His Excellency, Vincente CUESNON-GLE, O.P., et al., Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. Hector R. RAMOS, Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Defendant, Appellee.
No. 85-1068.
United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.
Decided Dec. 30, 1987.
Luis Roberto Pinero, Hato Rey, P.R., Frank Zorrilla Maldonado, San Juan, P.R., and Ruben T. Nigaglioni, Hato Rey, P.R., were on brief for Asociacion de Colegios y Universidad Privada de Puerto Rico, Inc., amicus curiae.
Mejore Rivera Rodriguez with whom Americo Serra, Acting Sol. Gen., San Juan, P.R., was on brief, for defendant, appellee.
Before CAMPBELL, Chief Judge,* COFFIN and BOWNES, Circuit Judges.
COFFIN, Circuit Judge.
This litigation, commenced more than six years ago, comes before us now for the third time. Though only $217 dollars are actually at stake in the dispute, this case has been a crucible for testing the application of interacting doctrines guiding relations between federal and state courts. The procedural history of the litigation could have come straight from a textbook on federal jurisdiction; it has provided the opportunity to examine the current complexity and confusion of “our federalism” in the shadow of Pennhurst State School & Hospital v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 104 S.Ct. 900, 79 L.Ed.2d 67 (1984).
Our certification of state law questions to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico has elicited a thoughtful set of responses concerning the interrelationship of our two courts. In this opinion, we attempt to continue the dialogue—to the end that, within the constraints of current caselaw, we may realize the maximum feasible mutual benefits of the policies of avoiding constitutional issues where possible and deferring to state tribunals on issues of state law.
Our discussion consists of the following parts. Part I rehearses the facts of the case and the proceedings up until certification. Part II summarizes the reasoning of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico in its refusal to answer the certified questions. Part III focuses on the implications of the response of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico for the continued viability of the certification process. Part IV deals with restraints imposed on the federal courts by Pennhurst that further limit the usefulness of certification. Finally, Part V addresses the federal constitutional issue we had identified at an earlier stage in this litigation.
I. Facts and Proceedings
In August, 1980, a strike of non-teaching employees occurred at Universidad Central de Bayamon (UCB) in Puerto Rico. UCB is a coeducational, private, non-profit Catholic University, conducted under the auspices of the Order of Dominican Fathers. Classes had been scheduled to start on August 16th, but did not in fact begin until August 25th. Although courses continued with what was later described as “relative normalcy,” several classes had to be cancelled for lack of professors as a result of the labor dispute. After the strike ended, eight students, claiming breach of contract, filed complaints before the Council of Higher Education. When these complaints were dismissed, the students filed claims with the Puerto Rican Department of Consumer Affairs (DACO), invoking a consumer protection law that had been enacted to regulate product liability and contract protection for consumer services. The alleged breaches of contract included changing the opening dates for classes, reducing student services, altering class and course schedules, discharging employees, suspending students, substituting professors, refusing to allow a student assembly, and refusing to reimburse registration fees.
UCB raised numerous objections to DACO‘s jurisdiction over the matter, among them that DACO was barred by the doctrine of separation of church and state from adjudicating the case. When its objections were overruled, UCB voluntarily withdrew from the DACO administrative hearing without offering any evidence. UCB reasoned that any further involvement on its part could have been interpreted as a submission to DACO‘s authority and as a waiver of UCB‘s constitutional rights.
Following the hearing, on October 28, 1981, DACO reaffirmed its jurisdiction over the students’ contract actions, and dismissed all of the complaints except one. As to that single complaint, DACO ordered the return of $217 in registration fees to one student, Froilan Montfort Seijo.
In contrast to the other complainants, Montfort had crossed the picket lines and tried to attend classes. When at first it seemed that no classes were going to take place, Montfort attempted to withdraw his registration, but was advised not to do so by the Registrar‘s Office, by whom he was assured of an imminent normalization of classes. When classes were resumed, two of the five courses for which Montfort had registered were cancelled. One of those cancelled was a graduation prerequisite for Montfort. There is also some evidence that teachers and sections were changed occasionally in those of Montfort‘s classes that remained. Unlike the other complainants, Montfort was at no time suspended by the University; in DACO‘s words, he was merely “hindered from attending classes.” DACO ruled that Montfort, having paid his registration fees, expected to be rendered some services in accordance with the University Catalogue. With the “under-stand[ing]” that such Catalogue was the “Law among the parties” for contractual purposes, DACO applied certain articles of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico and concluded that because Montfort had fully complied with his portion of the “obligation” between the parties, he had the “right to demand compliance or the resolution of the obligation” from UCB.
On November 5, 1981, UCB filed before DACO a Motion for Reconsideration, in which it reiterated its jurisdictional arguments. In a further submission on November 16th, UCB focused on the absence of statutory authority for DACO‘s actions, on DACO‘s alleged misreading of the Catalogue “contract,” and on DACO‘s alleged misinterpretation of the facts.
B.
Before the motion for reconsideration was decided, the President and trustees of UCB filed suit in the federal district court in Puerto Rico in December of 1981, seeking nullification of DACO‘s ruling and an injunction preventing DACO from further interference in the University‘s affairs. UCB alleged at least three separate grounds for relief: first, that DACO‘s actions violated the free exercise clause of the First Amendment and the parallel section of the state constitution, because of excessive government entanglement with a religious institution; second, that, assuming there was no constitutional violation, DACO‘s organic statute did not provide the agency jurisdiction over claims involving universities; and third, that even if DACO did have statutory jurisdiction over the University which was not constitutionally barred, and assuming that the Catalogue could be construed as a contract between university and student to which the consumer protection law would apply, that DACO nonetheless misread that Catalogue to provide for liability in this case, i.e., that DACO erred in its contract interpretation.
The District Court for the District of Puerto Rico granted summary judgment for the University on October 27, 1982. Without addressing what we shall herein denominate the “statutory” and “contract” claims, the district court decided that UCB had suffered a violation of its First Amendment free exercise rights as a result of DACO‘s “excessive entanglement in the university‘s affairs.”
