Opinion ID: 684369
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Right to Engage in a Calling Claim

Text: 32 Blackburn also argues that he had a property interest in remaining on the on-call list, and that Defendants' actions deprived him of this interest without due process. 11 In order for a person to have a property interest within the ambit of the Fourteenth Amendment, he must have more than an abstract need or desire for it. He must have more than a unilateral expectation of it. He must, instead, have a legitimate claim of entitlement to it. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2709, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). Property interests are not created by the Constitution; rather, they stem from independent sources such as state statutes, local ordinances, existing rules, contractual provisions, or mutually explicit understandings. Perry, 408 U.S. at 599-601, 92 S.Ct. at 2699-2700. However, it is clear that the sufficiency of the claim of entitlement must be decided by reference to state law. Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 344, 96 S.Ct. 2074, 2077, 48 L.Ed.2d 684 (1976) (footnote omitted). See also Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co., 455 U.S. 422, 430-32, 102 S.Ct. 1148, 1155, 71 L.Ed.2d 265 (1982) (The hallmark of property ... is an individual entitlement grounded in state law, which cannot be removed except 'for cause' ); Wells at 252 (same); Henderson v. Sotelo, 761 F.2d 1093, 1096 (5th Cir.1985); Williams v. Texas Tech Univ. Health Sciences Ctr., 6 F.3d 290, 293 (5th Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 1301, 127 L.Ed.2d 652 (1994). 12 33 Blackburn cites, and we have found, no decision of any Texas court indicating that he had any entitlement to be or remain on the on-call rotation list. Nor does he cite, and we have not found, any Texas statute or administrative regulation, or any ordinance of the City or Harrison County, which might be construed to provide such an entitlement. 34 Several courts have addressed the issue of whether a wrecker has a protected interest in remaining on an on-call rotation list. Because the teachings of the Supreme Court direct us to determine the existence of a protected property interest based on state law, local ordinances, contracts, and mutually explicit understandings, we cannot distill a specific rule from these wrecker cases to govern all cases involving a person's removal from a rotation list. Instead, we must examine the facts of the case before us and determine whether Blackburn has asserted a legitimate, constitutionally protected claim of entitlement to remain on the rotation list, or whether he has merely alleged a unilateral expectation of receiving government referrals. Nevertheless, the wrecker cases, as well as other cases addressing property interest claims, guide our analysis. 35 Blackburn relies on Cowan v. Corley, 814 F.2d 223 (5th Cir.1987), to support his argument that he has a protected interest in remaining on the on-call list. In Cowan, the plaintiff operated a wrecker service in Montgomery County, Texas. The county sheriff formed the Montgomery County Wrecker Association and issued a detailed list of requirements for participation. After joining the association and paying the initiation fees and requisite dues, Cowan lodged a complaint with the sheriff alleging preferential treatment in the assignment process. Cowan alleged that as a result of his complaint he was expelled from the association without warning. He sued the sheriff and others, asserting a section 1983 due process claim contending that the defendants' actions deprived him of the opportunity to engage in his calling. The district court dismissed Cowan's section 1983 claim under Rule 12(b)(6). On appeal, this Court reversed, finding that Cowan had sufficiently asserted a protected liberty or property interest in pursuing his livelihood to preclude Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal. Id. at 228. 13 36 Despite Blackburn's argument that the facts of Cowan and the instant case are analogous, we find Cowan distinguishable. First, the sheriff in Cowan organized and ran the county association. In the present case, there is no allegation that the sheriff, the City, or Williams played such a substantial role in the administration of the association. Second, under the requirements issued by the sheriff in Cowan, as we construed them, only members of the ... association would be permitted to tow vehicles from public property, and, in addition, [a]ll wrecker assignments, including those made on an owner-preference basis were routed through the sheriff's office and the association's dispatcher. Id. at 225 (emphasis added). By contrast, there is no allegation in the present case that all business had to be routed through the sheriff and the association. Nothing prevented Blackburn from responding to specific customer calls for assistance