Court Opinion

ID: 9462143
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 22:33:00.589102+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:37:25.582769
License: Public Domain

MOORE, Circuit Judge
(dissenting):
The principal issue in this appeal is whether the appellant, New York Pathological and X-Ray Laboratories, Inc. (N.Y. X-ray), is likely to succeed at trial with its contention that the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s (INS) change in procedures respecting the medical examination of immigrant aliens violated N.Y. X-ray’s statutory or constitutional rights. Although not reaching the constitutional issue, the majority holds that the INS’ designation of certain approved facilities to conduct medical examination constituted a “license” within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 551 et seq. and further that the INS was required to afford N.Y. X-ray notice and a hearing before excluding it from the list of approved facilities. Because I do not believe that notice and a hearing was either statutorily or constitutionally required, I dissent.
Admittedly, the approval of a limited number of facilities in this case probably constitutes a “license” under the broad definition of that term contained in 5 U.S.C. § 551(8) (“ ‘license’ includes the whole or part of an agency permit, approval, ... or other form of permission.”). But the APA itself gives no right to a hearing prior to the grant or denial of such a license. Section 558(c), the provision relied upon by the majority, provides in part:
(c) When application is made for a license required by law, the agency, with due regard for the rights and privileges of all the interested parties or adversely affected persons and within a reasonable time, shall set and complete proceedings required to be conducted in accordance with sections 556 and 557 of this title or other proceedings required by law and shall make its decision. Except in cases of willfulness or those in which public health, interest, or safety requires otherwise, the withdrawal, suspension, revocation, or annulment of a license is lawful only if, before the institution of agency proceedings therefor, the licensee has been given—
(1) notice by the agency in writing of the facts or conduct which may warrant the action; and
(2) opportunity to demonstrate or achieve compliance with all lawful requirements. .
This section applies only to license application proceedings “required to be con*84ducted.”1 Although the language is somewhat obtuse, in my view it means that the APA itself provides no right to a hearing. Rather, any such right must emanate from some other source. Obviously, 8 C.F.R. § 234.2,2 the regulation challenged herein, provides no such right. It simply places the selection of the necessary qualified civil surgeons or clinics within the discretion of INS’ district directors. And our attention has been directed to no other statute or regulation which affords a right to a hearing for a potential licensee.
Nor, in my opinion, does the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment compel that the INS select the facilities to conduct medical examinations after notice to all potential applicants and hearings to select those most qualified to perform the task. The Supreme Court has instructed in Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972), that as a threshold matter, one seeking to invoke the procedural protection of the due process clause must show that governmental action has deprived him of liberty or property. On this record at least, the appellant has not shown the existence of such an interest. It is alleged only that the appellant’s x-ray and serology test results had been accepted for twenty-five years. But N.Y. X-ray had no written assurance that this practice would continue, and it has not demonstrated any basis upon which such assurance might be implied. The most that can be said is that N.Y. X-ray had an expectancy based on long service that it would continue to be qualified to perform these tests. Such an expectancy standing alone is insufficient to trigger the operation of the due process clause. Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 603, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 33 L.Ed.2d 570 (1972). In this respect, this is a different case than Blackwell College of Business v. Attorney General, 147 U.S. App.D.C. 85, 454 F.2d 928 (D.C.Cir.1971). There the Attorney General had approved Blackwell College for attendance by non-immigrant aliens. The statute under which approval was granted and applicable regulations imposed certain reporting requirements on the College and indicated that the approval would terminate if the College failed to file the necessary reports. Under these circumstances, the College had a basis for believing that the approval would remain in effect as long as it fulfilled its reporting obligations. And when the Attorney General sought to terminate the approv*85al on the ground that Blackwell College had failed to file certain reports, the College was therefore entitled to the due process procedural protections. Here, in contrast, there had been no formal approval issued to N.Y. X-ray, and there was apparently no basis for it to believe that the acceptance of its test results would continue indefinitely.
This case is also distinguishable from decisions holding that due process applies to certain applicants for licenses. For example, Willner v. Committee on Character and Fitness, 373 U.S. 96, 83 S.Ct. 1175, 10 L.Ed.2d 224 (1963) (applicant for admission to the bar), Goldsmith v. Board of Tax Appeals, 270 U.S. 117, 46 S.Ct. 215, 70 L.Ed. 494 (1926) (admission of a certified public accountant to practice before Board of Tax Appeals), and Hornsby v. Allen, 326 F.2d 605, on rehearing, 330 F.2d 55 (5th Cir. 1964) (applicant for a license to run a retail liquor establishment), all involved the right to engage in a chosen occupation. See Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 399, 43 S.Ct. 625, 67 L.Ed. 1042 (1923). Here, however, there is no indication that loss of about 15% of its business will prohibit N.Y. X-ray from carrying on its business. See Board of Regents v. Roth, supra, 408 U.S. at 574 n.13, 92 S.Ct. 701. And even in Holmes v. New York City Housing Authority, 398 F.2d 262 (2d Cir. 1968), where this court held that applicants for public housing were entitled to have tenant selections made by “ascertainable standards”, there existed a statutory right to public housing for those persons who met the eligibility requirements.
In short, I see no constitutional infirmity in a regulation that vests in a public official the discretion unilaterally to choose which of a number of qualified facilities should perform a service for the government. It should be added that there has been no significant showing that the selection criteria employed by the district director were impermissible. The selections were apparently made after calls to the New York State Medical Society and various others knowledgeable in the field of medicine during which the names and qualifications of various medical facilities were ascertained. The choices were guided by geographical convenience, capability to perform x-ray and serology tests as well as the actual medical examination, speed of results, capacity and sufficient staff to accommodate sizable numbers of aliens, and prevention of fraudulent substitution of results by testing and medical examinations occurring at the same facility. Although on the basis of its own survey, N.Y. X-ray alleges that it is better qualified than the 32 facilities designated by the district director, nothing requires the district director to select facilities that meet all the criteria. Furthermore, I find nothing unusual about the fact that twenty-seven of the facilities are affiliated with the same organization (the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York) and that only two are independent facilities. For purposes of administrative convenience alone, it makes sense to have to deal with as few separate organizations as possible.
In summary, N.Y. X-ray has no entitlement — constitutional, statutory or otherwise — to receive business referred by the INS. The appellant’s real quarrel with the INS has to do with the district director’s exercise of his discretion. I find insufficient evidence of any abuse of that discretion to justify the issuance of a preliminary injunction.