This court, on August 10, 1983, reversed the holding of the district court, ruling that the UCB was not a true parochial school for First Amendment purposes, and that the decisions which prompted DACO‘s actions were “totally unrelated to any religious aspects of UCB‘s mission.” Cuesnongle v. Ramos, 713 F.2d 881, 884 (1st Cir. 1983).
We noted, however, that there was a possible infringement upon UCB‘s free speech rights, insofar as there exists a “zone of First Amendment protection for the educational process.” Id. at 886. The constitutional issue was identified as: “whether and to what extent a university, engaged in the highly important and complex enterprise of teaching, should properly be subject to state regulation by an administrative body established to protect consumers from defective products and ... ‘undesirable practices.‘” Id. at 886. We suggested that constitutional concerns might be particularly implicated because DACO was “subject to review only for errors of law and findings not supported by substantial evidence,” and because the system grants administrative control to “a less than judicial body [DACO]” which is not “specialized” or “particularly qualified” in the area. Id. We upheld the district court‘s injunction preventing DACO from enforcing its judgment, and remanded the case to the district court to permit UCB to amend its complaint to reflect the “freedom of educational process” issue. Id.1
D.
On September 27, 1983, UCB amended its complaint to allege that DACO had “meddl[ed] in plaintiffs’ educational ... affairs,” in violation of UCB‘s freedom of speech, freedom of association, and due process rights. The state “contract” and “statutory” claims remained as express, albeit minor, portions of the complaint. In addition to a request that DACO‘s order of reimbursement be annulled, UCB also asked for additional relief in the form of an injunction “permanently enjoining, forbidding and restraining defendants from interfering, meddling, encroaching or entangling with or in the internal affairs and educational process and mission of Plaintiffs.”2
On the basis of submitted stipulated facts, the district court denied UCB‘s petition on December 21, 1984. The court began its analysis by addressing the statutory issue of DACO‘s jurisdiction. It correctly identified that issue as whether students qua students are “consumers” of “services” “within the purview of the statute.” Though the consumer protection statute does not itself provide definitions of either of these terms, the legislative history suggested that “services” should be used “as it is understood in the consensus of the Puerto Rican community,” and that this determination had to be made on a case-by-case basis, in light of the specific circumstances of each case. The district court held that “under ordinary circumstances and conditions a person matriculating at a university establishes a contractual relationship with the university,” and that the terms of the contract “are expressed in the university‘s charter and the promulgated regulations governing student conduct.” Thus, the court decided that DACO did have statutory jurisdiction to resolve contract disputes between the university and its students.
The district court acknowledged that the university was protected by a constitution-
E.
Instead of deciding the constitutional issue on appeal, we determined that the best course of action was to certify the unclear issues of state law for resolution by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. We noted our reluctance to subject the statute to constitutional scrutiny without a definitive interpretation of it from that court. The certified questions were as follows:
- Does the Department of Consumer Affairs (DACO) Organic Act, Apr. 23, 1973, No. 5,
3 L.P.R.A. §§ 341a-341v , apply without qualification or restriction to private, primarily non-sectarian, non-profit colleges and universities in Puerto Rico? - If said act does not so apply generally to such colleges and universities, does it nevertheless apply to the DACO ruling in this case that a student, who because of a campus strike suffered the cancellation of two of his classes, was entitled to a refund of his registration fees of $217, under penalty of fine for noncompliance?
These questions roughly corresponded to the issues presented in what we have been designating UCB‘s “statutory” claim.
II. The Response of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
Subsequently, several opinions issued from the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, evidencing considerable thought and discussion. A judgment, declining to answer the certified questions, was joined by four justices. Cuesnongle v. Ramos, No. CE-85-468, slip op. (P.R. June 30, 1987). Three of those justices issued a plurality opinion. Id. (Hernandez Denton, J., concurring, joined by Ortiz and Alonso, JJ.) (hereinafter “plurality opinion“). The fourth concurring justice, Mr. Justice Negron, did not join in that opinion. Two justices dissented from the majority‘s judgment, and issued a separate opinion. Id. (Rebollo Lopez, J., dissenting, joined by Naveira de Rodon, J.). The Chief Justice filed a separate opinion, concurring in the judgment of the majority declining to answer the first, “general” certified question, but dissenting from the majority as to the second question, which dealt with the application of the statute to the specific adjudication of Montfort‘s claim. The Chief Justice not only declared that the Court should answer the second certified question, but went on to agree
The analysis of the plurality opinion begins by acknowledging that certification is proper under Puerto Rican law where:
(1) the controversy involves questions of Puerto Rican law; (2) said questions may determine the outcome of the case; (3) there are no clear-cut precedents in our Court‘s case law; and (4) the case makes an account of all the facts relevant to said questions showing clearly the nature of the controversy giving rise to the questions.
Plurality opinion at 6 (emphasis added)4 (citing Pan American Computer Corp. v. Data General Corp., 112 P.R. Dec. 780, 788 (1982)). The plurality also went out of its way to identify some of the benefits of the certification process: “[I]t saves time and resources; brings uniformity into statutory interpretation; protects the federal rights of the parties; adequately delimits the issues and harmonizes the relations between the state and federal forums.” Plurality opinion at 7.
This reasoning might seem to justify an answer to our certified questions from the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. After all, if the supreme court were to rule that DACO did not have jurisdiction, over either the university generally or over this particular dispute, then that answer would “determine the outcome of the case” without any further federal inquiry. Thus, all four of the stated prerequisites for certification are met. Nevertheless, the plurality went on to conclude that:
To answer the certified questions we would necessarily have to analyze whether this type of state interference violates the local constitutional clauses of freedom of speech and separation of church and state, Constitution of the Commonwealth, Art. II, Secs. 1, 3, 4, and 7. We cannot pass on the scope of [DACO‘s] jurisdiction in a case that deals with a church-affiliated University, without necessarily examining whether the agency‘s power to pass on complaints violated the constitutional provisions as to freedom of speech and of religion. These guarantees of our Constitution are analogous to those enshrined in the First Amendment....
