Source: http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/611/367/276711/
Timestamp: 2017-09-25 18:38:33
Document Index: 60296209

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1381', '§ 1382', '§ 1382', '§ 1382', '§ 1382', '§ 1382', '§ 416', '§ 209', '§ 209', '§ 209', '§ 209', '§ 602', '§ 300', '§ 1383', '§ 416', '§ 1383']

Samuel Termini, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Joseph Califano, Secretary of the Department of Health,education and Welfare, and Barbara Blum, As Actingcommissioner of the New York Statedepartment of Social Services,defendants-appellants, 611 F.2d 367 (2d Cir. 1979) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Second Circuit › 1979 › Samuel Termini, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Joseph Califano, Secretary of the Department of Health,educat...
Samuel Termini, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Joseph Califano, Secretary of the Department of Health,education and Welfare, and Barbara Blum, As Actingcommissioner of the New York Statedepartment of Social Services,defendants-appellants, 611 F.2d 367 (2d Cir. 1979)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - 611 F.2d 367 (2d Cir. 1979)
Argued Sept. 14, 1979. Decided Nov. 21, 1979
The Supplemental Security Income program was added to the Social Security Act in 1972. See Pub. L. No.92-603, (codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 1381-1383c). The program provides benefits to aged, blind, and disabled individuals who have income and resources below certain statutory amounts. 42 U.S.C. § 1382. The statute establishes two benefit levels, one for eligible individuals and one for eligible spouses. Id. § 1382(b). Benefits are reduced by the amount of the recipient's actual, nonexcludable income.
States are encouraged to provide supplementary assistance to recipients of federal SSI benefits. Id. § 1382e(a). These state supplements may be administered by either the State or the Federal Government. However, because the Federal Government bears the administrative costs if federal administration is elected, Id. § 1382e(b), virtually all state supplements are administered by the SSA. A State that chooses federal administration of its optional supplements must agree to abide by HEW regulations respecting eligibility for or amount of supplementary payments, Id. § 1382e(b) (2), one such regulation being 20 C.F.R. § 416.2030(a) (2).
On November 30, 1973, New York State entered into an agreement with HEW providing for federal administration of New York's optional supplementary benefits. The agreement established five benefit levels based on different living arrangements, including one payment level for recipients "living alone" and a lower level for recipients "living with others." N.Y.Soc.Serv.Law § 209(2). "Living alone" is defined as "living in a private household composed of one eligible individual or one eligible couple." Id. § 209(3) (a). "Living with others" is defined as follows:
"(b) 'Living with others' shall mean living in a private household composed of an eligible individual or couple and at least one other person; or, with respect to any child who is not the head of a household and who is under the age of eighteen, or under the age of twenty-two if attending school, any living arrangement." Id. § 209(3) (b).
Mr. Termini, seventy-six years of age, resided in Cattaraugus County, New York, with his two minor children, aged fourteenth and sixteen. His income consisted of social security retirement benefits, a small civil service pension, and his SSI benefits. The SSI program provided him with monthly payments in an amount equal to the difference between his income from non-SSI sources and $205.98, the standard of need established by state law for those "living with others." See N.Y.Soc.Serv.Law § 209(2) (b). Mr. Termini's eligibility for SSI payments also entitled him to medicaid coverage, emergency assistance coverage, and the exclusion of his income when determining his children's eligibility for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. 42 U.S.C. §§ 602(a) (24), 1396a(10); N.Y.Soc.Serv.Law § 300. Appellee's children received a total of $105 per month in AFDC benefits, plus social security benefits of $50.20 per month.2
Mr. Termini appealed the SSA's determination through the administrative appeals process provided by statute, but without success. He then sought judicial review under 42 U.S.C. § 1383(c) (3) and moved for summary judgment.
The command of 20 C.F.R. § 416.2030(b) that differences in benefit levels be based on rational distinctions seems to call for application of the "rational basis" test traditionally applied in due process and equal protection cases in the area of social welfare legislation. See, e. g., Califano v. Aznavorian, 439 U.S. 170, 174-75, 99 S. Ct. 471, 58 L. Ed. 2d 435 (1978); Califano v. Jobst, 434 U.S. 47, 52-54, 98 S. Ct. 95, 54 L. Ed. 2d 228 (1977); Califano v. Goldfarb, 430 U.S. 199, 210, 97 S. Ct. 1021, 51 L. Ed. 2d 270 (1977); Weinberger v. Salfi, 422 U.S. 749, 768-72, 95 S. Ct. 2457, 45 L. Ed. 2d 522 (1975); Dandridge v. Williams, 397 U.S. 471, 485, 90 S. Ct. 1153, 25 L. Ed. 2d 491 (1970); Ballard v. Rockville Center Housing Authority, 605 F.2d 1283, 1286-87 (2d Cir. 1979). The court below concluded that the category "living with others" did not pass this test when applied to appellee and to "a class of SSI recipients who have similar household compositions: aged, blind or disabled parents caring for minor children or grandchildren in their home." We disagree.
"In the area of economics and social welfare, a State does not violate the Equal Protection Clause merely because the classifications made by its laws are imperfect. If the classification has some 'reasonable basis,' it does not offend the Constitution simply because the classification 'is not made with mathematical nicety or because in practice it results in some inequality.' Lindsley v. Natural Carbonic Gas Co., 220 U.S. 61, 78 (, 31 S. Ct. 337, 340, 55 L. Ed. 369). 'The problems of government are practical ones and may justify, if they do not require, rough accommodations illogical, it may be, and unscientific.' Metropolis Theatre Co. v. City of Chicago, 228 U.S. 61, 69-70 (, 33 S. Ct. 441, 443, 57 L. Ed. 730)." 397 U.S. at 485, 90 S. Ct. at 1161.
Under Dandridge and the many other cases applying this test, the statutory classification scheme must be upheld if it has a rational basis. In this case, the rational basis is supplied by the commonsense proposition that individuals living with others usually have reduced per capita costs because many of their expenses are shared. "In a multiperson household the per capita cost of many items, since they are shared, will be less." Padilla v. Wyman, 34 N.Y.2d 36, 40, 356 N.Y.S.2d 3, 5, 312 N.E.2d 149, 151, Appeal dismissed, 419 U.S. 1084, 95 S. Ct. 672, 42 L. Ed. 2d 677 (1974).
It is unfortunate, but not dispositive, that the scheme has produced a harsh result in Mr. Termini's case. See Califano v. Jobst, supra, 434 U.S. at 53, 98 S. Ct. 95; Weinberger v. Salfi, supra, 422 U.S. at 781, 95 S. Ct. 2457; Dandridge v. Williams, supra, 397 U.S. at 485, 90 S. Ct. 1153. "Social welfare legislation, by its very nature, involves drawing lines among categories of people, lines that necessarily are sometimes arbitrary." Califano v. Aznavorian, supra, 439 U.S. at 174, 99 S. Ct. at 474. Because the statutory differential in benefits between those "living alone" and those "living with others" has a rational basis, it must be upheld.
Because appellee has failed to demonstrate that the statutory classifications at issue are not rationally related to a legitimate legislative objective, we find no merit in his argument that they denied him due process of law. See Weinberger v. Salfi, supra, 422 U.S. at 781-82, 95 S. Ct. 2457.
Since the institution of this lawsuit, Mr. Termini has changed his living circumstances several times. He now lives alone. Because of these changes, the district court ordered the parties to file briefs on the question of whether and to what extent the litigation is moot. The court concluded that the SSA's decision to terminate Mr. Termini's benefits as of July 1, 1977 was properly before the court. We agree. See 42 U.S.C. § 1383(c) (1), (c) (3)