Young v. City of Ketchum

• Decision Date: 26 March 2002
• Docket Number: No. 26540.,26540.
• Citation: 44 P.3d 1157,137 Idaho 102
• Parties: Baxter C. YOUNG, John D. Jacoby, Fred White, Judy White, Tom Bartlett, and Frank Suhadolnik, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF KETCHUM, an Idaho Municipal Corporation; Guy Coles, Mayor; Randy Hall, David Hutchinson, Maurice Charlatt and Christine Potters, Council Members, City of Ketchum, Defendants-Respondents.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

44 P.3d 1157

137 Idaho 102

Baxter C. YOUNG, John D. Jacoby, Fred White, Judy White, Tom Bartlett, and Frank Suhadolnik, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF KETCHUM, an Idaho Municipal Corporation; Guy Coles, Mayor; Randy Hall, David Hutchinson, Maurice Charlatt and Christine Potters, Council Members, City of Ketchum, Defendants-Respondents.

No. 26540.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Twin Falls, November 2001, Term.

March 26, 2002.

E. Lee Schlender, Chtd., Hailey, for appellants. E. Lee Schlender argued.

Margaret J. Simms, City Attorney, Ketchum; for respondents. Margaret J. Simms argued.

Hawley, Troxell, Ennis & Hawley, LLP, Ketchum, appeared as Amicus Curiae for the City of Sun Valley in support of the respondent City of Ketchum, but did not participate in the oral argument.

TROUT, Chief Justice.

Baxter Young et. al. ("Plaintiffs") brought a suit against the City of Ketchum ("the City") alleging that the City's involvement in a professional services contract and a related lease with the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber of Commerce ("the Chamber") violates I.C. § 50-1043 et seq., Article 8 § 2, 3, 4 and Article 12 § 4 of the Idaho Constitution. Plaintiffs appeal the district judge's decision granting the City's Motion to Dismiss for lack of standing and denying Plaintiffs' Petition for Writ of Prohibition.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Baxter Young filed a pro se complaint against the City for declaratory relief and petition for writ of prohibition, alleging that the payment of proceeds from a local option tax by the City to the Chamber violates I.C. § 50-1043 et. seq. and Article 8 § 2, 3, 4 and Article 12 § 4 of the Idaho Constitution. Several property owners in Ketchum filed a separate complaint, containing essentially the same arguments. The district judge consolidated the two cases. The collective group of Plaintiffs consists of concerned citizens who reside in and pay property taxes to the City.

The crux of this case relates to the validity of a professional services contract between the City and the Chamber. The contract requires the Chamber "to provide distribution of tourist information to the general public and to provide professional marketing services to promote the Ketchum Sun Valley area." The marketing services required by the contract include providing the City with a visitor information center, and to promote and market the area and local special events. In consideration for these services, the City is required to pay the Chamber money, which is raised via the local option tax. The local option tax is authorized by I.C. § 50-1044, granting Idaho resort cities the authorization to implement local option nonproperty taxes by a majority vote of the city's citizens.¹ The City is designated a resort city under I.C. § 50-1044. The City also executed a one-year lease agreement with the Chamber related to the personal services contract whereby the Chamber rents office space and the tourist information center from the City for $31,000.

The City filed a motion to dismiss under I.R.C.P. 12(b)(6). The district judge granted the City's motion to dismiss with prejudice on the grounds Plaintiffs lacked standing.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The district judge stated the standard for reviewing a 12(b)(6) motion is the same as that applicable to motions for summary judgment. This is true insofar as the non-moving party is entitled to have all inferences from the record viewed in his favor. However, once such inferences are drawn, the motions are treated differently. A 12(b)(6) motion looks only at the pleadings to determine whether a claim for relief has been stated. A motion for summary judgment looks to the evidence to see if there are any issues of material fact and whether the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

I.R.C.P. 12(b) states:

If, on a motion asserting the defense numbered (6) to dismiss for failure of the pleading to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, matters outside the pleading are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in Rule 56 . . . .

While the district judge made reference to the summary judgment standard, it does not appear that he took any other evidence outside of the pleadings into consideration, treating the motion purely as a motion to dismiss and not one for summary judgment, because there are no affidavits or any other evidence in the record. Thus, we review the trial court's ruling as a grant of the motion to dismiss, rather than summary judgment.