Plurality opinion at 7 (emphasis added). The plurality then concluded that its decision would be “purely advisory,” because “[w]e are dealing with a controversy on the constitutionality of a state law under the Constitution of Puerto Rico, which is similar to a provision of the federal Constitution.” Id. at 7-8. Quoting Pan American Computer Corp. v. Data General Corp., 112 P.R. Dec. 780 (1982), the plurality insisted that the question could be ruled on only by the federal court, “because the validity of the statute under the federal constitution necessarily disposes of the question under the state law.” Plurality opinion at 8 (quoting Pan American, 112 P.R. Dec. at 794, No. 0-79-184, slip op. at 13 (P.R.1982)).
In order fairly to understand the wellsprings of this reasoning, it is necessary to look back to the Pan American case, where the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico began to explicate its practice on certification. At the start of that decision, the supreme court articulated the four-part test for certification that was reiterated by the Cuesnongle plurality. The lynchpin of that test, namely, that certification is appropriate where the answers “may determine or are determinant to the case,” was derived directly from Rule 27 of the Rules of the Court. See Pan American, slip op. at 6-7, 112 P.R. Dec. at 787-88. The su-
The Pan American court, however, proceeded to carve out an exception to the general rule which they had just articulated. In Pan American, the supreme court had been asked to interpret a question of state constitutional law which might have rendered superfluous the federal analysis of federal constitutional law in the case. This the supreme court refused to do, because the state constitutional provision in question was identical to the parallel federal constitutional provision in the case. Where that was the case, and if the supreme court decided the state constitutional question in a way that did not dispose of the case, then the federal court, when reviewing the federal constitutional question, could “disregard” the state court analysis and “decide the same question under federal constitutional standards different from ours, or even using the same standards, it could reach a different re-
sult.” Slip op. at 14 (emphasis added), 112 P.R. Dec. at 794. This possibility “would have the impermissible effect of having the federal court review our decision, when the only court that may review a decision of this Court, in appropriate cases, is the U.S. Supreme Court.” Id. The supreme court concluded that this possibility rendered its decision “advisory,” because “the federal court reserves the power to determine the rightness of our decision.” Slip op. at 15, 112 P.R. Dec. at 795.5
From this reasoning, it follows that where one of the possible questions would necessitate analysis reflecting at least an implicit understanding of federal law, then the supreme court will refuse to answer the question so as to avoid any risk that part of its analysis would be reviewed, rejected, or modified by a lower federal court. The particular application of this rule in the Pan American context is that where resolution of a state constitutional issue will entail a tacit analysis of parallel federal constitutional law, then the supreme court will decline to subject itself to the possibility that such analysis will be “overturned” by the federal court. Thus, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico will not answer certified questions regarding the state constitution unless the provision in question has “no counterpart in the federal constitution.” Slip op. at 14, 112 P.R.Dec. at 794.6 There was no discussion in Pan American
In Cuesnongle, the plurality opinion extends the Pan American “exception.” The source of this extension is the plurality‘s claim that it “cannot pass on the scope of [DACO‘s statutory] jurisdiction in a case that deals with a ... university, without necessarily examining whether the agency‘s power to pass on complaints violated the [state] constitutional provisions as to freedom of speech....” Plurality opinion at 7 (emphasis added). The plurality then notes that those state constitutional guarantees, the explication of which it views as indispensable to an analysis of the statutory issues, are precisely analogous to those enshrined in the federal First Amendment. The plurality‘s conclusion drawn from these premises is that an evaluation of the federal constitutional issues is a necessary part of the analysis of the state statutory questions. And because that implicit analysis of the federal issues might conceivably be “overturned” by this court after certification, the supreme court should refuse to leave itself open to “reversal.”
III. Implications for the Certification Process
We have presented the reasoning of the supreme court‘s plurality at some length because, in expressing our own concerns, it is important that we have a full and fair understanding of the source of the supreme court‘s positions.
At the very outset, we acknowledge that the power of the Commonwealth court to answer questions certified to it by a federal court is discretionary, not mandatory. See
overruled; it remains the authoritative word on the state constitution. The state court is then free to reject, accept, or extend the reasoning of
Rule 27(a) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, P.R.Laws Ann. tit. 4, App. I-A, at 422-23 (1978) (Court “may take cognizance” of certified matters); Pan American, slip op. at 7-8, 112 P.R. Dec. at 788. We respect the supreme court‘s right to respond or not, as it pleases.
One invaluable attribute of the certification process, however, is that it presents the rare occasion when courts of different systems can talk to one another about common problems. It is in this spirit of continuing institutional and collegial dialogue that we reflect upon, and express our concerns about, the future usefulness of certification in helping both courts to serve our respective missions in a cooperative and mutually beneficial manner.
What concerns us most is the sweep of the implication which flows from the plurality‘s assumption that questions such as whether students are “consumers” under DACO‘s organic act and whether university course offerings are the sort of “services” the Act is meant to regulate cannot be disposed of without to resort to state constitutional analysis. The implication is that there is very little room for any such creature as “strict” statutory construction, unencumbered by constitutional analysis.
The plurality‘s assumption is, apparently, that as legislators would never “intend” for a statute to be unconstitutional or to be applied in an unconstitutional manner, constitutional considerations are a necessary element in divining the always-elusive “legislative intent.” Under this view, it would be impossible (or seldom possible) to determine “in the abstract” whether a law “applies” to a particular situation, wholly independent of constitutional concerns.
We find this notion difficult to grasp, in light of the fact that courts make it their daily business to isolate and segregate statutory and constitutional issues from one another in the analysis of a case. It is, after all, received wisdom that statutory issues should always be resolved “before”
the federal court when related state constitutional questions arise in the future.
