Hirschfield v. Board of County Com'rs of County of Teton
| Decision Date | 11 September 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 96-203,96-203 |
| Citation | 944 P.2d 1139 |
| Parties | Alan J. HIRSCHFIELD; Berte E. Hirschfield; Margaret K. Jones; Doyen McIntosh; Robert MacLean; Mary Anna MacLean; Lester S. Morse, Jr.; Enid W. Morse; Richard P. Morse; Stanley Seidler; Pike A. Sullivan; Susan W. Sullivan; Richard Vaughn; Mary M. Vaughn; William Wilson III; and Pat Wilson, Appellants (Plaintiffs), v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THE COUNTY OF TETON, a political subdivision of the State of Wyoming; and Thomas M. Falcey, Chapter 11 trustee of the estate of Rivermeadows Associates, Ltd., a California limited partnership, Appellees (Defendants). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
William P. Schwartz and Timothy C. Day of Ranck, Schwartz & Day, LLC, Jackson, for Appellants.
Donn J. McCall and Jon B. Huss of Brown, Drew, Massey & Sullivan, Casper, for Appellee Thomas M. Falcey, Chapter 11 Trustee of the Estate of Rivermeadows Associates, Ltd.
Before TAYLOR, C.J., and THOMAS, MACY, GOLDEN and LEHMAN, JJ.
Appellants are adjoining property owners (homeowners) seeking a declaratory judgment that appellees, the Board of County Commissioners of Teton County (Board), rejected Rivermeadows Associates, Ltd. (Rivermeadows) concept plan for a proposed subdivision when its vote ended in a tie, and the Board acted beyond its authority in voting again on the matter and unanimously approving it. The district court ruled the Board's regulations permitted it to vote again and approve the plan and granted summary judgment to the Board.
We affirm the district court's order.
Homeowners present this single issue:
1. Whether the District Court erroneously held as a matter of law that the 2 to 2 tie vote by the Board of County Commissioners on the development application of Rivermeadows Associates, Ltd. resulted in "no action" subject to reconsideration, instead of concluding that the tie vote resulted in the denial of the application pursuant to the common law, Wyoming statute, and the Board's own regulations.
The Board did not file a brief. The court ordered the substitution of Thomas M. Falcey, Chapter 11 Trustee of the Estate of Rivermeadows, as defendant. Trustee presents two issues for our review:
1. Whether the trial court had, or this Court has, subject matter jurisdiction over the action.
2. Whether the trial court erred in determining that the Board of County Commissioners of Teton County properly approved the application of Rivermeadows Associates, Ltd. for concept plan approval.
The facts are not in dispute. Homeowners own property in a subdivision developed by Rivermeadows. As property owners, the homeowners were granted access rights to nearby fishing creeks. In 1992, Rivermeadows requested approval to add sixty additional homes to the subdivision in accordance with the Teton County Comprehensive Plan and Implementation Program administered by the Board. As required by the plan, Rivermeadows' proposal was first evaluated by the Board's planning commission. A new comprehensive county zoning plan which would have limited the number to thirty homes was scheduled for consideration on May 2, 1994, and if adopted was scheduled to go into effect May 9, 1994. In March of 1994, the planning commission recommended that the Board of County Commissioners for Teton County approve the Rivermeadows concept plan with conditions and on April 26, 1994, the Board met to consider the concept plan and to take public comment.
After discussion and public comment, the Board voted on a motion to approve the concept plan with a number of conditions. The vote resulted in a two to two tie. Uncertain about the effect of a tie vote and wanting to continue the discussion, the Board ran short of time and decided to continue the meeting to May 2, 1994. On May 2, the concept plan was approved with four commissioners in favor and one abstaining. That afternoon, the Board adopted the new comprehensive plan.
The homeowners did not file a petition for review of the administrative action. Almost three months later, homeowners filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that the Board's approval was invalid and that the concept plan had to be processed under the new comprehensive county zoning plan. On homeowners' motion for summary judgment and Rivermeadows' cross-motion for summary judgment, the district court ruled that it had subject matter jurisdiction based upon WYO. R.APP. P. 12.12. The trial court affirmed the Board's approval because the applicable land use development regulations of the comprehensive plan allowed the Board to table the issue until the May 2, 1994, meeting. The district court granted summary judgment to Rivermeadows, and this appeal followed.
