Connecticut Theatrical Corp. v. City of New Britain
Decision Date | 26 July 1960 |
Citation | 147 Conn. 546,163 A.2d 548 |
Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
Parties | CONNECTICUT THEATRICAL CORPORATION et al. v. CITY OF NEW BRITAIN. Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut |
Irving S. Ribicoff, Hartford, with whom were Louise H. Hunt, Hartford, and Steven E. Perakos, New Britain, for appellants (plaintiffs).
Andrew P. Denuzze, Asst. Corp. Coun., New Britain, for appellee (defendant).
Before BALDWIN, C. J., and KING, MURPHY, MELLITZ and SHEA, JJ.
The plaintiffs brought this action for a declaratory judgment determining the validity of an ordinance enacted by the city of New Britain requiring the attendance of a police officer during every performance at a moving picture theater and compelling the owner or operator of the theater to pay to the police benefit fund, for such police services, a sum equal to the officer's pay plus ten cents a day. The plaintiffs also sought an injunction restraining the city from enforcing the ordinance as it applied to their theaters. The trial court concluded that the ordinance was constitutional and enforceable except as to the portion thereof requiring the payment of ten cents per day to the police benefit fund, and the plaintiffs have appealed.
The New Britain charter was adopted by a special act of the legislature in 1905. 14 Spec. Laws 915. The common council is the legislative body of the city, with power to enact ordinances relating to a variety of subjects, including the establishment and maintenance of a police force, the preservation of order, and the enforcement of laws of the state and ordinances of the city by means of that police force. Id., 935. A provision of the charter confers upon the common council power 'to enact ordinances concerning the regulation of moving picture exhibitions and the licensing of such exhibitions or the place where given.' 17 Spec. Laws 1114, § 8. An ordinance requires the owner, proprietor, manager or person in charge of any moving picture theater or public dance hall 'to have in attendance at every public performance or gathering either a regular or a supernumerary member of the city police force, whose duty it shall be to preserve order and see that all ordinances and statutes are complied with and all exits remain unlocked and all fire escapes be ready for immediate use during the entire performance or gathering.' New Britain Ordinances, c. 13, § 11 (1952). The ordinance provides further that the owner shall be required to pay to the police benefit fund for police services a sum equal to the pay of the policeman plus 10 cents per day. By an amendment in 1952, a $10 rate of pay per day for police was established. In 1927, the legislature enacted what is now General Statutes § 29-109, the pertinent portion of which reads: 'No moving picture projector involving the use of a photographic film shall be operated in any public building or place of public assemblage or entertainment until such precautions as the commissioner of state police specifies have been taken against fire, panic or other personal hazards and a certificate of approval for such premises obtained from the commissioner specifying the number of persons that may be admitted to such premises or place at any one time.' Detailed regulations were promulgated by the commissioner of state police pursuant to the statute. These regulations do not require the attendance of police officers at performances. Nor do the regulations provide for protection of theater patrons so far as personal offenses or other violations of the law are concerned. Approximately 200 indoor motion picture theaters come under the jurisdiction of the state police motion picture inspector, and theaters are inspected once or twice a month.
The plaintiffs own or operate all of the moving picture theaters in New Britain. Two of the theaters were acquired in 1929. Attendance has decreased substantially during the last few years. The staff at each theater fluctuates and is increased as attendance increases. The theaters are opened at 1:30 p. m., and policemen are on duty from 2:40 p. m. until closing time; their lunch hour precedes their service at the theaters. From January 30, 1954, to July 20, 1958, there were, in the theaters, five complaints of sexual offenses, seventeen instances of theft reported, and eight instances of disturbances. When the ordinance in question was first enacted in 1916, moving pictures were shown in darkness, the film used was very flammable, there were no safety projection booths, and exits were inadequate. At the present time, boiler rooms are fireproofed; nonflammable film is used; projection booths are insulated and fireproofed; panic hardware, permitting exits to be opened simply by pushing, is used on all doors; films are shown in semidarkness rather than in complete darkness; and all theaters are equipped with emergency lighting systems.
The basic contentions of the plaintiffs are that the New Britain charter conferred no power upon the city to enact an ordinance requiring the plaintiffs to pay for the services of policemen assigned to their theaters; that the ordinance is unconstitutional and invalid in that it bears no relationship to the public health, morals and welfare and violates the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to the federal constitution and § 1 of article first of the state constitution; and that § 29-109 of the General Statutes vests in the state police exclusive jurisdiction to regulate moving picture theaters with respect to all personal hazards.
City of Hartford v. Parsons, 87 Conn. 412, 87 A. 736, involved an ordinance of the city of Hartford which required the owner or manager of any theater to have in attendance at every performance a member of the police force or of the fire department, to see that all exits remained unlocked during the entire performance and all fire escapes remained ready for immediate use. Id., 87 Conn. 414, 87 A. 736. A legislative purpose to provide safety from fire, smoke and panic is within the police power of the state. Len-Lew Realty Co. v. Falsey, 141 Conn. 524, 528, 107 A.2d 403. The obvious purpose of the ordinance in City of Hartford v. Parsons, supra, was to safeguard persons assembled in theaters from the hazards and dangers of fire and panic. The duty which the ordinance required the city employees to perform was that of seeing to the enforcement of the city ordinances regarding exits and fire escapes and of reporting to the chief of the fire department. We expressed the view (87 Conn. at page 415, 87 A. 736) that...
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