We do concede that there is something to be said for the plurality‘s view, at least as a theoretical construct. In Government and Civic Employees Organizing Comm., CIO v. Windsor, 353 U.S. 364, 77 S.Ct. 838, 1 L.Ed.2d 894 (1957), the Supreme Court recognized that where a federal court abstains from deciding a constitutional challenge to a state statute in order to obtain an authoritative interpretation of that statute from the state court, the state court might analyze the statute in a different manner if asked to do so “in light of” the plaintiff‘s constitutional objections. Id. at 366, 77 S.Ct. at 839. And in England v. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, 375 U.S. 411, 84 S.Ct. 461, 11 L.Ed.2d 440 (1964), the Court explained this process in more detail. Where the federal court invokes Pullman abstention, see Railroad Comm‘n v. Pullman, 312 U.S. 496, 61 S.Ct. 643, 85 L.Ed. 971 (1941), a plaintiff may reserve the federal claims for federal litigation. Nonetheless, the plaintiff is obligated to bring those federal claims to the attention of the state court for resolution of the state claims. 375 U.S. at 420, 84 S.Ct. at 467. This procedure allows the state court to address the state claims with a full understanding of the constitutional context. It does, however, have certain ramifications:
[T]he parties cannot prevent the state court from rendering a decision on the federal question if it chooses to do so; and even if such a decision is not explicit, a holding that the statute is applicable may arguably imply, in view of the constitutional objections to such a construction, that the court considers the constitutional challenge to be without merit.
England, 375 U.S. at 421, 84 S.Ct. at 467 (emphasis added).
This is, however, precisely the situation that the plurality finds unacceptable in the case where the federal and state constitutions are parallel, for it allows the federal court subsequently to reject the state court‘s explicit or implicit reading of federal law, and thus, the plurality insists, threatens to render unnecessary (and therefore “advisory“) the state court‘s reading of its own constitution. But see note 6, supra.
It may be that there are federal constitutional considerations that are relevant to some degree to many, if not all, questions of state statutory interpretation. Nevertheless, if the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico does in fact refuse to answer certified questions on this basis, then the certification process in Puerto Rico will be eviscerated in those cases where a federal constitutional question might remain even after the resolution of the state law issues. This logic would also preclude Pullman abstention in Puerto Rico whenever a federal constitutional issue is reserved by the plaintiff for federal consideration.
Thus, the position of the plurality threatens to devitalize abstention and certification doctrines in all constitutional cases.7 This result would invariably detract from the benefits of comity and harmony promoted by those long-standing practices. As the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico itself has noted, “[t]he tensions inherent in the federalist system are largely relieved” through certification. Pan American, slip op. at 4, 112 P.R.Dec. at 785. We cannot improve on its language:
The main objectives of the abstention doctrine applicable herein are to prevent
Id., slip op. at 13, 112 P.R.Dec. at 793. Indeed, abstention and certification are especially beneficial in cases involving Puerto Rico law, because, as the United States Supreme Court has noted, “[a] rigid rule of deference to interpretations of Puerto Rico law by Puerto Rico courts is particularly appropriate given the unique cultural and legal history of Puerto Rico.” Posadas de Puerto Rico Assoc. v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico, 478 U.S. 328, 106 S.Ct. 2968, 2976 n. 6, 92 L.Ed.2d 266 (1986) (emphasis added). See also Fomaris v. Ridge Tool Co., 400 U.S. 41, 44, 91 S.Ct. 156, 158, 27 L.Ed.2d 174 (1970).
We would hope that the distinction between strict statutory construction and constitutional analysis can be maintained so that as wide a field as possible may be kept open for the certification of questions of unclear Puerto Rico statutory law. Such a posture would preserve the system of abstention envisioned by the United States Supreme Court in Pullman and England. The Supreme Court has, after all, recognized that state courts might not be able to avoid implicit constitutional analysis in their answers to state law questions, but nevertheless continues wholeheartedly to endorse abstention and certification. England, 375 U.S. at 421 & n. 12, 84 S.Ct. at 468 & n. 12.
IV. The Restraints of Pennhurst
In the meantime, we are left in this case with a constitutional issue concerning the cherished right of academic freedom. This issue would normally be avoided here, where it seems that the case might be resolved on state statutory grounds. But that, as we have seen, is not a viable option here. So we enter a new thicket.
A.
We must determine at the outset what to do about the remaining state law issues. We begin with one of the most firmly established and respected doctrines in our jurisprudence, namely, that federal constitutional issues should be avoided where other grounds of decision are available. The most famous of the numerous formulations of this rule is that proffered by Justice Brandeis:
The Court [has] developed, for its own governance in the cases confessedly within its jurisdiction, a series of rules under which it has avoided passing upon a large part of all the constitutional questions pressed upon it for decision.
....
The Court will not pass upon a constitutional question although properly presented by the record, if there is also present some other ground upon which the case may be disposed of. This rule has found most varied application. Thus, if a case can be decided on either of two grounds, one involving a constitutional question, the other a question of statutory construction or general law, the Court will decide only the latter. Siler v. Louisville & Nashville R. Co., 213 U.S. 175, 191 [29 S.Ct. 451, 454, 53 L.Ed. 753].
Ashwander v. TVA, 297 U.S. 288, 346-47, 56 S.Ct. 466, 482-83, 80 L.Ed. 688 (1936) (concurring opinion). This principle has been assiduously followed by the federal courts. See, e.g., Mills v. Rogers, 457 U.S. 291, 305, 102 S.Ct. 2442, 2451, 73 L.Ed.2d 16 (1982); Hagans v. Lavine, 415 U.S. 528, 546-47, 94 S.Ct. 1372, 1383-84, 39 L.Ed.2d 577 (1974); In re Justices of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, 695 F.2d 17, 22 (1st Cir. 1982). Thus, when the constitutionality of a statute is in question, the statute should first be construed, “if such a construction is fairly possible, to avoid raising doubts of its constitutionality.” St. Martin Evangelical Lutheran Church v. South Dakota, 451 U.S. 772, 780, 101 S.Ct. 2142, 2147, 68 L.Ed.2d 612 (1981).