to remove wrecked vehicles from county or city streets. Cowan, however, could not under any circumstances tow any vehicles from public property unless he was a member of the sheriff's association. Thus, while the association formed and managed by the sheriff in Cowan established a comprehensive framework for managing virtually every aspect of the wrecker industry in Montgomery County, it is not alleged that the Harrison County Wreckers Association is run by the sheriff or any other government official or that its agenda goes beyond merely assuring the equitable distribution of official wrecker business among local operators. Blackburn does not allege that the revocation of his police radio privileges and his ineligibility for continued Association membership prevent him from engaging in nongovernment-generated business. Blackburn is essentially claiming a right to government referrals; Cowan, as we construed it, asserted a right to do business with private individuals. 37 Because the rule in Cowan does not decide this case, we turn for guidance to the wrecker decisions of other courts. Several general principles emerge from our review of these cases. Where a court has found a property interest in remaining on a rotation list, the plaintiff has alleged a claim of entitlement supported or created by a formal and settled source such as a state statute or regulatory scheme. Absent such an entitlement grounded in state law, courts have not found a protected property interest in remaining on a wrecker rotation list. 38 For example, the court in Abercrombie v. City of Catoosa, Okla., 896 F.2d 1228 (10th Cir.1990), held that the plaintiff had a protected property interest in continued wrecker referrals pursuant to the Oklahoma wrecker statute. Under Oklahoma law, each police officer was required to maintain a list of licensed wreckers located in the officer's district. The court found that the provisions of the Oklahoma wrecker statute requiring the city to make wrecker referrals on an equal basis as nearly as possible ... created a property interest in wrecker referrals in favor of the plaintiff. Id. at 1232. Because Blackburn does not allege that his asserted property interest derives from a Texas statute or regulation, the holding in Abercrombie does not apply to the instant case. 39 In Pritchett v. Alford, 973 F.2d 307 (4th Cir.1992), the South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation promulgated extensive regulations governing the operations of wrecking businesses within the state. Under these regulations, every highway patrol district was required to set up wrecker zones and maintain wrecker rotation lists for each zone. These regulations also mandated that the rotation lists be administered in an even-handed manner to ensure equal distribution of the wrecker business. After being removed from the rotation list, plaintiff filed a section 1983 action alleging a deprivation without due process of his property interest in being on the rotation list. The Court in Pritchett held that South Carolina's regulatory regime created a protected property interest in being on the on-call list rather than a mere unilateral expectation of receiving government business. Id. at 317. Because the Court in Pritchett based its holding on the existence of a state regulatory scheme, Blackburn cannot rely on that case for the general proposition that a wrecker service has a constitutionally protected right not to be summarily removed from a rotation list. 40 Durham v. Jones, 698 F.2d 1179 (11th Cir.1983), was a section 1983 action challenging the county sheriff's refusal to place the plaintiff on the wrecker rotation list. For his convenience, the sheriff maintained a list of wrecker services that he used on a rotating basis. Under this informal arrangement, the sheriff never issued any written rules or regulations, nor did he institute a structured application process. The court in Durham held that the plaintiff did not have a property or liberty interest in remaining on the sheriff's informal on-call list; instead, the court stated that the plaintiff merely had a unilateral expectation to receive business referrals from the sheriff's department. Id. at 1181. In reaching this conclusion, the court stressed that the sheriff's action did not affect the plaintiff's right to operate a towing service. Id. 14 Likewise, Defendants' actions have not foreclosed Blackburn's right to operate a towing service in Harrison County or his ability to perform services for a nongovernment clientele. 