William St. Clair; John Shelton v. City of Chico; County of Butte

Summary

The Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action challenging municipal and county refusals to approve sewer service for a proposed real estate development. The court held that the claims were not ripe because neither the City of Chico nor Butte County had reached a final, definitive decision rejecting the plaintiffs' sewer-service alternatives. The court also upheld the district court's authority to resolve the ripeness issue under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) based on materials outside the pleadings.

Holdings

1. A factual challenge to subject-matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) permits the district court to consider affidavits and other evidence outside the pleadings and to resolve disputed jurisdictional facts without converting the motion into one for summary judgment.
2. The plaintiffs' claims were not ripe because neither the City nor the County had reached a final, definitive decision rejecting the plaintiffs' proposed sewer connection or independent sewage-treatment facility.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court could decide the ripeness and subject-matter-jurisdiction issue under Rule 12(b)(1) by considering evidence outside the complaint.
2. Whether the plaintiffs were entitled to additional discovery or a jury trial before the district court resolved the factual jurisdictional challenge.
3. Whether the plaintiffs' equal protection, substantive due process, and takings claims were ripe when neither the City nor the County had issued a final, definitive decision rejecting both proposed methods of obtaining sewer service.

Disposition

affirmed