NATIVE AMERICA RIGHTS FUND v. REAGAN
USDC Cr. No. 83-1550
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLOMBIA
NATIVE AMERICA RIGHTS FUND, FILED
Plaintiff. JUN 1 1984
JAMES F. DAVEY, Clerk
v.
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN, et al., Civil Action No. 83-1550
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM
This matter comes before the court on the motion of three
defendants, President Ronald Reagan, David Stockman, and the
Office of Management and Budget, ("OMB"), to dismiss this action
as against them. They argue that full relief is possible without
them being parties to the action, and that their contact with
this case is tangential, After careful consideration of the
memoranda submitted by the parties as well as the record in this
case, the court finds that defendants' motion should be granted,
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff is a non-profit, charitable organization designed
to protect the legal rights of Indians and to provide legal
representation to individual indians and Indian tribes in court
cases of major importance to all Indian people. Plaintiff
challenges a provision in the Executive Order that governs the
Combined Federal Campaign as well as the regulations that
implemented that order.
2
President Reagan issued Executive Order 12353 on March 23,
1982, and amended that with Executive Order 12104 on February 10,
1983. Under the provisions of these Executive Orders the
Combined Federal Campaign is the exclusive means by which
charitable organizations are able to solicit federal employees
and military personnel at their places of employment and duty.
In order to participate in the CPC, most organizations must apply
annually to the Director of OPM for eligibility to participate.
ff national eligibility is granted the organization must then
demonstrate "a direct and substantial presence in the local
campaign community in order to participate in each of the local
CFC drives. This "local presence" requirement is restated in
Executive Order 12404.
Plaintiff alleges that the Executive Orders and implementing
regulations were issued for the purpose, and with the effect, of
denying eligibility for participation] in the CFC by the Native
American Rights Fund. They further allege that this, violates
their First and Fifth Amendment rights.
DISCUSSION
The President of the United States should be subjected to
the jurisdiction of the courts as a civil defendant only if
plaintiffs cannot obtain complete relief by suing other parties.
In other words, it is only when the President is uniquely able to
carry out the relief sought in the complaint that he must be
joined as a defendant. See Crisafulli v- limon, C.A. No. 76-471
3
(D.D.C. May 21, 1976)1 Minnesota Chippewa Tribe v. Carlucci, 358
F. Supp. 913 (D.D.C. 1973).
The recent decision of the Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia Circuit in NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund v.
OPM, 727 F.2d 1217 (D.C. Cir. 1981), makes it clear that full
relief with respect to Executive Order 12104 can be obtained by
suit solely against the Director of OPM. Plaintiff concedes this
point in its opposition to defendants' motion. See Plaintiff's
memorandum in opposition to Defendants' notion for a Protective
Order and Partial notion to Dismiss at 10 n.5.
This same logic applies to the other non-OPM defendants.
There is no need for them to be joined as defendants in this
matter because they are superfluous to plaintiff obtaining its
desired relief. The participation of certain OPM officials,in
the process that led to the implementation of the regulations in
question is not of sufficient import to require their presence in
this suit.
This court finds, therefore, that the motion of the non-OPM
defendants to dismiss plaintiff's complaint as against them
should be granted.
There are also two discovery motions pending in this
action. The first is a motion by Reagan, Stockman and OMB to
stay discovery pending resolution of their motion to dismiss.
Because of the resolution of that motion, the discovery motion
4
is dismissed as moot.
The final motion is one for a protective order prohibiting
the depositions of Donald J. Devine and Joseph A. Morris, the
Director and General Counsel of OPM. After careful consideration
of the memoranda submitted by the parties, as well as the
arguments of counsel at a status conference held on May 15, 1984,
this court finds that plaintiffs have not demonstrated
sufficient need to depose these officials. See, e.g., D.C.
Federation of Civic Associations v· Volpe, 159 F.2d 1231, 1237
(D.C. cit. 1972), Dellinger v- Mitchell, 142 F.2d 782, 787 (D.C.
Cir. 1971). Plaintiffs have already deposed subordinate OPM
officials who are in charge of the intra-agency appeals process
that implements the challenged executive order and regulations.
The court finds, therefore, that the depositions of Devine and
Morris would be cumulative and unduly burdensome. Fed. R. Civ.
P. 26(b)(1). Defendants' motion for a protective order barring
these depositions is hereby granted.
An appropriate Order accompanies this Memorandum.
(signed) Thomas A. Flannery
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLOMBIA
NATIVE AMERICA RIGHTS FUND, FILED
Plaintiff. JUN 1 1984
JAMES F. DAVEY, Clerk
v.
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN, et al., Civil Action No. 83-1550
Defendants.
ORDER
This matter comes before the court on the motion of three
defendants, President Ronald Reagan, David Stockman, and the
Office of Management and Budget, to dismiss this action as
against them, as well as two discovery motions. After careful
consideration of the memoranda submitted by the parties the
entire record in this case, it is, by the court, this ! st day of
June, 1984,
ORDERED that defendants' Ronald Reagan, David Stockman, and
the Office of Management and Budget Motion to Dismiss is hereby
granted, and it is further
ORDERED that the motion for a stay of discovery is dismissed
as moot; and it is further
ORDERED that defendants' motion for a protective order
barring the taking of the depositions of Donald J. Devine or
Joseph A. Morris is hereby granted,
(signed) Thomas A Flannery
UNITED STATES DISTRICT
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