41 In Piecknick v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 36 F.3d 1250 (3d Cir.1994), plaintiffs brought a section 1983 suit alleging a deprivation of their due process rights based on the defendants' preferential administration of a wrecker rotation list. Guidelines established by the Pennsylvania State Police required an officer in need of a wrecker to call the nearest available wrecker on a rotational basis. The court found that the police guidelines merely articulated a general policy and did not create an enforceable contract between the towing services on the list and the State Police. Id. at 1256. Having found no contractual basis for a property interest, the court went on to analyze whether the parties' mutual understanding based on past practices gave rise to a property interest. See Perry, 408 U.S. at 599-605, 92 S.Ct. at 2699-2700. After discussing other wrecker decisions such as Pritchett, Abercrombie, and Gregg, the court stated: These cases are distinguishable. In all of them, a state statute or regulation gave a towing operator a property interest. Here there is no Pennsylvania statute or regulation governing towing or wrecker services. Piecknick at 1257 (footnote omitted). Similarly, Blackburn has not alleged that his interest in remaining on the rotation list arises from a Texas statute or regulation. Piecknick likewise rejected any liberty claim. Id. at 1259-62. 42 White Plains Towing Corp. v. Patterson, 991 F.2d 1049 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 185, 126 L.Ed.2d 144 (1993), presented a situation where the state police divided a section of highway into zones and assigned each zone to one wrecker service that would have an exclusive right to referrals within the zone. Under this system, the state police dispatcher always called the wrecker assigned to the zone absent a motorist's request for a specific wrecker. The plaintiffs' section 1983 action asserted a due process claim based on the state police's termination of their exclusive towing assignment in an assigned zone. Emphasizing that this informal police assignment system was not authorized or governed by any New York statute or regulation, the court held that regardless of their unilateral hopes or expectations, plaintiffs had no cognizable property interest in continued towing referrals ... and the mere termination of their status thus did not deprive them of a due-process-protected interest. Id. at 1062. 15 43 In O'Hare Truck Serv., Inc. v. City of Northlake, 843 F.Supp. 1231 (N.D.Ill.1994), the plaintiff claimed a property interest in remaining on the city's rotation list. Surveying the wrecker opinions, the court found that decisions recognizing a property interest in remaining on a rotation list all dealt with formalized official sources of property rights--created by the relevant state law, as Roth teaches must be the case. Id. at 1233 (citation omitted). Dismissing the due process claim, the court held that the plaintiff had not alleged a protected property interest because of the absence of any official or formal source based in state law. Id. 16 44 In order to prevail on his property interest claim, Blackburn must show that his interest in remaining on the rotation list is more than a unilateral expectation of continued use of the police radio frequency and receipt of government referrals. Because Blackburn does not allege that his property interest in remaining on the rotation list stems from a state statute or regulatory scheme, a contract, or any other independent source, we find that Blackburn has failed to allege a property interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 45 Blackburn argues that Phillips v. Vandygriff, 711 F.2d 1217 (5th Cir.1983), and San Jacinto Sav. & Loan v. Kacal, 928 F.2d 697 (5th Cir.1991), support his argument. Despite Blackburn's efforts to portray the facts of this case as analogous to Kacal and Phillips, we find those two cases distinguishable. 46 Both Phillips and Kacal involve egregious government conduct in interfering with the plaintiff's pursuit of a private career or business; they did not involve persons asserting a liberty interest in a particular type of governmental referral to which they were not otherwise entitled under state or federal law. In Phillips, the plaintiff, seeking a management position in the savings and loan industry, entered an agreement to become an executive of Sinton Savings and Loan Association (Sinton). During this time, plaintiff Phillips and several Sinton principals met with defendant Vandygriff, the Commissioner of the Texas Savings and Loan Department. Phillips never actually started working at Sinton because of what ultimately turned out to be severe irregularities by others at Sinton, including the misuse of funds, which led to the indictment of two Sinton principals. Phillips continued his quest for other employment in the industry. According to industry custom, employers would screen prospective managerial employees with Vandygriff. Although Vandygriff had no reason to suspect Phillips of any wrongdoing, he informed prospective employers of Phillips's connection with Sinton and told them that he could not recommend him for employment, as a result of which Phillips was unable to find employment anywhere in the industry. 