the housing authority requires it to document information relevant to the acceptance or rejection of an applicant and to include in such documentation "(a)s a minimum, . . . the date, the source of the information, including the name and title of the individual contacted, and a resume of the information received." 24 C.F.R. § 860.260(a) (1979). The purpose of safeguarding against error in housing authority eligibility decisions that undergirds regulation section 860.260(a) also animates the 24 C.F.R. § 860.207(a) requirement that the agency notify the rejected applicant of the basis for its determination. Therefore, equivalent detail in the statement of reasons given the rejected applicant is required in order to enable him to test the veracity of the agency's findings against him.
Second, the June 14, 1978, meeting was inadequate as an "informal hearing" because no impartial hearing officer was present. The very notion of a hearing, however informal, connotes that the decision maker will listen to the arguments of both sides before basing a decision on the evidence and legal rules adduced at the hearing.4 See, e. g., Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 271, 90 S.Ct. 1011, 1022, 25 L.Ed.2d 287 (1970); In re Murchison, 349 U.S. 133, 75 S.Ct. 623, 99 L.Ed. 942 (1955); Wong Yang Sung v. McGrath, 339 U.S. 33, 70 S.Ct. 495, 94 L.Ed. 616 (1950); Ohio Bell Telephone Co. v. Puc, 301 U.S. 292, 57 S.Ct. 724, 81 L.Ed. 1093 (1937). In the instant action Mr. Billington was permitted to appear before the housing authority for the purpose of having explained to him the reasons for its final decision denying him eligibility for public housing. The housing authority had already determined "finally" that Mr. Billington was ineligible, and it believed it only had to offer him reasons for this decision in order to comport with federal regulations. There was no one present to hear with open ear and open mind any counterarguments Mr. Billington could muster. The structure of the meeting thus did not provide a "hearing" of any sort, formal or informal.
These same inadequacies meant that Mr. Billington did not receive a genuine opportunity to be heard in order to refute the basis given for his public housing ineligibility. Not having been provided detailed charges against him and a reasonable opportunity to prepare a rebuttal and not having been provided an opportunity to appear before an impartial tribunal, he was not enabled to contest meaningfully the given rationale for the housing authority's unfavorable action. The regulation requiring an informal hearing was therefore not satisfied. See, e. g., Armstrong v. Manzo, 380 U.S. 545, 552, 85 S.Ct. 1187, 1191, 14 L.Ed.2d 62 (1965) (hearing must be "at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner"); Grannis v. Ordean, 234 U.S. 385, 394, 34 S.Ct. 779, 783, 58 L.Ed. 1363 (1914) ("The fundamental requirement of due process of law is the opportunity to be heard.").
The impartial hearing officer criterion can be satisfied by an agency hearing officer who is not pecuniarily interested in the outcome of the proceeding and who has no marked personal feelings about the result. See, e. g., Arnett v. Kennedy, 416 U.S. 134, 94 S.Ct. 1633, 1665-66, 40 L.Ed.2d 15 (1974) (White, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part); Ward v. Village of Monroeville, 409 U.S. 57, 93 S.Ct. 80, 34 L.Ed.2d 267 (1972); Mayberry v. Pennsylvania, 400 U.S. 455, 91 S.Ct. 499, 27 L.Ed.2d 532 (1971); Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U.S. 510, 47 S.Ct. 437, 71 L.Ed. 749 (1927). It is not necessary that the hearing officer be an administrative law judge, nor is it required that the hearing officer have had no involvement in the case before the post-denial hearing, a circumstance that, while certainly desirable, is often difficult to achieve in a small municipal housing authority and that is not absolutely necessary for the achievement of fairness in the decision