Greenwich Bay Yacht Basin Associates v. Brown, 86-167-A

• Decision Date: 26 February 1988
• Docket Number: No. 86-167-A,86-167-A
• Citation: 537 A.2d 988
• Parties: GREENWICH BAY YACHT BASIN ASSOCIATES v. Donald BROWN et al.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Page 988

537 A.2d 988

GREENWICH BAY YACHT BASIN ASSOCIATES v. Donald BROWN et al.

No. 86-167-A.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Feb. 26, 1988.

John Tarantino, Providence, for plaintiff.

Alan J. Goldman, Goldman & Biafore, Christophe Little, Tillinghast, Collins & Graham, Dennis W. Nixon, Marine Affairs, URI, Providence, for defendants.

OPINION

WEISBERGER, Justice.

This case comes before us on appeal from a judgment entered in the Superior Court pursuant to a petition for mandamus and other relief filed by the plaintiff, Greenwich Bay Yacht Basin Associates (Greenwich), against members of the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) subcommittee. Also parties to this dispute are Save The Bay, Inc., and Rhode Island Shellfishermen's Association, who were intervenors before the CRMC subcommittee and also before this court. Although Greenwich filed a petition for writ of mandamus, it also sought equitable relief and generally set forth allegations, which if supported, would make out a case of equitable estoppel against the CRMC subcommittee on the ground that its application should have been processed and judged under 1978 program regulations as opposed to modified regulations promulgated in 1983. The Superior Court rejected the petition for mandamus but granted judgment on the ground of equitable estoppel, ordering the CRMC subcommittee to process and adjudicate the application under the 1978 program. We vacate and remand. The facts as set forth in the petition for mandamus and claim for equitable relief are as follows.

On March 15, 1983, Greenwich filed an application with CRMC that sought approval of a proposed development and construction of fifty-two, two-bedroom condominium units, a clubhouse, and a 200-boat marina. At the time of the filing of this application, CRMC was utilizing a set of criteria known as the 1978 program. In June 1983 CRMC promulgated new criteria (1983 program). On April 15, 1985, Greenwich filed a revised application, which reduced the proposal as originally submitted in 1983 from a 200-boat marina to a 55-boat marina. This revision resulted from certain rulings of state administrative agencies, other than CRMC, with respect to water quality and other requirements.

Affidavits attached to the complaint filed in Superior Court indicated that members of the staff of CRMC had repeatedly assured Greenwich that its revised application would be judged and processed in accordance with the 1978 program. The petition for mandamus and equitable relief was supplemented by affidavits of Wayne Allinson, an engineer engaged by Greenwich for the project; James Beattie, chief of the Coastal Resources Division of the Department of Environmental Management; Nicholas A. Pisani, a professional engineer employed by the Coastal Resources Division; and Linda Steere, a staff biologist employed by the Department of Environmental Management. All these affidavits stated without equivocation that assurances had been given that the Greenwich application would be reviewed and adjudicated in accordance with the 1978 program. Moreover, in a separate affidavit James Beattie also set forth that an examination of CRMC records indicated that eighty-four applications had been filed with CRMC prior to enactment of the 1983 program and were nevertheless processed by the CRMC after its enactment according to the 1978 program. A total of forty-three assent requests were filed after the application of Greenwich and were processed under the 1978 program. Mr. Allinson's affidavit set forth that as recently as October 25, 1985, three days prior to the scheduled hearing before the CRMC subcommittee, he met with Mr. Pisani and Ms. Steere, who again confirmed that the application would be processed and judged by the CRMC 1978 program.

As a consequence, counsel for Greenwich prepared expert witnesses for presentation at the hearing to be held October 28, 1985. For the first time on the evening of October 28, 1985, just prior to the beginning of the hearing, the subcommittee chairperson suggested that the application be judged under the 1983 plan. Thereupon the subcommittee requested that all interested parties file legal memoranda concerning the issue of whether the 1978 or the 1983 program criteria should be controlling. Following the filing of memoranda by Greenwich and by the intervenors, a decision was rendered on December 5, 1985, that the 1983 program criteria would be used in judging the application of Greenwich. At this point counsel for Greenwich informed the subcommittee that he could not proceed under the 1983 criteria, that his expert witnesses were prepared to testify pursuant to the 1978 program, and that in his opinion under the 1983 criteria, the application would be doomed to failure. As a consequence, he informed the subcommittee that he would not proceed further with the application before the administrative agency, but would take necessary steps to seek relief from the Superior Court.

In due course a petition for mandamus and other equitable relief was filed in that court, and the assignment judge, upon examining the petition for mandamus, considered that it could be adjudicated without an evidentiary hearing. The justice to whom the case was ultimately assigned considered the memoranda filed by Greenwich and also by the intervenors, and after reviewing the legal memoranda together with the affidavits filed in support of the petition for relief, he determined that the petition for mandamus must be denied but that Greenwich was entitled to relief based upon the principles of equitable estoppel. The trial justice held that mandamus did not lie because Greenwich did not have a clear legal right to have the 1978 program applied, nor did CRMC have a ministerial legal duty to perform without discretion to refuse to do so. The trial justice went on to find that CRMC was estopped from applying the 1983 regulations.

The court found as a fact that an application was filed with CRMC on March 15 1983, and that at the time of that filing, the 1978 program was in effect. The court further found that on April 15, 1985, Greenwich filed a revised application that reduced the proposal as originally submitted in 1983 from a 200-boat marina to a 55-boat marina. This was done as a direct result of certain rulings of state administrative agencies with respect to water quality. The court further found that Greenwich could not prevail if this matter were to proceed under the 1983 regulations. "It would be an exercise in futility for them to present their case before the Subcommittee under those Rules and Regulations." He found that Greenwich had always been advised by members of the CRMC staff that the application would, in fact, be processed and judged pursuant to the 1978 program, that Greenwich had expended substantial sums of money for application fees, expert-witness fees, construction, architectural, engineering, and legal fees, as well as carrying costs for the project. These facts were determined from an affidavit of Thomas L. DeFelice, a general partner in Greenwich, as well as the affidavits of Wayne Allinson, James Beattie, Nicholas Pisani, and Linda Steere.

It should be noted that the findings of fact made by the trial justice were based upon affidavits filed as indicated and that there was no testimony taken in support of or in opposition to the complaint which Greenwich filed in the Superior Court. In support of their appeal, CRMC and the intervenors raise a number of issues, but they do agree with the trial justice that mandamus was properly denied.

There seems to be no question that a petition for mandamus was not an appropriate form of relief in the circumstances of this case. We have frequently stated that mandamus will lie only in circumstances wherein the party to whom the writ is directed has a ministerial, legal duty to perform such act without discretion to refuse. Wood v. Lussier, 416 A.2d 690 (R.I. 1980); McKinnon v. Housing Authority of Pawtucket, 114 R.I. 686, 338 A.2d 517 (1975); Aniello v. Marcello, 91 R.I. 198, 162 A.2d 270 (1960). It is clear that mandamus will not compel an officer to do a discretionary act. In the case at bar, the application of principles of equitable estoppel, whether directed to the Superior Court or to the administrative agency, would require an exercise of discretion....