Henry v. Gross

803 F.2d 757 (1986)

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Henry v. Gross

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
803 F.2d 757 (1986)

Facts

An individual with access to a bank account containing over $1,000 is ineligible for public assistance (PA) in New York City (defendant). Under New York City’s bank-match program, banks notified the city of PA recipients’ account balances. For accounts with a balance exceeding $1,000, the city initiated the “Type A” benefits termination procedure by sending the recipient a notice stating that benefits were terminated because the recipient possessed an “asset” that exceeded the allowable limit. Melba Henry (plaintiff), a PA recipient, received a notice of intent to terminate. Because a bank account being the asset at issue was unclear, Henry failed to refute the charge that she owned an account containing $1,042. Henry’s benefits were terminated. Thereafter, Henry proved that although her name was on the account, the account was owned by a neighbor who never intended to give Henry access to the money. Henry brought suit. While litigation was ongoing, the city revised its notice to identify the triggering “asset” as a bank account containing over $1,000. The district court ordered Henry’s benefits restored, finding that the old notice violated Henry’s due-process rights because the notice did not contain information sufficient to prepare a defense. The district court ordered the city to use the “Type B” procedure instead of Type A if the city did not know whether an account with less than $2,000 was individually or jointly held. The Type B procedure required the city to allow the individual to refute the charge before sending a termination notice. The district court ordered the city to revise the notice further to inform the recipient of the ability to request specific information about the disqualifying bank account. The city appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Pratt, J.)

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