Carter v. Butz

Before GIBBONS and HUNTER, Circuit Judges, and MUIR, District Judge Opinion OF THE COURT GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. In this action heads of households who were beneficiaries of the federal food stamp program sought relief in the district court against the federal Secretary of Agriculture1 and the Pennsylvania Welfare Department2 for the deprivation of food stamps which resulted from administrative errors committed by officials of the Welfare Department. The district court judgment provided that the arrearages in food stamp allotments be cured by a forward adjustment of the amount of purchase discount which would be allowed to each plaintiff in the purchase of future monthly food stamps allotments. The effect of this judgment was to grant full relief to the plaintiffs at the expense of the Federal Government. The plaintiffs sought class action treatment, which the district court declined. Plaintiffs appeal from the adverse class action determination. The federal defendants cross appeal from the judgment imposing the expense of the forward adjustment on the Federal Government rather than on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Neither the federal nor the state defendants contend that it was inappropriate to grant some form of relief, against someone, to the plaintiffs.