47 The court in Phillips held there was sufficient evidence that the defendants had established a de facto state licensing system under which Phillips was deprived of his constitutionally protected interest in pursuing his occupation. Id. at 1222. Essentially, defendant Vandygriff's de facto licensing program amounted to governmental interference that prevented Phillips from private employment anywhere in the savings and loan industry. See, e.g., Greene v. McElroy, 360 U.S. 474, 491-92, 79 S.Ct. 1400, 1411, 3 L.Ed.2d 1377 (1959) ([T]he right to hold specific private employment and to follow a chosen profession free from unreasonable governmental interference comes within the 'liberty' and 'property' concepts of the Fifth Amendment....);  Truax v. Raich, 239 U.S. 33, 39-41, 36 S.Ct. 7, 10, 60 L.Ed. 131 (1915) (the right to work for a living in the common occupations of the community is of the very essence of the personal freedom and opportunity that it was the purpose of the [Fourteenth] Amendment to secure). This type of direct governmental interference with private employers who might want to develop a business relationship with Phillips is distinguishable from Defendants' revocation of Blackburn's police radio frequency privileges and his resulting removal from the rotation list. Defendants' conduct affected only Blackburn's ability to receive government referrals. 48 Blackburn also relies on Kacal to bolster his argument that he had a property interest in remaining on the on-call list. In Kacal, the plaintiff filed a section 1983 suit alleging that police harassment of her private customers deprived her of a constitutionally protected interest in operating a private business. 928 F.2d 697. Reversing the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants, this Court held that plaintiff's allegations that police harassment caused the failure of her arcade asserted the deprivation of a protected interest, thus precluding summary judgment. Id. at 704. Like Phillips, Kacal involved direct governmental interference with private persons contemplating a business relationship with the plaintiff. By contrast, the protected interest Blackburn asserts is only his unilateral expectation to use the local police radio frequency and receive local government referrals. 49 Because there apparently is no Texas or local statute, ordinance, or regulatory scheme governing the wrecker list operated by the Harrison County Wrecker's Association, we hold that Blackburn has failed to allege a property interest in remaining on the wrecker rotation list. Blackburn's argument is couched in terms of governmental interference with his property interest in pursuing an occupation, but upon closer examination, he is essentially claiming a right to receive a certain class of business referrals from the local government. Cf. Piecknick at 1259 ([Plaintiff] has no rights as an employee of the state because he is a mere supplier of services.). We have consistently held that the mere existence of a governmental program or authority empowered to grant a particular type of benefit to one such as the plaintiff does not give the plaintiff a property right, protected by the due process clause, to receive the benefit, absent some legitimate claim of entitlement--arising from statute, regulation, contract, or the like--to the benefit. See, e.g., Wilson v. US Dept. of Agriculture, 991 F.2d 1211, 1216 (5th Cir.1993); Coghlan v. Starkey, 845 F.2d 566, 569-70 (5th Cir.1988); Mahone v. Addicks Utility District, 836 F.2d 921, 929-931 (5th Cir.1988). This is true for a continuation of a benefit. See Coghlan (water service); Wells (employment). The result, obviously, is not to be changed merely by employing the label liberty instead of property. Were that not so, the legitimate claim of entitlement requirement would be entirely meaningless. The questions ... are when and how a person acquires an 'interest in specific benefits' which will trigger the due process clause. Mahone at 929. Moreover, the long tradition in our nation has been that, where not affirmatively restricted by reasonable laws or regulations of general application, private individuals normally have the right to engage in private employment or any of the common occupations of life with or for those private persons who see fit to engage, patronize, or do business with them; this tradition, however, does not embrace any assumption of a right to particular government business or referrals. Blackburn has not alleged that any governmental action prevents or restricts him from doing business with those private citizens who wish to avail themselves of his services. 50 We hold that the facts alleged here do not give rise to any liberty or property interest protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. Durham. Accordingly, the district court did not err in dismissing Blackburn's due process claim against all three defendants under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). 51