Opinion ID: 547610
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: England Reservation

Text: 31 Under England a party who has been forced to litigate in state court may reserve its federal claims for federal adjudication by informing the state court of its reservation of those claims. The England plaintiffs, graduates of chiropractic schools, filed suit in federal court challenging the educational requirements of a state statute which limited their right to practice in Louisiana. The district court abstained under Railroad Comm'n v. Pullman, 312 U.S. 496, 61 S.Ct. 643, 85 L.Ed. 971 (1941), and remitted the plaintiffs to state court for a determination whether the state law applied to chiropractors. After the state court held that the law applied to chiropractors and was not unconstitutional, plaintiffs returned to federal court to resume their constitutional challenge. The district court dismissed the action on the ground that the state court determination was entitled to preclusive effect. 32 The Supreme Court reversed, holding that a party who had been subjected to abstention may reserve his federal claims for federal adjudication by informing the state court of the nature of his federal claims, that he does not wish to litigate those claims in state court, and that he intends, should the state courts hold against him on the question of state law, to return to the District Court for disposition of his federal contentions. England, 375 U.S. at 421, 84 S.Ct. at 467. In reaching its holding the Court stressed that in the abstention context the plaintiff's presence in state court is compelled and involuntary. Id. at 418, 84 S.Ct. at 466. In contrast, the Court noted, if a party freely and without reservation submits his federal claims for decision by the state courts, litigates them there, and has them decided there, then ... he has elected to forgo his right to return to the District Court. Id. at 419, 84 S.Ct. at 466. 33 Our precedent demonstrates the continued vitality of the rule enunciated in England. See, e.g., Kovats v. Rutgers, 749 F.2d 1041 (3d Cir.1984) (finding valid England reservation); New Jersey Educ. Ass'n v. Burke, 579 F.2d 764, 772-74 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 894, 99 S.Ct. 252, 58 L.Ed.2d 239 (1978) (same); see also Peduto v. City of North Wildwood, 878 F.2d 725, 729 n. 5 (3d Cir.1989) (holding that because the plaintiffs invoked the jurisdiction of the state court in the first instance, the application of England has no relevance here). 34 Defendants contend England does not apply because the federal court did not abstain and because Bradley's federal constitutional claims were inextricably intertwined with the issues litigated in state court--the propriety of Bradley's discharge. There have been intimations in some of our opinions that an England reservation in a state proceeding may be made only when the federal court has previously abstained. See, e.g., Switlik v. Hardwicke Co., 651 F.2d 852, 858-59 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1064, 102 S.Ct. 614, 70 L.Ed.2d 601 (1981); Roy v. Jones, 484 F.2d 96, 100-01 (3d Cir.1973). However, these discussions are dicta because in each case the plaintiffs first brought their claims in state, not federal, court, and at no time in the state proceedings did they attempt to reserve their federal claims. Thus, they are not binding precedent. Cf. Third Circuit Internal Operating Procedure 9.1 (formerly 8.C). 35 Of more significance is the fact that the Supreme Court has never explicitly limited England to the Pullman abstention context, and we therefore look to the rationale underlying England to determine if it has equal applicability here. The Supreme Court explained the two bases of the England decision as the right of a litigant to choose a federal forum and the duty of the federal court to take jurisdiction over federal claims that have been properly brought before it. 375 U.S. at 415, 84 S.Ct. at 464. 36 Here, as in England, the plaintiff first filed his section 1983 action in federal district court raising numerous federal constitutional claims, and he entered the state proceedings only after having filed in federal court. It is true that Bradley, unlike plaintiffs in Pullman abstention cases, was not remitted to state court, but because Bradley was fired by the Board while his federal action was pending, the effect was not dissimilar. If Bradley was to utilize the administrative procedure provided by state law, he was required to appeal the adverse decision to the Secretary of Education, 24 Pa.Stat.Ann. Sec. 11-1131 (Purdon 1962), and to the Commonwealth Court, 24 Pa.Stat.Ann. Sec. 11-1132 (Purdon 1962); 42 Pa.Stat.Ann. Sec. 763(a) (Purdon 1981). Although arguably Bradley might have been required to make an election to bypass the state fora and contest the termination solely in federal court, the defendants did not object to Bradley's express reservation before both the Secretary and the Commonwealth Court of these federal claims for litigation in federal court. Indeed, the Secretary explicitly honored the reservation, citing England. Furthermore, although the federal court did not abstain, at defendants' request it stayed the federal proceedings pending the outcome of the state action and Bradley was unable to pursue his federal claims in a federal forum until the resolution of the state appeal of his termination. 37 Without deciding the general parameters of an England reservation, we conclude that in the procedural situation in which that reservation was made here, i.e., where (1) the plaintiff initiates an action in federal court, (2) the plaintiff appeals the termination of his employment through state prescribed procedures while explicitly reserving his federal claim, (3) both the defendant and the state tribunal acquiesce in the reservation, and (4) the federal action is stayed pending the outcome of the state proceeding, the reservation of plaintiff's federal claims for federal adjudication must be recognized. Therefore, the district court erred in holding that those federal claims which could have been litigated in state court but which were not were barred by claim preclusion. 38