Court Opinion

ID: 9482308
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 08:46:14.842937+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:48:53.864577
License: Public Domain

BOYCE F. MARTIN, Jr., Circuit Judge,
concurring.
While I concur in the majority’s final result, I have reservations regarding the breadth of the precedent suggested by today’s opinion. Specifically, I am concerned by the holding that procedural due process claims are now deemed “instantly cognizable” in this circuit without requiring a “final decision” for ripeness purposes. This rule seems implicitly to refer to any and all procedural due process claims related to zoning and as such I find the rule troubling.
In zoning matters, where taking or substantive due process claims are alleged, the law clearly prescribes that finality requirements be satisfied before these claims can be entertained in federal court. See Williamson County Regional Planning Comm’n v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City, 473 U.S. 172, 105 S.Ct. 3108, 87 L.Ed.2d 126 (1985). The prerequisites for bringing a procedural due process claim, however, are unclear. Some courts have found that procedural due process claims in zoning matters are exempt from finality requirements. See Landmark Land Co. v. Buchanan, 874 F.2d 717, 723 (10th Cir.1989) (procedural due process claim justiciable even if not ripe); Harris v. County of Riverside, 904 F.2d 497, 501 (9th Cir.1990) (finality requirements not apply under the specific facts of the case). See also Hammond v. Baldwin, 866 F.2d 172, 176 (6th Cir.1989) (citing Williamson, 473 U.S. at 194, 105 S.Ct. at 3120 (“if the [claimed] injury is the infirmity of the process, neither a final judgment nor exhaustion [of administrative remedies] is required”)). The majority, relying heavily on these cases, promulgates a broad rule that procedural due process claims in zoning matters are not subject to ripeness requirements. I note and agree with what other circuits have said in choosing to retain a final decision requirement for procedural due process claims in certain instances. See Hoehne v. County of San Benito, 870 F.2d 529, 532 (9th Cir.1989) (final decision requirement may apply to procedural due process claim when related to other constitutional claims); Herrington v. County of Sonoma, 857 F.2d 567, 569 n. 1 (9th Cir.1988) (procedural due process claim as well as other constitutional claims subject to finality requirements), modifying 834 F.2d 1488 (1987), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1090, 109 S.Ct. 1557 (1989); Unity Ventures v. Lake County, 841 F.2d 770, 775-76 (7th Cir.1988) (procedural due process claim subject to finality requirements); Kinzli v. City of Santa Cruz, 818 F.2d 1449, 1456 (9th Cir.) (procedural due process claim cannot be raised because linked to unripe substantive due process claim), as amended, 830 F.2d 968 (1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1043, 108 S.Ct. 775, 98 L.Ed.2d 861 (1988); Norco Constr., Inc. v. King Cty., 801 F.2d 1143, 1145 (9th Cir.1986) (final decision requirement applicable to procedural due process claim).
The majority analogizes Nasierowski’s facts to Harris, 904 F.2d at 497, using Harris as a model for today’s ruling. Harris, however, does not hold that procedural due process claims are never subject to ripeness requirements, simply that such a determination will depend on the circumstances. Id. at 500. In Harris, the court emphasizes that, “Procedural due process claims arising from an alleged taking may be subject to the same ripeness requirements as the taking itself depending on the circumstances of the case.” Under Harris, if a claim “challenges the rezoning decision in isolation, as a single decision with its own consequences, rather than as one in a series of county actions resulting in a taking,” the procedural due process claims is exempt from ripeness requirements. Id. at 501. The court found that Harris had properly alleged a procedural due process claim that was distinct from other constitutional challenges subject to finality requirements. Because Harris was forced to pay a substantial amount of money to either regain *899the use of his land or to prompt the county to make a final determination, the court found that this constituted “actual, concrete injuries, which are separate from any taking.” Id. at 501. See also Herrington, 834 F.2d at 1495 (because the plaintiffs withdrew their taking claim, court found it was unclear if finality requirement would still apply to procedural due process claim).
Even though Mr. Nasierowski has failed to seek a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals, I feel the majority has reached the right result here by not barring his procedural due process claim on ripeness grounds. Mr. Nasierowski’s claim, analyzed in the manner suggested by Harris, appears limited to the process itself and his injury separate from any taking. Indeed, Nasierowski has not alleged a taking claim. I would caution, however, that we retain the finality requirements for procedural due process claims where we cannot find a single, concrete separate injury or where the procedural due process claim is in reality an adjunct to a taking or other constitutional claim. See Herrington, 857 F.2d at 569, n. 1; Norco, 801 F.2d at 1145; Harris, 904 F.2d at 500.