. This interpretation of section 558(c) seems in accord with other sections of the Act. 5 U.S.C. § 556, dealing with procedural aspects of hearings applies only to “hearings required by section 553 or 554”, and 5 U.S.C. § 554, dealing with adjudications, applies only to adjudications “required by statute”. In short, the right to a hearing must be found outside the Act.

. The regulation provides:
(a) General. When a medical examination is required of an alien who files an application for status as a permanent resident under section 245 of the Act or Part 245 of this Chapter it shall be made by a selected civil surgeon. Such examination shall be performed in accordance with 42 CFR Part 34 and any additional instructions and guidelines as may be considered necessary by the U.S. Public Health Service. In any other case in which the Service requests a medical examination of an alien the examination shall be made by a medical officer of the U.S. Public Health Service or by a civil surgeon if a medical officer of the U.S. Public Health Service is not located within a reasonable distance or is otherwise not available.
(b) Selection of civil surgeons. When a civil surgeon is to perform the examination, he shall be selected by the district director having jurisdiction over the area of the alien’s residence. The district director shall select as many civil surgeons, including clinics employing qualified civil surgeons, as he determines to be necessary to serve the needs of the Service m a locality under his jurisdiction. Each civil surgeon shall be a licensed physician with no less than 4 years professional experience. Officers of local health departments and medical societies may be consulted to obtain the names of competent surgeons and clinics willing to make the examinations. An understanding shall be reached with respect to the fee which the surgeon or clinic will charge for the examination. The alien shall pay the fee agreed upon directly to the surgeon making the examination. ...