Louisiana Paddlewheels v. Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Com'n
| Decision Date | 30 November 1994 |
| Parties | 94-2015 La |
| Court | Louisiana Supreme Court |
Jenifer Schaye, James C. Dixon, Baton Rouge, John F. DeRosier, Lake Charles, Julie Collins, Thomas A. Warner, III, Baton Rouge, Hon. Robert R. Bryant, Gernine M. Mailhes, Lake Charles, for applicant.
Richard A. Chozen, Lake Charles, Camille F. Gravel, Jr., Alexandria, Paul R. Baier, Baton Rouge, for respondent.
[94-2015 La. 1] LEMMON, Justice. *
Louisiana Paddlewheels, an applicant for a riverboat gaming license, filed this action for a declaratory judgment to determine the constitutionality of La.Rev.Stat. 4:537 and 4:537.1. These statutes, among other things, prohibit the issuance of a license for a riverboat gambling operation in Calcasieu and Ouachita Parishes without the approval of a majority of the electors at a referendum election called by the governing authority under the statute.
The matter is now before this court on direct appeal under La. Const. art. V, § 5(D) after the trial judge granted summary judgment in favor of Louisiana Paddlewheels and declared the two statutes unconstitutional.
[94-2015 La. 2] Facts
In 1991, the Legislature enacted La.Rev.Stat. 4:501-562, the Louisiana Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Control Act, which became effective July 18, 1991. Section 503 of the Act authorized the conducting of riverboat gaming on designated rivers and waterways, including the Calcasieu River which flows through the City of Lake Charles in Calcasieu Parish. Section 525 limited to fifteen the number of licenses which may be issued to conduct gaming activities on riverboats. Section 552 C authorized an election in any parish or municipality, upon petition of twenty-five percent of the registered voters, to determine whether to prohibit the operation of a riverboat in the parish or municipality, but any election had to be held on or before March 15, 1992. No such "local option" elections were held in Calcasieu or Ouachita Parishes.
In 1992, the Legislature amended Section 503 to add the lake, Lake Charles, to the list of designated rivers and waterways. There was no provision for a new period for holding a "local option" referendum.
In February 1993, Paddlewheels applied to the Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Commission for a certificate of preliminary approval to conduct riverboat gaming operations from a dock in Belle Chasse in Plaquemines Parish. There were forty-two other applications for certificates for various locations. The Commission approved fifteen applicants by June of 1993, but Paddlewheels' application was not one of those approved.
In 1993, the Legislature enacted La.Rev.Stat. 4:537 and 537.1, which became effective June 14, 1993 and are the subject of this litigation. Section 537 prohibited the issuance of a riverboat gaming license in the two parishes without approval of the voters in a referendum election. The act by its terms excluded applicants who received preliminary approval prior to June 5, 1993. Section 537.1 [94-2015 La. 3] authorized the revoking of a riverboat gaming license in the two parishes after March 1, 1997 by majority vote of the electors.
In October 1993, Paddlewheels filed a petition to amend its application to change its proposed docking site to Calcasieu Parish. The Commission, which has neither approved nor rejected the amended application, was prohibited from issuing the license by La.Rev.Stat. 4:537 and by the statutory limitation on the number of licenses. Three days after filing its amended petition, Paddlewheels filed this declaratory judgment action seeking to have La.Rev.Stat. 4:537 and 4:537.1 declared unconstitutional.
As a basis for unconstitutionality, Paddlewheels asserted (1) that the statutes violate the prohibition of La. Const. art. III, § 12 against the Legislature's passing a local or special law for the holding and conducting of elections or for the regulation of labor and trade; (2) that the statutes were enacted without compliance with the notice requirements of La. Const. art. III, § 13; and (3) that the statutes deny Paddlewheels equal protection of the laws in violation of La. Const. art. I, § 3. 1
Both parties filed motions for summary judgment, and the motions were tried on stipulated facts. The Commission argued that the statutes were not local or special laws because they were designed to afford to the voters in Calcasieu and Ouachita Parish the same "local option" rights that voters throughout the state had enjoyed under the original act, and because they addressed an issue of state-wide concern. The Commission further contended that the statutes did not violate equal protection because all persons who applied for riverboat gaming licenses in the two parishes after the effective date were treated equally.
