Opinion ID: 445561
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Reuber's Claims for Injunctive Relief

Text: 77 In addition to seeking damages, Reuber's complaint asks the court for an injunction ordering the defendants to stop interfering with Reuber's exercise of his constitutional rights, expunge or correct false or inaccurate documents relating to Reuber, and reinstate Reuber to his former position at the Frederick Cancer Research Center. Complaint at 20-21. Federal injunctive relief traditionally is presumed available against federal actors committing constitutional violations. 34 This is true regardless of whether or not the plaintiff may also have a Bivens action for damages. See Bartel v. Federal Aviation Administration, 725 F.2d 1403, 1415 (D.C.Cir.1984) (remanding claims for injunctive relief based on alleged due process violation where special factors doctrine justified dismissal of damages claim). Justice Harlan, concurring in Bivens, noted that there already existed a presumed availability of federal equitable relief against threatened invasions of constitutional interests, under Congress' general grant of subject matter jurisdiction for cases arising under the federal constitution. Bivens, 430 U.S. at 404, 91 S.Ct. at 2008 (Harlan, J., concurring). On numerous occasions prior to Bivens, the Supreme Court had permitted suits for injunctive relief brought directly under the constitution for violations of plaintiffs' constitutional rights. See, e.g., Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497, 74 S.Ct. 693, 98 L.Ed. 884 (1954); Philadelphia Co. v. Stimson, 223 U.S. 605, 32 S.Ct. 340, 56 L.Ed. 570 (1912); see also Bell v. Hood, 327 U.S. 678, 684 & n. 4, 66 S.Ct. 773, 777 & n. 4, 90 L.Ed. 939 (1946). Thus, recognizing that Reuber has alleged violations of his constitutional rights, we remand his prayer for injunctive relief to the district court for decision on the merits of his claims and for appropriate equitable relief if they are proven. 78 The extent of equitable relief appropriate in this case is not clear at this juncture. In my opinion, the propriety of particular forms of equitable relief should be determined by the district court according to the distinctive historical traditions of equity as an institution. Bivens, 403 U.S. at 404, 91 S.Ct. at 2009 (Harlan, J., concurring); see also Holmberg v. Armbrecht, 327 U.S. 392, 395-96, 66 S.Ct. 582, 584, 90 L.Ed. 743 (1946) (applying traditional equity test for injunctive relief from denials of federal statutory rights); Sprague v. Ticonic National Bank, 307 U.S. 161, 165-66, 59 S.Ct. 777, 779-80, 83 L.Ed. 1184 (1939) (same). Judge Starr believes that any form of injunctive relief is inappropriate. Judge Bork, however, concludes that a prohibitory injunction, reinstatement, and expungement of records are available. Consequently, on remand, equitable relief in the form of an injunction against future interference with Reuber's exercise of his constitutional rights, reinstatement, or expungement of personnel records may be granted. 79 In sum, we reverse the district court's dismissal of Reuber's constitutional claims against the corporate defendants for both damages and equitable relief. These claims are remanded to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. 35 We also reverse the district court's dismissal of Reuber's pendent state law claims. This court is generally reluctant to overturn, as an abuse of discretion, the district court's dismissal of pendent state law claims. In the present case, however, the district court dismissed the pendent state claims under the erroneous belief that there was no federal subject matter jurisdiction to hear the federal claims. Thus, in light of our disposition of the federal claims, it is necessary to remand to the district court, for further consideration, the issue of whether pendent jurisdiction lies for Reuber's state law claims.V. CONCLUSION 80 In conclusion, we affirm the district court's dismissal of the FTCA actions against the United States and the constitutional and common law tort claims against the individual defendants. For the reasons stated in Part IV, we reverse the district court's dismissal of the constitutional and pendent state law claims against the two corporate defendants Litton Industries, Inc., and Litton Bionetics, Inc. We remand these claims to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. 81 Judgment accordingly.