Milton A. Miller and Mandel M. Miller v. The City of Los Angeles, a Municipal Corporation

The Millers own property on the east side of Colfax Avenue, a street which the City of Los Angeles seeks to widen. The City has filed a condemnation action to take the front 20 feet of the Millers’ property. The Millers are part of an assessment district and will be charged an amount commensurate with their benefit from the street widening pursuant to the Improvement Act of 1911 (California Streets and Highways Code § 5000 et seq.).

The Millers filed an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the district court claiming that the City’s assessment is an unconstitutional taking. The district court dismissed the action for lack of jurisdiction. We affirm.

The district court’s decision on subject matter jurisdiction is reviewed de novo. Clayton v. Republic Airlines, Inc., 716 F.2d 729, 730 (9th Cir.1983). Taxpayers are barred by the principle of comity from asserting section 1983 actions against the validity of state tax systems in federal court. Fair Assessment in Real Estate Ass’n v. McNary, 454 U.S. 100, 116 , 102 S.Ct. 177 , 70 L.Ed.2d 271 (1981). If the state remedies available to the taxpayer are “plain, adequate, and complete,” then the taxpayer is precluded from bringing an…