A natural corollary of this principle is that “unsettled questions of state law must be resolved before a substantial fed-
Railroad Comm‘n v. Pullman, 312 U.S. 496, 501, 61 S.Ct. 643, 645, 85 L.Ed. 971 (1941), established that when a constitutional question is premised on an unsettled question of state law, the federal court should postpone adjudication of the case while a separate action is adjudicated in state court, thus providing the state courts the opportunity to settle the underlying state law issues. Certification of the state questions to the highest tribunal in the state is an alternative method of honoring these same concerns. Pullman abstention and certification can be seen, therefore, as procedural schemes instituted to foster the principles embodied in the Ashwander rule when the state law issues are unclear. The Pullman court noted that where a federal court “is asked to decide an issue by making a tentative answer which may be displaced tomorrow by a state adjudication,” so that an “unnecessary ruling of a federal court is supplanted by a controlling decision of a state court,” then the court should adopt a strategy “that will avoid the waste of a tentative decision as well as the friction of a premature constitutional adjudication.” Pullman, 312 U.S. at 500. Abstention serves the policy of avoiding unnecessary constitutional questions, and the related policy of avoiding adjudication of abstract, hypothetical issues. Government and Civic Employees Organizing Comm, v. Windsor, 353 U.S. 364, 366, 77 S.Ct. 838, 839, 1 L.Ed.2d 894 (1957). Most important, by allowing the states to resolve their own contested issues of state law, abstention evinces a “scrupulous regard for the rightful independence of the state governments.” Pullman, 312 U.S. at 501, 61 S.Ct. at 645 (quoting Di Giovanni v. Camden Ins. Ass‘n, 296 U.S. 64, 73, 56 S.Ct. 1, 5, 80 L.Ed. 47 (1935)). It is well established, then, that “[a]mong the cases that call most insistently for abstention are those in which the federal constitutional challenge turns on a state statute, the meaning of which is unclear under state law.” Harris County Comm‘rs Court v. Moore, 420 U.S. 77, 84, 95 S.Ct. 870, 875, 43 L.Ed.2d 32 (1975).
B.
Until recently, the Siler principle would leave us two options for proceeding with a case such as the present one. We could either attempt to resolve the state law issues ourselves, or, where those questions are unclear, we could invoke Pullman abstention, thus sending the case to the state court system for resolution of the possibly dispositive state law issues. The latter option is still available to us, but, as we explain below, section IVD, it is not advisable where, as here, the supreme court of the state has already evidenced its disinclination to consider the matter. The present posture of the case would seem, then, to point to the former option—our own resolution of the state law questions. Yet this alternative, too, is unavailable here, because we would have no power to enforce a judgment against DACO on the basis of state law.
In Pennhurst State School & Hospital v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 104 S.Ct. 900, 79 L.Ed.2d 67 (1984), the Supreme Court decided that sovereign immunity prohibits federal courts from ordering state officials to conform their conduct to state law. In Pennhurst, the Supreme Court had initially directed the lower courts to consider whether the respondents were entitled to relief under state law. Pennhurst State School & Hospital v. Halderman, 451 U.S. 1, 31, 101 S.Ct. 1531, 1547, 67 L.Ed.2d 694 (1981). The lower courts dutifully followed Ashwander, and ruled for the plaintiffs on
There are two options for a post-Pennhurst plaintiff who wishes to bring a claim for injunctive relief against state officials under alternative federal and state theories: either to litigate both federal and state claims in state court, or to bifurcate the litigation so that the state claims are heard in state court and the federal claims are heard in federal court.
If the plaintiff wishes the federal court to address the federal claims, bifurcation will be the only option.8 In that circumstance, the federal cause of action will be grounded exclusively on federal law, even where state law causes of action might be dispositive. The federal court cannot, after Pennhurst, resolve the case on the basis of those state law questions. Therefore, in those cases where it cannot use Pullman abstention, the court must reach the federal constitutional questions, in violation of the Siler principle.
This conclusion brings us back to the instant case, which we now must treat as if it were brought exclusively under federal law. Despite the jurisdictional bar to our adjudication of UCB‘s state law claims, we still have two sorts of state issues in the case, the resolution of either one of which might moot the federal questions. First, we have the statutory question of DACO‘s jurisdiction, which the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico has declined to answer on certification. Because of Pennhurst, we could not grant relief on the basis of a finding that the statute did not authorize DACO with jurisdiction over the university. Nor, for reasons expressed below, do we think Pullman abstention appropriate to decide this statutory question. The second unresolved issue of state law is whether
C.
Before we address whether Pullman abstention should be invoked as to the state statutory question of DACO‘s jurisdiction, it is instructive to examine whether abstention could also be used to resolve the action on the state “contract” ground. Normally, abstention would be inappropriate for that sort of issue, because the state law is not unclear. But what about the situation in which we now find ourselves, where the federal court has no power to enforce a judgment based on clear and dispositive state law grounds?
An ironic consequence emerges from the confluence of Pennhurst and Pullman. Because of the traditional preconditions to Pullman abstention, a court will often be in the interesting posture of being able to follow the Siler principle only where the state law might be dispositive, but not where it clearly is dispositive.
If the state issues are not clear, the federal court can abstain, and allow the state courts to resolve those issues. If the case is not settled by the state court action,
the plaintiff would still have the opportunity to fully litigate the facts and law of the case in federal court, as long as the plaintiff properly had executed an England reservation. If, on the other hand, the state law issues are clearly dispositive, and would necessitate injunctive relief against state officials, the federal court is obligated by Pennhurst to proceed to the federal issues, despite the teachings of Siler and Ashwander.
In response to this anomaly, it has been suggested, albeit implicitly, that a new variant of Pullman abstention be established. In this newfangled version of abstention, it would be unnecessary that the state law issues be unclear. It would suffice that those issues might be dispositive but could not be acted on by the federal court. In other words, the Pennhurst doctrine of sovereign immunity would itself trigger Pullman-type abstention where the court wishes to avoid the constitutional questions. See Allendale Leasing, Inc. v. Stone, 614 F.Supp. 1440, 1452 (D.R.I.1985), aff‘d, 788 F.2d 830 (1st Cir. 1986); see also Kollsman v. City of Los Angeles, 737 F.2d 830, 836-37 n. 18 (9th Cir. 1984) (suggesting in dictum that Pennhurst might be alternative ground for Pullman abstention). This practice would honor the rule that federal questions not be decided where non-federal issues are dispositive.
