Alta Bumpus v. Donald E. Clark

681 F.2d 679 Alta BUMPUS, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Donald E. CLARK, et al., Defendants-Appellees. No. 77-2883. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted March 6, 1980. Reassigned May 10, 1982. Decided July 16, 1982. Michael H. Marcus, Portland, Or., for plaintiffs-appellants. John B. Leahy, Portland, Or., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Before HUG, FLETCHER and FARRIS, Circuit Judges. FARRIS, Circuit Judge: 1 Plaintiffs are a class of elderly and disabled residents of Edgefield Manor, a nursing home owned and operated by Multnomah County, Oregon and licensed by the State as a Title XIX Intermediate Care Facility. Defendants are Multnomah County, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, the Department of Human Resources of the State of Oregon, and several directors and administrators of various state agencies responsible for supervising the provision of medical assistance under Title XIX. The dispute between the parties arises out of an announcement by Multnomah County that it is considering closing Edgefield Manor. Plaintiffs contend that closure of Edgefield Manor would be…

Plaintiffs are a class of elderly and disabled residents of Edgefield Manor, a nursing home owned and operated by Multno-mah County, Oregon and licensed by the State as a Title XIX Intermediate Care Facility. Defendants are Multnomah County, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, the Department of Human Resources of the State of Oregon, and several directors and administrators of various state agencies responsible for supervising the provision of medical assistance under Title XIX. The dispute between the parties arises out of an announcement by Multno-mah County that it is considering closing Edgefield Manor. Plaintiffs contend that closure of Edgefield Manor would be contrary to their rights under Title XIX, the United States Constitution, and the common law of Oregon. Plaintiffs seek declar *682 atory and injunctive relief preventing involuntary transfers and destruction of interpersonal relationships among residents and between residents and staff, or, in the alternative if closure is to be allowed, compelling a reasonably prompt decision regarding the future of Edgefield Manor and requiring that each resident be given notice and an evidentiary hearing prior to any…

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion because this case is moot and no “case or controversy” presently exists over which this court has jurisdiction.

*688 Plaintiffs originally filed this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the threatened closure of Edgefield Manor. Edgefield Manor is now closed. According to affidavit filed by the plaintiffs’ attorneys, the last resident of Edgefield was transferred to another nursing facility and Edgefield, itself, was closed on April 20, 1982.

Moreover, the ultimate closure of Edge-field Manor occurred with plaintiffs’ full assistance. Plaintiffs provided the County with much of the technical information necessary to minimize the risk of harm inherent in these patient transfers. They negotiated the conditions of each of the transfers with the County according to rules which plaintiffs counsel were successful in promoting for all Oregon nursing home residents. Accordingly, no remedy sought by the plaintiffs in this suit remains to be granted. The “federal courts are without power to decide questions that cannot affect the rights of litigants in the case before them.” North Carolina v. Rice, 404 U.S.…