Kapps v. Wing
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
404 F.3d 105 (2005)
New York's Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), implementing a federal low-income energy-assistance law, used fixed eligibility criteria and a rigid benefits formula, and its regulations required the state agency (OTDA) (defendant) to process applications within 30 business days, though actual processing sometimes took up to 122 days; determination letters usually didn't explain how benefits were calculated. Applicants had 60 days after a determination to request a hearing, but the regulations also barred requesting any hearing more than 105 days after the HEAP program year closed - meaning processing delays could functionally shrink an applicant's real window to appeal. Eileen Kapps (plaintiff) sued, arguing that combination of delay and cutoff denied applicants their full 60 days to appeal, and that the barebones determination letters gave insufficient notice of the reasons for denial; the district court granted her summary judgment, and OTDA appealed.
Whether an applicant for an entitlement program with rigid eligibility standards has a property interest in that entitlement sufficient to trigger due-process protections.