Most courts, however, seem to have refrained from abstention where the prerequisite of state law unclarity is not present, even though this means resolving the federal questions “prematurely.” See, e.g., Society for Good Will to Retarded Children v. Cuomo, 652 F.Supp. 515, 518, 522-23, 526 (E.D.N.Y.1987) (“[W]hile abstention has substantial benefits in meeting
forcement of state law. See Shapiro, Comment—Wrong Turns: The Eleventh Amendment and the Pennhurst Case, 98 Harv.L.Rev. 61, 83 & n. 127 (1984). This view may well be correct; perhaps the sort of “prohibitive” injunction sought here does not rise to the level of interference that triggers sovereign immunity. But this is not the case in which to evaluate this distinction. We assume, without deciding, that the Eleventh Amendment bars the relief requested by UCB in its federal complaint.
an extraordinary and narrow exception to the duty of a District Court to adjudicate a controversy properly before it. Abdication of the obligation to decide cases can be justified under this doctrine only in the exceptional circumstances where the order to the parties to repair to the state court would clearly serve an important countervailing interest.
County of Allegheny v. Frank Mashuda Co., 360 U.S. 185, 188-89, 79 S.Ct. 1060, 1063, 3 L.Ed.2d 1163 (1959). The Supreme Court has taken care to admonish that “[a]bstention from the exercise of federal jurisdiction is the exception, not the rule.” Colorado River Water Conservation Dist. v. United States, 424 U.S. 800, 813, 96 S.Ct. 1236, 1244, 47 L.Ed.2d 483 (1976).
Because we decide on alternative grounds that abstention is inappropriate in this case even where it is permissible, we decline to decide whether Pullman abstention can be invoked when the state questions are clear and dispositive but where the federal court is powerless to enforce
the state law. We merely note that this is a dilemma that cannot be avoided for long, given the competing demands of Pennhurst, Siler, and Pullman.
D.
Because the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico declined to answer the state law questions, we could invoke Pullman abstention, sending the case to the state trial court for resolution of the questions we had earlier certified. In addition, the state courts could determine whether, under the civil law contract doctrine of the Commonwealth, DACO properly interpreted the university Catalogue, which was found to be the “contract” between the parties.
Nevertheless, we decline to order the district court to abstain. We do so for two principal reasons. First, we heed the Supreme Court‘s warning that “because of the delays inherent in the abstention process and the danger that valuable federal rights might be lost in the absence of expeditious adjudication in the federal court, abstention must be invoked only in ‘special circumstances.‘” Harris County Comm‘rs Court v. Moore, 420 U.S. 77, 83, 95 S.Ct. 870, 875, 43 L.Ed.2d 32 (1975) (quoting Zwickler v. Koota, 389 U.S. 241, 248, 88 S.Ct. 391, 395, 19 L.Ed.2d 444, (1967)). See also Rogers v. Okin, 738 F.2d 1, 5 (1st Cir. 1984) (abstention inappropriate after ten years of litigation); Druker v. Sullivan, 458 F.2d 1272, 1274 (1st Cir. 1972). It is too late in the day to ensure that this adjudication be expeditious, but that is hardly a reason to prolong it further still. This $217 controversy is now almost seven years old; it has been in the federal courts since 1981. It has been the source of much confusion and stasis. Our decision not to abstain is, thus, in part “a concession to the shortness of life.” Reeve v. Dennett, 145 Mass. 23, 28, 11 N.E. 938 (1887) (Holmes, J.).
More significantly, the highest court in the Commonwealth has already indicated in
claims if the case is not resolved in state court. England, 375 U.S. 411, 420 (1964).
case is finally resolved in the courts of Puerto Rico or the United States.
The United States Supreme Court anticipated that this standstill might come to pass. In England, Justice Brennan, writing for the Court, warned that “if the state court has declined to decide the state question because of the litigant‘s refusal to submit without reservation the federal question as well, the [federal] District Court will have no alternative but to vacate its order of abstention.” 375 U.S. at 422 n. 12, 84 S.Ct. at 468 n. 12. Therefore, we decline to abstain in the first instance, since the certification process has already made us aware of the Puerto Rico judiciary‘s refusal to consider only the state questions. We shall now turn to the First Amendment questions raised by UCB, even though it is likely that these novel constitutional issues could have been avoided if the state law questions had been addressed. With great reluctance, we necessarily violate the Siler/Ashwander principle.12
Our first task in the constitutional analysis is to assess the injury that UCB is alleged to have suffered. While the university does contend that the reimbursement to Montfort itself violates a First Amendment right, it has taken great pains to assert that this injury is trivial compared to the greater harm it has suffered. UCB contends that the constitutional violation consists of DACO‘s very adjudication of the contract claims which were presented. UCB‘s requested relief consists of enjoining the agency from “interfering, meddling, encroaching or entangling with or in the internal affairs and educational process and mission of [UCB].”
It is eminently clear from appellants’ briefs that the interference complained of consists not of the “final result” of DACO‘s resolutions, “but rather the whole process of entertaining, reviewing, and adjudging each claim.” Appellants’ Brief at 23 n. 2. But we fail to see the basis for appellants’ claim that this adjudication ipso facto constitutes a violation of First Amendment rights to academic freedom regardless of DACO‘s resolution of the claims.
The heart of UCB‘s constitutional argument is that any administrative adjudication of claims of this nature against the university is an abridgement of academic
Id. Of course, the plaintiffs remained free to seek federal relief if the state court declaration proved ineffective in vindicating their rights. Id. Certification thus worked in spite of Pennhurst. Indeed, in a procedurally similar case in which the only “relief” obtained was the state‘s voluntary compliance with the state court‘s answers to certified questions, we noted that ”Pennhurst encourages by implication the very certification procedure the district court employed here.” Exeter-West Greenwich Regional School Dist. v. Pontarelli, 788 F.2d 47, 51 (1st Cir. 1986).