When we review an order dismissing a case pursuant to I.R.C.P. 12(b)(6), the non-moving party is entitled to have all inferences from the record viewed in his favor. Orthman v. Idaho Power Co., 126 Idaho 960, 961, 895 P.2d 561, 562 (1995) (citing Miles v. Idaho Power Co., 116 Idaho 635, 637, 778 P.2d 757, 759 (1989)). After drawing all inferences in the non-moving party's favor, we then ask whether a claim for relief has been stated. Id. "The issue is not whether the plaintiff will ultimately prevail, but whether the party is entitled to offer evidence to support the claims." Id. (citations and internal quotations omitted). Thus, we must initially examine whether Plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged the requisite elements of standing in their complaint to survive a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.

III. DISCUSSION

The Plaintiffs have not sufficiently alleged they have standing.

It is a fundamental tenet of American jurisprudence that a person wishing to invoke a court's jurisdiction must have standing. Van Valkenburgh v. Citizens for Term Limits, 135 Idaho 121, 124, 15 P.3d 1129, 1132 (2000). Standing is a preliminary question to be determined by this Court before reaching the merits of the case. Miles v. Idaho Power Co., 116 Idaho 635, 637, 778 P.2d 757, 759 (1989). The doctrine of standing is a subcategory of justiciability. Id. at 639, 778 P.2d at 761. As this Court has previously noted, the doctrine is imprecise and difficult to apply. Id. at 641, 778 P.2d at 763 (citing Valley Forge College v. Americans United, 454 U.S. 464, 102 S.Ct. 752, 70 L.Ed.2d 700 (1982)). Standing focuses on the party seeking relief and not on the issues the party wishes to have adjudicated. Van Valkenburgh at 124, 15 P.3d at 1132; Boundary Backpackers v. Boundary County, 128 Idaho 371, 375, 913 P.2d 1141, 1145 (1996) (quoting Miles at 639, 778 P.2d at 761). To satisfy the case or controversy requirement of standing, a litigant must "allege or demonstrate an injury in fact and a substantial likelihood the relief requested will prevent or redress the claimed injury." Id. (citations omitted). This requires a showing of a "distinct palpable injury" and "fairly traceable causal connection between the claimed injury and the challenged conduct." Miles at 639, 778 P.2d at 761 (internal quotations omitted). But even if a showing can be made of an injury in fact, standing may be denied when the asserted harm is a generalized grievance shared by all or a large class of citizens. Id. (quoting Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975)); Miles, 116 Idaho at 641,778 P.2d at 763 (stating "a citizen and taxpayer may not challenge a governmental enactment where the injury is one suffered by all citizens and taxpayers alike."); Bopp v. City of Sandpoint, 110 Idaho 488, 716 P.2d 1260 (1986); Greer v. Lewiston Golf & Country Club, Inc., 81 Idaho 393, 342 P.2d 719 (1959).

Based on the standard set forth above, the first question to be answered is whether Plaintiffs have alleged an injury caused by the City's actions. Here, Plaintiffs allege they suffer a "distinct palpable injury" as concerned citizens and property owners living in the City. Their basic complaints are 1) the option tax expenditures attract visitors and second homeowners to the area, which in turn has driven up the value of land and increased the amount they pay in property taxes; 2) the option tax is not actually paid by local businesses, but are paid by both residents and visitors; and 3) the City raised cash to make payments to the Chamber by reducing option tax expenditures for basic government functions such as police, fire, E 911 service, and maintenance of sidewalks, and offset this reduction by increasing the levies against the property tax base.

Even if this constitutes an injury in fact, it is an indirect effect that is shared alike by all citizens and taxpayers in the City. Plaintiffs have made no allegations that such an injury is any different or distinct from any other citizen or property owner in the Ketchum area. This is insufficient to confer standing. Van Valkenburgh at 124, 15 P.3d at 1132; Miles at 641-42, 778 P.2d at 763-64. Moreover, a concerned citizen who seeks to ensure the government abides by the law does not have standing. Student Loan Fund v. Payette County, 125 Idaho 824, 828, 875 P.2d 236, 240 (Ct.App.1994). Therefore, Plaintiffs have failed to allege any distinct palpable injury that has a fairly traceable causal connection between the claimed injury and the challenged conduct.

In Plaintiffs' brief, they argue that the refusal to grant standing would prevent any judicial review unless and until a business owner in Ketchum refuses to pay the option tax and the City enforces collection. In support of this contention, Plaintiffs cite Brewster v. City of Pocatello, 115 Idaho 502, 502, 768 P.2d 765, 765 (1988). Brewster involved an ordinance passed by the city of Pocatello that imposed a restoration and maintenance fee upon all owners or occupants of property pursuant to a formula reflecting the estimated traffic generated by particular properties. The Court found standing, reasoning that anyone who refused to pay the fee could have a judgment entered against him and a lien placed on his property to confer standing. Id. at 503, 768 P.2d at 766.

Plaintiffs have confused the issue of ripeness with standing. The plaintiffs in Brewster...