Summary judgment is proper if there are no genuine issues of material fact and movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. WYO. R. CIV. P. 56(c); Mountain Cement Co. v. Johnson, 884 P.2d 30, 32 (Wyo.1994). A court considers the summary judgment record in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion and gives that party the benefit of all favorable inferences which may fairly be drawn from the record. We use the same materials and standards as the district court, accord no deference to the district court's decisions on issues of law, and may affirm the summary judgment on any legal grounds appearing in the record. State ex rel. Bayou Liquors, Inc. v. City of Casper, 906 P.2d 1046, 1048 (Wyo.1995).
In this appeal, homeowners contend that the effect of the tie vote is controlled by common law which holds that a tie vote constitutes a rejection of the proposal and that the Board acted beyond its authority in reconsidering and voting again on the concept plan. Trustee contends that this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction because homeowners failed to exhaust their administrative remedies, the subject matter is not a proper one for declaratory judgment under Rule 12.12, and a justiciable controversy is not presented.
[S]ubject matter jurisdiction cannot be waived. Cotton v. Brow, 903 P.2d 530, 531 (Wyo.1995); Brunsvold v. State, 864 P.2d 34, 36 (Wyo.1993). "The first and fundamental question on every appeal is that of jurisdiction; this question cannot be waived; it is open for consideration by the reviewing court whenever it is raised by any party, or it may be raised by the court of its own motion."
Pawlowski v. Pawlowski, 925 P.2d 240, 243 (Wyo.1996) (quoting Gookin v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Ins. Co., 826 P.2d 229, 232 (Wyo.1992)). Availability of Declaratory Judgment
"The purpose of declaratory judgment actions is to render disputes concerning the legal rights and duties of parties justiciable without proof of a wrong committed by one party against another, and thus facilitate the termination of controversies." Millett v. Hoisting Engineers' Licensing Div., 119 R.I. 285, 377 A.2d 229, 233 (1977) (citing 1 ANDERSON, ACTIONS FOR DECLARATORY JUDGMENTS § 4 (2d ed.1951)). Wyoming's declaratory judgment statute states that it is remedial and should be liberally construed and administered. WYO. STAT. § 1-37-114 (1997). We do not interpret it in a narrow or technical sense, and there remains the prerequisite that the party seeking declaratory relief present the court with an actual controversy. Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Ass'n v. State, 645 P.2d 1163, 1168 (Wyo.1982). Trial judges may not dispense with the traditional rules prohibiting them from rendering advisory opinions or adjudicating hypothetical issues. An action for declaratory judgment cannot be a substitute for an appeal from administrative decisions but is available even though there is a statutory method of appeal if it concerns the validity and construction of agency regulations, or if it concerns the constitutionality or interpretation of a statute upon which the administrative action is, or is to be based. Id.; M & B Drilling and Constr. Co. v. State Bd. of Equalization, 706 P.2d 243, 246 (Wyo.1985).
As directed by the statute, our past decisions have liberally construed the availability of an action for declaratory judgment to consider issues arising from agencies' interpretations of statutes. State Bd. of Equalization v. Jackson Hole Ski Corp., 737 P.2d 350, 354-55 (Wyo.1987), modified on other grounds, 745 P.2d 58 (Wyo.1987); State v. Kraus, 706 P.2d 1130, 1133 (Wyo.1985); Rocky Mountain Oil, 645 P.2d at 1166-69. Our decision in Rocky Mountain Oil determined that some decisions by an administrative agency are not subject to a declaratory judgment action. We have also held that while non-legislative decisions by county commissioners are reviewable under the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, amendments to zoning laws are legislative acts and, as such, are not reviewable. Holding's Little America v. Bd. of Cty. Comm'rs of Laramie Cty., 670 P.2d 699, 703 (Wyo.1983); McGann v. City Council of City of Laramie, 581 P.2d 1104, 1106 (Wyo.1978). We have said that the approval of a planning unit development plat is tantamount to amending zoning regulations and is, therefore, a legislative act that is not reviewable under the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. McGann, 581 P.2d at 1107. This case questions a decision by the agency with respect to the application of a rule of parliamentary procedure. We have not previously had occasion to consider whether the application of rules of parliamentary procedure is a proper subject for a decision under the declaratory judgment act. The homeowners are not seeking a determination as to whether or not Rivermeadows' development application should have been granted or denied on its merits, as that is for the Board to decide. The homeowners seek instead review of the Board's parliamentary procedural decision that a tie vote constitutes no action and the Board can vote again in a meeting which was continued until the next week. The present action thus involves the Board's procedures and its authority to engage in the actions...
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