We presume that had the highest court in the Commonwealth ruled that DACO lacked jurisdiction over claims involving UCB, the agency would have respected this decision despite the lack of an actual injunction to do so. Indeed, we cannot envisage DACO ignoring the pronouncement of the supreme court by attempting to obtain the assistance of Puerto Rico‘s judiciary in enforcing its order to UCB to reimburse the tuition. In a very real sense, the opinion of
freedom. UCB makes its claim very explicit: “[T]he Executive does not have power, authority or jurisdiction to review any matter concerning private Academia.” Id. at 42-43 (emphasis in original).13 This argument is completely unsupported by law. The university is properly subject to numerous administrative regulatory schemes which do not implicate First Amendment concerns. Some of the most obvious examples include intervention of the Treasury Department in affairs of income, taxation and property, and regulation by the Department of Labor of employee matters.
UCB offers scant explanation of how DACO adjudication per se might infringe upon academic freedom. It argues that such regulatory action compels the university to disclose testimony and documentation concerning the disputed claims. Appellants’ Brief at 25. UCB complains that it is “forced to defend its actions at a quasi-judicial hearing,” id. at 32, and that it has “an obligation to disclose to DACO the rationale and thought process behind its academic policies.” Id. at 33.
Citing NAACP v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449, 78 S.Ct. 1163, 2 L.Ed.2d 1488 (1958), Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 612, 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976), and Surinach v. Pesquera de Busquets, 604 F.2d 73 (1st Cir. 1979), UCB argues that such obligations of disclosure threaten an excessive “entanglement” in academic affairs.
the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico would be binding on the parties.
In Surinach, DACO itself had subpoenaed financial data from religious institutions. We ruled there that such disclosure of “extremely detailed information about the expenditure of funds of these Catholic schools,” 604 F.2d at 78, had the potential for substantially infringing the schools’ free exercise rights, because it constituted an impermissible entanglement under the teachings of Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602, 91 S.Ct. 2105, 29 L.Ed.2d 745 (1971), and Walz v. Tax Commission, 397 U.S. 664, 90 S.Ct. 1409, 25 L.Ed.2d 697 (1970). 604 F.2d at 78-79. The instant case does not involve the “entanglement” element of free exercise doctrine; it involves a purported right of academic freedom. We decline to construct a new “entanglement” rule in addition to that used in freedom of religion cases. Such a rule might virtually preclude any state regulation of private universities.
We find, therefore, that adjudication over the contract claims without more is insufficient to establish a First Amendment
claim against the agency. We prefer to evaluate each claim on a case-by-case basis. If a university is able to show that any particular decision, order, or compelled procedure of the agency impermissibly intrudes upon the academic freedom protected by the First Amendment, it may be afforded relief in federal court. It may be, as we suggested in our prior opinion, that because of its lack of expertise in the area DACO might be insufficiently zealous in protecting the First Amendment interests that will invariably arise incident to its adjudication of university matters. If such is the case, the university will have recourse to either the federal or state judiciary for vindication of its rights of academic freedom. In this particular case, however, we agree with the district court that the specific action taken by DACO here does not constitute an abridgement of those rights. UCB was not compelled to disclose any matters which would harm associational or speech rights, and the reimbursement of $217 itself threatens no protected interest of the appellants.
VI. Conclusion
Our disposition here is ironic. Appellant may well be correct that DACO misread the University Catalogue to guarantee tuition reimbursement when classes are cancelled. UCB may also be correct that DACO‘s organic statute does not provide that agency jurisdiction over university matters. Yet after six years of litigation, UCB‘s federal claims have been finally rejected. We regret that we have had to reach this point in a case where a simple contract interpretation might have resolved the controversy.
It may be that the university can still appeal DACO‘s decision in the Montfort case to the state courts for resolution of the state law claims.14 But if that option is foreclosed by the statute of limitations, UCB is without relief in a case where there exists a serious dispute over the agency‘s substantive decision. Such is the legacy of
The judgment of the district court is affirmed. Each party to bear its own costs.
COFFIN, CIRCUIT JUDGE
CAMPBELL, Chief Judge (concurring).
I concur in the result reached by the court in part V of the majority opinion, to wit, that appellant did not establish a First Amendment claim against DACO. I join in the reasoning of parts II and III to the extent the court emphasizes its concern in keeping the interjurisdictional certification procedure as widely available as possible. However, I am more cheerful than my colleagues that the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico‘s opinion does not presage a significant narrowing of the certification device. Respecting part IV, I agree with the specific analysis but am not inclined to view this case as having suffered grievously as a result of Pennhurst State School & Hospital v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 104 S.Ct. 900, 79 L.Ed.2d 67 (1984).
I.
As Judge Coffin fully recognizes in his opinion for the court, the decision whether to answer certified questions is completely within the discretion of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Rule 27(a) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, P.R.Laws Ann. tit. 4, App. I-A; Pan American Computer Corp. v. Data General, 112 P.R.R. 987, 993 (1982) (official translation). See Uniform Certification of Question of Law Act, 12 U.L.A. § 1 (1975). A corollary to this is that the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico‘s treatment of Commonwealth law for
decision then has fifteen days to file a notice of appeal in the Commonwealth Superior Court.
the purpose of deciding whether to answer a certified question is within its exclusive domain, and for that reason, I should hesitate to comment at all. But perhaps I can be forgiven the following comments:
Although I share my colleagues’ concern that the plurality‘s reasoning, pushed to its extreme, could strangle the benefits of certification, I remain hopeful that this will not be a necessary result of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court‘s determination in this case.
First, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico did not, as a court, adopt any single rationale on the subject at hand. The judgment declining to answer the certified questions was joined by four justices. However, of those four justices, only three agreed on a common rationale for declining to answer. We have no indication as to the fourth justice‘s reason for joining the judgment. Two other justices dissented from the majority‘s judgment. The Chief Justice filed a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. These several opinions evidence considerable thought and discussion among the members of that court. It is evident that the plurality was not able to persuade the majority of the court to join it in its rationale. This fact by itself should limit the effects of the plurality‘s reasoning.
