Opinion ID: 204900
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The City as necessary party

Text: Finally, SEPTA argues that, because it cannot install an elevator at City Hall Courtyard without the agreement of the City, the City is a necessary party to this suit. We may consider this issue despite its not being raised in the District Court, and we conclude that the City is not a necessary party. Finberg v. Sullivan, 634 F.2d 50, 55 (3d Cir.1980). Under the Federal Rules, a party is necessary if, in its absence, (1) the court could not accord complete relief among the existing parties; or (2) the absent party claims an interest relating to the subject matter of the action so that disposing of the action in his absence would (i) impair its ability to adequately protect its interest, or (ii) leave an existing party susceptible to a substantial risk of incurring inconsistent obligations. Fed.R.Civ.P. 19(a). SEPTA bears the burden of showing why an absent party should be joined under Rule 19. Pittsburgh Logistics Sys., Inc. v. C.R. Eng., Inc., 669 F.Supp.2d 613, 618 (W.D.Pa.2009). DIA claims SEPTA's failure to assert this defense at an earlier stage of the proceedings renders it unfit for consideration on appeal. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(7) (Every defense to a claim for relief in any pleading must be asserted in the responsive pleading if one is required.). SEPTA acknowledges its failure to include this defense in any prior motion but nevertheless urges us to conduct an independent analysis. While the law permits us to indulge SEPTA's overtures and consider this Rule 19 issue for the first time on appeal, the parties' lengthy history of silence on this issue weighs against adopting SEPTA's position. We have written that Supreme Court jurisprudence compels us to take steps to protect an absent party through consideration of the Rule 19 issue, even when that issue was not presented to the district court nor raised by the parties to the appeal. GTE Sylvania, Inc. v. Consumer Product Safety Comm'n, 598 F.2d 790, 798 (3d Cir.1979). However, the opinion from which we gleaned this obligation evinced genuine concern only for protecting an absent party who of course had no opportunity to plead and prove his interest below. Provident Tradesmens Bank & Trust Co. v. Patterson, 390 U.S. 102, 111, 88 S.Ct. 733, 19 L.Ed.2d 936 (1968). SEPTA argues that upholding the grant of summary judgment will, as a practical matter, impair the City's ability to protect its interest in City Hall Courtyard. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 19(a)(1)(B)(i). However, though the City was a defendant in this case and was aware that it implicated access by individuals with disabilities to the City Hall Courtyard, it chose to settle with DIA. Although it surely must be aware of DIA's current position with respect to the necessity of an elevator in City Hall Courtyard, it has not moved to intervene, nor offered any other objections which we are aware of. That neither the City nor SEPTA saw fit to raise this issue at an earlier stage of the proceedings militates against a finding that the City's ability to protect its interest would be impaired were it not joined as a party. The City's normal procedures in dealing with SEPTA construction projects that impinge upon City property, such as the process of submitting plans and obtaining required work permits, should be sufficient to protect its interests here. SEPTA also contends that any relief granted by the court to DIA would be hollow in the absence of the City's joinder, see Gen. Refractories Co. v. First State Ins. Co., 500 F.3d 306, 315 (3d Cir. 2007). Yet it does not actually claim that the City would refuse to permit construction at City Hall Courtyard, merely that the City's ownership would legitimately affect SEPTA's ability to fulfill its obligations under the order. Although this is very likely true, it would not render a judgment in favor of DIA hollow; it simply means that SEPTA will have to work with the City in complying with our decision, something the City has already agreed to do with respect to the 15th Street Courtyard.