Septic License Holder's Due Process Case Against County Can Continue
Last week, the Seventh Circuit allowed a Brown
County, Indiana man to continue his federal lawsuit against the County for his
claims that the County violated his due process rights.
John Simpson owned a septic installation company in
Brown County, and held a County license to install and repair septic systems.
On May 31, 2013, Simpson received a letter from a County Health Officer, Paul
Page, demanding that he immediately repair a septic system, and if Simpson
failed to do so, his license could be revoked. A second letter was sent to
Simpson on June 14, 2013 informing him that his name was being removed from the
list of approved septic contractors and, therefore, would have his license
rescinded. Simpson was not told of the law or regulation that he violated in
order to have his license revoked, and was not given any opportunity for a
hearing or an appeal of the revocation.
Simpson sued, and his case made its way to the
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. That Court overturned the district court’s
dismissal of Simpson’s case against the County, allowing his case to move
forward. The Seventh Circuit focused
primarily on the power and discretion the County’s septic ordinance gave their
health officers. Under the established procedures of the County’s septic
ordinance, a County Health Officer has broad discretion to remove any worker
who demonstrates an “inability or unwillingness to comply” with the ordinance.
This allowed these officers to act without giving people like Simpson any right
to be heard before their license was taken from them. The Court noted that
there was no reason to believe that the cost of basic procedures (such as
notice and a hearing) would be so unduly burdensome to deny a pre-deprivation
process to Simpson.
In sum, the Seventh Circuit held that Simpson has
stated a claim for a violation of procedural due process, allowing his case to
continue.
Post Authored by Katherine Takiguchi, Ancel Glink
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