Bd. of Trs. of Laramie Cnty. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs of Laramie Cnty.

• Decision Date: 24 March 2020
• Docket Number: S-19-0192
• Citation: 460 P.3d 251
• Parties: BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF LARAMIE COUNTY d/b/a Laramie County Fair Board of Trustees, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LARAMIE COUNTY and Laramie County, Appellees (Defendants).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

460 P.3d 251

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF LARAMIE COUNTY d/b/a Laramie County Fair Board of Trustees, Appellant (Plaintiff),

v.BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LARAMIE COUNTY and Laramie County, Appellees (Defendants).

S-19-0192

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

March 24, 2020

Representing Appellant: Gay Woodhouse and Christopher Brennan, Woodhouse Roden Nethercott, LLC, Cheyenne, Wyoming. Argument by Ms. Woodhouse.

Representing Appellees: Steven Freudenthal, Freudenthal & Bonds, P.C., Cheyenne, Wyoming. Argument by Mr. Freudenthal.

Before DAVIS, C.J., and FOX, KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, and GRAY, JJ.

FOX, Justice.

[¶1] The Board of County Commissioners of Laramie County (Commissioners) passed a resolution dissolving the Laramie County Fair Board of Trustees (Fair Board) and assigning a new entity, the "Laramie County Events Department" (Events Department) the task of "operati[ng] and carrying forward" the county fair. The Fair Board sought a declaration that the Commissioners had no authority to dissolve the Fair Board, or to reallocate tax money originally collected for the Fair Board’s use. On motions for summary judgment, the district court concluded that the Commissioners had authority to dissolve the Fair Board and entered declaratory relief in their favor. We reverse and remand.

ISSUES

[¶2] The parties raise various issues that we consolidate and rephrase:

1. Does the Fair Board have standing to maintain this declaratory judgment action?

2. Do the Commissioners have implied authority to dissolve the Fair Board?

FACTS

[¶3] For many years, the Fair Board has been responsible for running the annual Laramie County Fair, "one of the oldest and largest fairs in the state of Wyoming." The county fair hosts various events, including "Mutton Bustin’, Pig Wrestling, demolition derby, wagon rides," and prize animal showcases.

More recently, the Fair Board has been tasked with overseeing operations beyond these traditional county fair events, including an RV campground, a rodeo arena, meeting halls, and a disc golf course, among others. One such development is the ongoing "Archer Complex" project, a multiuse facility designed to host a variety of events, including "trade shows, expositions, sporting events, RV rallies, concerts, [and] horse and stock shows[.]"

[¶4] In November 2018, the Commissioners passed a resolution dissolving the Fair Board (Resolution). In its place, the Commissioners created the "Laramie County Events Department," tasked with managing and "carrying forward ... the Laramie County Fair" and other Laramie County recreational activities, grounds, and facilities. It also created the "Laramie County Events Advisory Board," which was to "function in an advisory capacity" to the Events Department. According to the Commissioners, the "decision was driven by our need to consolidate our recreational and event-related activities and operations throughout the county." During the public hearing on the Resolution, the Commissioners maintained that the fair would "continue to be the best fair in the country, certainly the best fair in Wyoming"; that funding for the fair would not be cut; and that they "want[ed] the fair to succeed [and] to grow."

[¶5] The Fair Board filed this action shortly after the Commissioners passed the Resolution, seeking a declaration "whether or not the Laramie County Commissioners have the authority to dissolve the Laramie County Fair Board of Trustees and substitute in its place an ‘Events Advisory Board.’ " It also sought a declaration whether the Commissioners had authority to reallocate tax money originally collected for the Fair Board’s use. Following the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court concluded that the Commissioners had implied authority to dissolve the Fair Board and, because it had been dissolved, that the Fair Board lacked standing to challenge reallocation of collected tax money. The Fair Board timely appealed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶6] Our standard of review of a district court’s summary judgment ruling is well-established:

We review a district court’s order granting summary judgment de novo and afford no deference to the district court’s ruling. Thornock v. PacifiCorp , 2016 WY 93, ¶ 10, 379 P.3d 175, 179 (Wyo. 2016). This Court reviews the same materials and uses the same legal standard as the district court. Id. The record is assessed from the vantage point most favorable to the party opposing the motion, and we give a party opposing summary judgment the benefit of all favorable inferences that may fairly be drawn from the record. Id. A material fact is one that would have the effect of establishing or refuting an essential element of the cause of action or defense asserted by the parties. Id.

