Jolley v. State Loan and Inv. Bd.
| Citation | 2002 WY 7,38 P.3d 1073 |
| Decision Date | 25 January 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 00-330.,00-330. |
| Parties | John R. JOLLEY, Appellant (Plaintiff/Petitioner), v. STATE LOAN AND INVESTMENT BOARD, Board of Land Commissioners, Governor Jim Geringer, Joseph B. Meyer Max Maxfield, Cynthia M. Lummis, and Judy Catchpole, Appellees (Respondents/Defendants). |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Wyoming |
Timothy C. Kingston of Graves, Miller & Kingston, P.C., Cheyenne, WY, Representing Appellant. Argument by Mr. Kingston.
Gay Woodhouse, Attorney General; Michael L. Hubbard, Deputy Attorney General; and Nancy E. Vehr, Assistant Attorney General, Representing Appellees. Argument by Ms. Vehr.
Before LEHMAN, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, KITE, and VOIGT, JJ.
[¶ 1] John R. Jolley (Appellant) appeals a district court decision dismissing, for lack of standing, his action against the State Loan and Investment Board (the Loan Board), the Board of Land Commissioners (BLC), and the respective members of each Board (collectively the Boards) for allegedly altering their schedule of public meetings from a monthly to a bimonthly basis without complying with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. We affirm.
[¶ 2] Appellant succinctly summarizes the issue on appeal:
Did the Appellant have standing to sue the Appellees?
The Boards answer with a slightly longer statement of the issue:
Whether the district court was correct in its determination that Appellant lacked standing to seek judicial review of the State Loan and Investment Board and Board of Land Commissioners' administrative action setting meeting dates for the year 2000.
[¶ 3] Appellant is the editor and publisher of the Grass Roots Advocate, a bimonthly newspaper focusing on issues of land use, access, and development in Wyoming. Appellant regularly covers and participates in public meetings of the Boards in his capacity with his newspaper and as a citizen of the state.
[¶ 4] The Boards are comprised of the same members: the Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Wyoming Constitution Art. 18, § 3; Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-34-102(b) (LexisNexis 2001). The BLC is statutorily directed to hold such regular public meetings as it may prescribe or consider necessary. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-2-104 (LexisNexis 2001). In 1999, the BLC had a rule which, in effect, established a schedule of public meetings:
The Board shall meet regularly on the first Thursday of each month. A regular meeting may be postponed or cancelled by the President of the Board.
Board of Land Commissioners Rules and Regulations, Chapter 1, § 3(a). The Governor is the President of the BLC. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-2-103 (LexisNexis 2001). There is no equivalent statutory directive relating to public meetings for the Loan Board. However, like the BLC, the legislature has granted the Loan Board the authority to promulgate rules and regulations proper and necessary for the conduct of its business. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-34-103(a) (LexisNexis 2001). In 1999, the Loan Board had a rule in place which established a public meeting schedule substantially similar to that of the BLC:
The Board shall meet regularly on the first Thursday of each month and at the call of the President, to consider all matters under its jurisdiction. A regular meeting may be postponed or cancelled by the President of the Board.
State Loan and Investment Board Rules and Regulations, Chapter 1, § 3(a). Also, like the BLC, the Governor is the President of the Loan Board, and the President is given apparent discretionary power to cancel or postpone meetings. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-34-102(b).
[¶ 5] On December 21, 1999, the schedule for the Boards was set by the Governor and faxed to the press and interested parties:
Appellant filed a Petition for Review pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114 (LexisNexis 2001) and Wyo.R.App.P. 12 on February 11, 2000 challenging the decision to schedule bimonthly public meetings for 2000 in light of the rules and regulations calling for monthly meetings. The Boards responded with a motion to dismiss the petition for a lack of standing. The Boards contended that Appellant was not "aggrieved or adversely affected in fact" under § 16-3-114(a)1 by the reduction in public meetings. Appellant countered he was "aggrieved or adversely affected in fact" because of the negative impact the reduction in public meetings would have on the financial status of his newspaper and on his interests as an active participant in the Boards' meetings and as a potential buyer of state lands. On October 23, 2000, the district court dismissed Appellant's petition for lack of standing. The court concluded that Appellant had failed to "provide any supporting facts for his interests as a taxpayer, buyer and potential buyer of state lands" sufficient to confer standing. In addition, the court noted that the schedule of public meetings should not have any appreciable effect on Appellant's press coverage of the Boards. This appeal followed.
