BOARD OF ZON. APPEALS v. Lake County Trust, 64A03-0207-CV-217.

• Docket Nº: No. 64A03-0207-CV-217.
• Citation: 783 N.E.2d 382
• Case Date: February 19, 2003
• Court: Court of Appeals of Indiana

783 N.E.2d 382

The BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS OF PORTER COUNTY, Indiana, James Robertson, Marvin Brickner, Robert Detert, Richard Hudson and Richard Burns, In their Capacity as Members of the Board of Zoning Appeals of Porter County, Indiana, and Porter County, Indiana, Appellants-Respondents, and
P.R.O.U.D., Inc., The Members of P.R.O.U.D., Inc., Who are Too Numerous to Name; Donald Roeske, and Patrick Singleton, Appellants-Intervenors,
v.
LAKE COUNTY TRUST COMPANY as Trustee of Trust No. 5319, Appellee-Petitioner

No. 64A03-0207-CV-217.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

February 19, 2003.

783 N.E.2d 383

Lily M. Schaefer, Kopko Genetos & Retson LLP, Merrillville, IN, Attorney for Appellants the Board of Zoning Appeals of Porter County, Members of the BZA, and Porter County, Indiana

Debra Lynch Dubovich, Levy & Dubovich, Highland, IN, Attorney for Appellants P.R.O.U.D., Inc., its members, and Donald Roeske, and Patrick Singleton.

Glenn C. Sechen, James R. Griffin, Schain, Burney, Ross & Citron, Ltd., Chicago, IL, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellants-respondents the Board of Zoning Appeals of Porter County, Indiana (BZA); James Robertson, Marvin Brickner, Robert Detert, Richard Hudson, and Richard Burns, in their capacity as members of the BZA; and Porter County, Indiana, (collectively, BZA) bring this interlocutory appeal of the trial court's order in favor of appellee-petitioner the Lake County Trust Company (Trust Company). Appellants-Intervenors P.R.O.U.D., Inc., its members, and Donald Roeske and Patrick Singleton (collectively, P.R.O.U.D., Inc.) join in this interlocutory appeal. We consolidate the issues brought before us and restate them as one issue: whether the Trust Company properly verified its petition for writ of certiorari. Concluding that the petition substantially complied with Trial Rule 11(B), and hence strictly complied with the certiorari review statute, we affirm and remand.

FACTS

In early 2002, the Trust Company requested the BZA to grant it a special exception for development of a landfill. The BZA denied the request, prompting the Trust Company to file a petition for writ of certiorari with the Porter Superior Court. The Trust Company alleged in Count I of the petition that the BZA's decision was illegal and improper. It alleged in Count II that the BZA had denied the Trust Company's constitutional rights.

Two weeks later, the BZA filed a motion to dismiss the petition, claiming that the Trust Company had failed to properly verify it in accordance with Indiana Code section 36-7-4-1003(a). The BZA contended that (1) the verification improperly disclaimed any liability or responsibility for statements made in the petition; (2) the Trust Company's beneficiaries should have verified the petition, not an assistant trust officer; and (3) an improper verification deprived the trial court of jurisdiction over the dispute. P.R.O.U.D., Inc. filed a similar motion to dismiss. The trial court denied both motions and later certified the issue of proper verification for interlocutory appeal. The BZA and P.R.O.U.D., Inc. now bring this interlocutory appeal.¹

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standard of Review

This interlocutory appeal raises the issue of the proper interpretation of the

783 N.E.2d 384

verified-petition requirement found in Indiana Code section 36-7-4-1003(a). When deciding questions of statutory interpretation, appellate courts need not defer to a trial court's interpretation of the statute's meaning. Elmer Buchta Trucking, Inc. v. Stanley, 744 N.E.2d 939, 942 (Ind.2001). Rather, we independently review the statute's meaning and apply it to the facts of the case under review. Id.

II. Verification Required for Certiorari Review

The Indiana Code provides for judicial review of decisions made by a board of zoning appeals. Review is initiated by filing a verified petition for writ of certiorari:

Each decision of ... the board of zoning appeals is subject to review by certiorari. Each person aggrieved by a decision of the board of zoning appeals ... may present, to the circuit or superior court of the county in which the premises affected are located, a verified petition setting forth that the decision is illegal in whole or in part and specifying the grounds of the illegality.

I.C. § 36-7-4-1003(a). In order for a reviewing court to acquire jurisdiction under Indiana Code section 36-7-4-1003(a), the petition must be verified. Williams-Woodland Park Neighborhood Ass'n v. Bd. of Zoning Appeals, 638 N.E.2d 1295, 1297-98 (Ind.Ct.App.1994). "The essential purpose of a verification is that the statements be made under penalty for perjury." Austin v. Sanders, 492 N.E.2d 8, 9 (Ind.1986).

Our supreme court has directed that Indiana Trial Rule 11(B) is the verification standard by which a petition "for review of the action of an administrative body" should be judged. Id. Indiana courts consider a board of zoning appeals an administrative body. See, e.g., Metro. Bd. of Zoning Appeals v. Rumple, 261 Ind. 214, 220, 301 N.E.2d 359, 363 (1973) ("`It must be emphasized that the board, as an administrative body, presumably expert in the land use problems of its particular jurisdiction, has wide discretion in the granting or denying of zoning variances.'" (quoting Metro. Bd. of Zoning Appeals v. Standard Life Ins. Co., 145 Ind.App. 363, 251 N.E.2d 60, 61 (1969))); Evansville Outdoor Adver., Inc. v. Bd. of Zoning Appeals, 757 N.E.2d 151, 158 (2001) (referring to the Board of Zoning Appeals of Evansville and Vanderburg County as an "administrative body"), trans. denied. In verifying a petition for certiorari review, according to Trial Rule 11(B), "it shall be sufficient if the subscriber simply affirms the truth of the matter to be verified by an affirmation or representation in substantially the following language":

"I (we) affirm, under the penalties for perjury, that the foregoing representation(s) is (are) true.

(Signed)______________"

T.R. 11(B) (emphasis added). Trial Rule 11(B) complies with the Indiana...