Second, the peculiar facts of this case suggest a separate, albeit unstated, reason for the Puerto Rico Court‘s declining to answer—namely, that where, as here, a federal court lacks the authority, under Pennhurst, to grant meaningful relief on the separate state cause, the state court may believe that any response would be tantamount to a forbidden “advisory opin-
the same facts.” Ramirez de Arellano v. Alvarez de Choudens, 575 F.2d 315, 320 (1st Cir. 1978). In an action against DACO, we later held that where the two actions seek different forms of relief, the actions are not the “same” for purposes of tolling. Altair Corp. v. Pesquera de Busquets, 769 F.2d 30, 32 (1st Cir. 1985). We do not decide here whether UCB‘s possible state law action would be the “same” as the present one. We simply note that, unlike in Altair, plaintiff here did not seek damages in the federal action. Presumably the state law claims raised in federal court by UCB will parallel those raised by the university in Superior Court should it decide to appeal the agency‘s decision.
Given the above, I am less fearful of intolerable negative consequences upon the future use of certification. This is not to say that I do not join my colleagues in their comments about the importance to Puerto Rico of certification—merely that I do not believe that our colleagues on the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico intended to set a precedent significantly reducing the availability of certification.2
II.
The Pennhurst decision was, of course, one of the complicating factors of this case, as noted above and as my colleagues strenuously point out. I question, however, whether Pennhurst deserves the opprobrium this court implies in part IV. The principle underlying Pennhurst, that federal courts should not tell state agencies how to interpret state law, is a basic element of our system. How to accommodate this with other competing principles in a way that pleases is not easy. The Supreme Court has struck a particular balance and, without suggesting that respectful criticism from a lower court is always inappropriate, I think our court‘s implied criticism here is overdone.
Moreover, even acknowledging that the Pennhurst rule may sometimes be trouble-
some, the present case seems to me a poor one to select as an example of its vices. In hindsight, I think we overestimated the force of the First Amendment claim. This is shown by the ease with which we have today dispatched that claim. Underlying Ashwander and Pullman is the principle that courts should not adjudicate complicated constitutional issues if avoidable. See Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229, 236, 104 S.Ct. 2321, 2327, 81 L.Ed.2d 186 (1984) (“unsettled questions of state law must be resolved before a substantial federal constitutional question can be decided“) (emphasis supplied). As the constitutional question resolved here appears not to have been complicated, the fact that Pennhurst may have deprived us of a prior adjudication in the Commonwealth courts hardly seems a cause for serious alarm.
CAMPBELL
CHIEF JUDGE
Notes
Our second point is that even if a federal court ultimately grants relief under a federal constitutional guarantee after a state court has engaged in some arguably inconsistent analysis of a parallel state constitutional provision, the federal action is not one of “overruling.” State courts are daily required, in cases which come before them in the normal course of litigation, to decide state constitutional questions, despite the fact that a federal court can in a future case “reject” the federal analysis previously relied upon by the state court. The state court‘s decision on the state constitutional question is not
If the claims are bifurcated, it is also possible that the plaintiff will be denied “the benefit of a federal trial court‘s role in constructing a record and making fact findings,” England v. Louisiana State Bd. of Medical Examiners, 375 U.S. 411, 416, 84 S.Ct. 461, 465, 11 L.Ed.2d 440 (1964), because a prior state court factfinding may have issue preclusive effect on the subsequent state proceeding, even in actions under § 1983. See Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90, 101 S.Ct. 411, 66 L.Ed.2d 308 (1980).
Bifurcation of claims pursuant to Pennhurst thus threatens to foreclose federal court jurisdiction over the federal claims because of the res judicata effect of a possible state court judgment entered during the pendency of the federal litigation. This unfortunate dilemma is not merely a speculative, academic hypothetical. See Beaver v. Bridwell, 598 F.Supp. 90, 93 (D.Md.1984).
The scylla and charybdis of Pennhurst and Migra therefore leave the plaintiff who seeks relief under both state and federal law with only one (less than optimal) course of action, namely, litigating the federal claims in federal court, and then, if unsuccessful, bringing the state claims in state court, provided that state court litigation at such a late date is not barred by the statute of limitations. This is the result envisioned in Migra. 465 U.S. at 84-85 & n. 7, 104 S.Ct. at 897-98 & n. 7.
We are doubtful that such a technicality of procedure would affect the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico one way or another. Their complaint is not that they are asked to answer questions while another court has jurisdiction over the matter; it is that their analysis of state law issues which parallel federal questions could be second-guessed by the federal courts. This concern is not allayed by the mere palliative of dismissing without prejudice, since the plaintiff can still re-enter federal court for adjudication of the federal questions if the state proceeding is unavailing. Thus we decline to invoke the “Texas exception.”
In Rogers v. Okin, 634 F.2d 650 (1st Cir. 1980), this court upheld an injunction against state officials in a suit under § 1983. The Supreme Court remanded with instructions to dispose of the case on state law grounds. Mills v. Rogers, 457 U.S. 291, 306, 102 S.Ct. 2442, 2452, 73 L.Ed.2d 16 (1982). Shortly thereafter, the Court decided in Pennhurst that we were forbidden from doing just that. In the meantime, however, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had answered our certified questions in such a way that the federal questions were for all intents and purposes displaced by state law. We acknowledged that these answers did not technically moot the federal case, because there was no assurance that the decision of the SJC would be enforced without a judicial judgment. 738 F.2d 1, 4 (1984). Nevertheless, we ordered the district court to terminate the injunction against the state officials, on the presumption that state officials would comply with the standards announced by the state‘s highest court. Id. at 9. Though it was possible to go on to determine the federal standards, prolonging the already protracted litigation made little sense “given the state court‘s unequivocal commitment to standards which are as high or higher.”