[¶ 6] Standing is a legal concept designed to determine whether a party is sufficiently affected to insure that the court is presented with a justiciable controversy. Roe v. Board of County Commissioners, Campbell County, 997 P.2d 1021, 1022 (Wyo. 2000) ().
[¶ 7] Judicial review of an agency action is authorized by Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(a) only for those persons "aggrieved or adversely affected in fact" by the challenged action.
An aggrieved or adversely affected person is one who has a legally recognizable interest in that which will be affected by the action. Hoke v. Moyer, 865 P.2d 624, 628 (Wyo.1993). A potential litigant must show injury or potential injury by "alleg[ing] a perceptible, rather than a speculative, harm resulting from the agency action." Foster's, Inc. v. City of Laramie, 718 P.2d 868, 872 (Wyo.1986). " " L Slash X Cattle Company, Inc. v. Texaco, Inc., 623 P.2d 764, 769 (Wyo.1981) (quoting 4 Am.Jur.2d Appeal and Error § 180).
[¶ 8] On appeal, Appellant reiterates his contention that he is a person "aggrieved or adversely affected in fact" under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(a) by the Boards' alteration of their public meeting schedule in 2000 from a monthly to a bimonthly basis. The grounds cited by Appellant in support of his argument in favor of standing—the negative impact on his newspaper's subscriber base and finances, his attendance and participation in the public meetings, and his status as a citizen of Wyoming, and as past and potential purchaser of state land—are not specific factual allegations of harm sufficient to demonstrate an injury related to the Boards' action. Appellant has only raised the specter of speculative harm based upon future or contingent interests indistinguishable from that which could be raised by any citizen of Wyoming. In other words, Appellant has not shown a "personal stake in the outcome of the controversy" nor any "injury" derived from the Boards' decision to alter their schedule of public meetings. He only cites potential or possible harms that may affect his newspaper business or his status as a citizen or as a potential buyer of state land. Claims of injury of a broad and general nature are not sufficient to demonstrate that Appellant was "aggrieved or adversely affected in fact" by the Boards' actions. What we said in Roe is equally applicable in this case:
Given the Roes' failure to present specific, articulable facts to demonstrate how they were harmed by the Board's decision, we hold that the district court was without jurisdiction to decide their case.
[¶ 9] Perhaps recognizing the weakness of his position under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(a), Appellant also suggests that he should be granted standing based upon his status as a citizen or taxpayer of Wyoming. We have recognized a more expansive or relaxed definition of standing when a matter of great public interest or importance is at stake. Washakie County School District Number One, 606 P.2d 310, 317; Management Council of the Wyoming Legislature v. Geringer, 953 P.2d 839, 841-42 (Wyo.1998). This exception to the general standing requirements evolved out of a determination of the existence of a justiciable controversy in the context of a declaratory judgment action. I...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Director, Office of State Lands v. Merbanco
...of the Wyoming Legislature [v. Geringer], 953 P.2d 839 [(Wyo.1998)] (constitutional scope of governor's veto power). Jolley v. State Loan and Investment Board, 2002 WY 7, ¶ 9, 38 P.3d 1073, ¶ 9 [¶ 14] In a similar context, we addressed standing in a challenge to the constitutionality of the......
-
Cathcart v. Meyer
...this Court is able to address on the merits the district court's rejection of the affirmative defenses. Standing [¶11] In Jolley v. State Loan and Inv. Board, 2002 WY 7, ¶ 6, 38 P.3d 1073, 1076 (Wyo. 2002), we reiterated our rules for determining whether a party has standing to bring a part......
-
Operation Save Am. v. City of Jackson, Mun. Corp.
...a question of great importance is a determination to be made by this Court. RM, ¶ 8, 102 P.3d at 871; Jolley v. State Loan and Inv. Bd., 2002 WY 7, ¶ 10, 38 P.3d 1073, 1078 (Wyo.2002) ; Brimmer v. Thomson, 521 P.2d 574, 578 (Wyo.1974). We have stated:This exception must be applied with caut......
- Redding v. State