United States v. Town of North Hempstead

No. 79-6128 (2d Cir. November 20, 1979)

ELR Digest

In a suit brought by the United States for an injunction against the Town of North Hempstead's allegedly illegal operation of an incinerator, the Second Circuit vacates, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, all orders by the trial court relating to the operation of a certain landfill. Although the original and central issue at the district court level was whether the town's incinerator was in compliance with § 113(a)(4) of the Clean Air Act, the parties and the trial judge became increasingly concerned with the operations and environmental impacts of a municipal landfill which would be forced to accept more solid waste should the use of the incinerator be enjoined. The court rules that the matter of the landfill's operation does not raise federal questions, and that as a question of state law it is not sufficiently intertwined with the main federal claim to fall within the court's pendent jurisdiction. Therefore, all rulings below relating to the landfill are vacated, and the case is remanded for further proceedings relating to the incinerator.

The full text of this opinion is available from ELR (15 pp. $2.00 ELR Order No. C-1205).

Counsel for Intervenor-Appellant State of New York
John G. Proudfit, Ass't Attorney General; Robert Abrams, Attorney General
Department of Law, State Capitol, Albany NY 12224
(518) 474-7330

Counsel for Appellee United States
Richard P. Caro, Harvey M. Stone, Ass't U.S. Attorneys; Edward R. Korman, U.S. Attorney
U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn NY 11201
(212) 330-7106

Counsel for Appellee Town of North Hempstead
Angelo G. Mangia, Ass't Town Attorney; Joseph A. Guarino, Town Attorney
220 Plandome Rd., Manhasset NY 11030
(516) 627-0590

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]