[94-2015 La. 4] The trial judge observed that the "sole thrust of La.Rev.Stat. 4:537 and 4:537.1 is the 'holding and conducting of elections' " and that the statutes "provide a different type of local option election for Calcasieu and Ouachita parishes than that afforded to the remaining parishes in the state." She noted that the other sixty-two parishes are "excluded from conducting an election to authorize a particular and specific applicant." 2 The judge concluded that the statutes were therefore local or special laws for the holding and conducting of elections prohibited by La. Const. art. III, § 12. The judge further found that the statutes violated the equal protection guarantee of La. Const. art. I, § 3 because the laws did not affect equally all persons and interests similarly situated and because there was no rational basis for the different treatment afforded to the voters in Calcasieu and Ouachita parishes. The trial court therefore granted summary judgment in Paddlewheels' favor.
Hence this appeal by the Commission.
The Commission filed exceptions of no right of action, no cause of action and prematurity. Only the exception of no right of action merits thorough analysis.
An action can only be brought by a person having a real and actual interest which he asserts. La.Code Civ.Proc. art. 681. The exception of no right of action is designed to test whether the plaintiff has a real and actual interest in the action. La.Code Civ.Proc. art. 927(5). The function of the exception of no right of action is to determine whether the plaintiff belongs to the class of persons to whom the law grants the cause of action asserted in the suit. Babineaux v. Pernie-[94-2015 La. 5] Drilling Co., 261 La. 1080, 262 So.2d 328 (1972). The exception of no right of action assumes that the petition states a valid cause of action for some person 3 and questions whether the plaintiff in the particular case has a legal interest in the subject matter of the litigation. A person can challenge the constitutionality of a statute only if the statute seriously affects his or her rights. City of Baton Rouge v. Norman, 290 So.2d 865 (La.1974).
The Commission contends that Paddlewheels has not shown any rights affected by the challenged statutes. The Commission argues that Paddlewheels lost any right it might have had to challenge the statutes when the Commission approved the statutorily-limited number of fifteen applicants. Prior to that time, the Commission further asserts, Paddlewheels' application was for a Plaquemines Parish berth and was not affected by the statute pertaining to Calcasieu Parish.
The district court overruled the exception on the basis that Paddlewheels has an interest peculiar to Paddlewheels and separate and distinct from the general public interest.
The issuance of preliminary approvals for the maximum number of fifteen riverboats did not shut off Paddlewheels' real and actual interest in challenging the statutes. While there is a present statutory limit of fifteen licenses, the statute is subject to amendment increasing the limit. Additionally, one or more of the present fifteen licensees may be required to give up its license because of revocation, financial problems or myriads of other reasons. If a license becomes available, present law prohibits consideration of Paddlewheels' application unless the voters [94-2015 La. 6] approve the applicant. Paddlewheels also has an interest in not being subjected to a referendum election if its pending application is eventually approved. Paddlewheels has a further interest because it presumably has financial commitments for a location on the lake, in the form of an option or similar protective instrument, as part of its application for a riverboat gaming license to berth or use a docking facility on Lake Charles. Moreover, Paddlewheels has an interest in determining the validity of the statute in order to decide whether to move its application to another parish. It is not as if Paddlewheels had no pending application and merely had a general interest in the academic question of the statute's validity.
We conclude that since Paddlewheels has a pending application for a license to berth or use a docking facility on Lake Charles for riverboat gaming, it has a real and actual interest in challenging the statutory provisions which prohibit issuance of a license unless the governing authority calls a referendum election and effectively places Paddlewheels' fate in the hands of the voters. 4 Operation of the statute thus prevents the Commission from even considering Paddlewheels' amended application in the event that a license becomes available.
La. Const. art. III, § 12 prohibits the Legislature from enacting local or special laws in certain circumstances. Local or special laws "[f]or the holding and conducting of elections, or fixing or changing the place of voting" and for [94-2015 La. 7] "[r]egulating labor, trade, manufacturing, or agriculture" are specifically prohibited. 5
The term "local or special" is used in contradistinction to...
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