In re Estate of Weeks , 2018 WY 112, ¶ 15, 427 P.3d 729, 734 (Wyo. 2018) (quoting White v. Wheeler , 2017 WY 146, ¶ 14, 406 P.3d 1241, 1246 (Wyo. 2017) ). Whether a party has standing to maintain a declaratory judgment action is a question of law that we review de novo. Williams v. State ex rel. Univ. of Wyo. Bd. of Trs. , 2019 WY 90, ¶ 7, 448 P.3d 222, 226 (Wyo. 2019). Likewise, whether the Commissioners have authority to dissolve the Fair Board raises a question of statutory interpretation that we review de novo. Delcon Partners LLC v. Wyo. Dep’t of Rev. , 2019 WY 106, ¶ 7, 450 P.3d 682, 684 (Wyo. 2019).

DISCUSSION

I. The Fair Board has standing to maintain this declaratory judgment action

[¶7] The Commissioners argue the Fair Board lacks standing to bring this declaratory judgment action because: 1) neither it nor its members suffered financial harm because of the dissolution; 2) a judgment from this Court "cannot operate effectively upon the question of who controls the monies, means and methods of managing the various recreation and entertainment assets of Laramie County"; 3) a judicial determination from this Court will not have the force and effect of a final judgment; and 4) the members of the Fair Board have no property or liberty interest in their positions on the Fair Board.

[¶8] "A party generally has standing if it is ‘properly situated to assert an issue for judicial determination.’ " In re Estate of Stanford , 2019 WY 94, ¶ 9, 448 P.3d 861, 864 (Wyo. 2019) (quoting Gheen v. State ex rel. Dep’t of Health, Div. of Healthcare Financing/EqualityCare , 2014 WY 70, ¶ 16, 326 P.3d 918, 923 (Wyo. 2014) ). The existence of standing does not hinge on a party having a property or liberty interest. Those inquiries are relevant to whether a party has been deprived of procedural due process, an issue not before the Court. See Crofts v. State ex rel. Dep’t of Game & Fish , 2016 WY 4, ¶ 27, 367 P.3d 619, 626 (Wyo. 2016) ("In order to establish a procedural due process claim, [a litigant] must first demonstrate that she possessed a property or liberty interest."). Instead, our four-part test from Brimmer v. Thomson , 521 P.2d 574, 578 (Wyo. 1974), determines whether a party has standing.

First, a justiciable controversy requires parties having existing and genuine, as distinguished from theoretical, rights or interests. Second, the controversy must be one upon which the judgment of the court may effectively operate, as distinguished from a debate or argument evoking a purely political, administrative, philosophical or academic conclusion. Third, it must be a controversy the judicial determination of which will have the force and effect of a final judgment in law or decree in equity upon the rights, status or other legal relationships of one or more of the real parties in interest, or, wanting these qualities be of such great and overriding public moment as to constitute the legal equivalent of all of them. Finally, the proceedings must be genuinely adversary in character and not a mere disputation, but advanced with sufficient militancy to engender a thorough research and analysis of the major issues. Any controversy lacking these elements becomes an exercise in academics and is not properly before the courts for solution.

Allred v. Bebout , 2018 WY 8, ¶ 37, 409 P.3d 260, 270 (Wyo. 2018).

[¶9] Here, the Fair Board has an existing or genuine right at stake because resolution of this action will determine whether it continues to exist. The Fair Board has a genuine interest in its existence, regardless of whether it or any of its members might suffer financial harm by its dissolution. A judgment declaring whether the Commissioners have authority to dissolve the Fair Board will effectively operate on that interest and have the force and effect of law because it will finally determine the legal status of the Fair Board. Finally, the parties’ divergent positions and arguments convince us that this proceeding is genuinely adverse in character. This controversy satisfies the Brimmer test.

II. The Commissioners do not have the implied authority to dissolve the Fair Board in these circumstances

[¶10] The district court concluded that the Commissioners "possess the implied power to dissolve a board that they were granted the power to create," citing "their express power to create the Board in the first instance" under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 18-9-101(a)(iii). On appeal, the Fair Board argues the district court’s conclusion is contrary to the plain language of Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 18-9-101 and 102. Section 18-9-101 states:

(a) Each board of county commissioners may:

(i) Acquire lands and other property for fairgrounds, airports, parks and pleasure grounds;

(ii) Construct, maintain and operate a public auditorium, athletic fields, civic center or other community building, which may be designated as a memorial to the war veterans of the United States of America;

(iii) Appoint a board of trustees to control, maintain and manage the fairgrounds, airports, parks and pleasure grounds and to conduct agricultural, industrial and other fairs and exhibitions;

(iv) Levy taxes, issue bonds or incur indebtedness as then authorized by law for other county purposes. The taxes shall be levied and collected as are other

...