Lyon v. Bateman, 7493

Decision Date07 March 1951
Docket NumberNo. 7493,7493
Citation228 P.2d 818,119 Utah 434
PartiesLYON et al. v. BATEMAN.
CourtUtah Supreme Court

Riter, Cowan, Henriod & Finlinson, Salt Lake City, for appellants.

Clinton D. Vernon, Atty. Gen., Bryce E. Roe, Asst. Atty. Gen., J. Lambert

Gibson, A. M. Ferro, Salt Lake City, for respondent.

LATIMER, Justice.

Plaintiffs commenced this action for a declaratory judgment seeking to determine the right of defendant to the use of $20,000 from the State Uniform School Fund. Upon motion of the defendant, the trial judge dismissed the complaint with prejudice, and from that dismissal plaintiffs appeal. The parties are referred to herein as they appeared in the court below.

In their complaint plaintiffs alleged generally that the 28th Legislature of Utah, on March 10, 1949, appropriated the amount of $20,000 to the Superintendent of Public Instruction from the Uniform School Fund for Uniform School Fund Research; that on March 19, 1949, the Governor vetoed this item, giving as his reason therefor that the administration appropriation for the department should be ample to provide for the work covered by the proposed appropriation; that plaintiffs are taxpayers of Utah, and as such are contributors to and interested in the Uniform School Fund; that the defendant is the duly elected and acting Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of Utah; that plaintiffs are informed and have reason to believe that defendant has claimed the right to the use of the funds and that he has requested and demanded the delivery of such funds to him on the ground that the Governor's veto of the appropriation was invalid; and that his demands involve the availability or non-availability of $20,000 of taxpayers' funds. The gravamen of plaintiffs' complaint is contained in the following quote from their complaint: 'That defendant has publicly stated and indicated that the validity of said veto should be tested in the courts, and has indicated that he will employ counsel for such purpose, all of which, together with defendant's demand for delivery and use of said funds involves the availability or non-availability of $20,000.00 of taxpayers' funds, and represents a controversy of public interest which requires a declaration of rights as between defendant and plaintiffs under the provisions of Title 104-64, Utah Code Annotated, 1943, and the subdivisions thereof.'

Defendant's motion for dismissal was based upon the grounds that there was a non-joinder of indispensable parties and that the complaint failed to state a cause of action against defendant upon which relief could be granted.

On this appeal plaintiffs contend that the lower court erred in determining that they are not proper parties to maintain this action; that the court further erred in dismissing the complaint with prejudice; and that the Governor's veto of the proposed appropriation should be sustained.

The trial judge set out two reasons in his judgment of dismissal as the basis for his ruling on the motion to dismiss: First that plaintiffs have no interest in the controversy; and second, that there is an adequate remedy at law available to those who have custody of the funds and who believe the Governor's veto should be sustained. We are of the opinion that the existence of an adequate remedy at law, available to other parties, would not of itself be sufficient grounds for dismissing the complaint if plaintiffs had a standing in court. But, in view of our decision on the first contention, it is unnecessary for us to discuss or resolve the second.

While the statutes authorizing courts to render declaratory relief should be liberally construed in order to provide prompt settlements of controversies and to stabilize uncertain legal relations, courts, nevertheless, must operate within the constitutional and statutory powers and duties imposed upon them. They are not supposed to be a forum for hearing academic contentions or rendering advisory opinions. In order to maintain an action for declaratory relief, plaintiffs must show that the justiciable and jurisdictional elements requisite in ordinary actions are present, and a judgment can be rendered only in a real controversy between adverse parties. Generally, courts have held that the conditions which must exist before a declaratory judgment action can be maintained are: (1) a justiciable controversy; (2) the interests of the parties must be adverse; (3) the party seeking such relief must have a legally protectible interest in the controversy; and (4) the issues between the parties involved must be ripe for judicial determination.

The type of justiciable controversy which must exist before declaratory relief can be granted is defined in Section 8, on page 27, Anderson, Declaratory Judgments, as follows: 'A controversy, in the sense in which the word is used in the Constitution in defining judicial power, particularly of the Federal Courts, must be one that is appropriate for judicial determination as distinct from a difference or dispute of hypothetical or abstract character or from one which is academic or moot, but must be definite and concrete, touching the legal relation of the parties in adverse legal interest, and must be a real and substantial controversy admitting of specific relief through a decree conclusive in character as distinct from an opinion or advice of what the law would be on a hypothetical state of facts.'

Applying the definition to the facts alleged in the present case, it becomes apparent that the question of the validity of the Governor's veto presents an 'actual' or 'justiciable' controversy. The complaint contains allegations concerning the veto of the item in the appropriation bill and that the defendant has requested and demanded the delivery and use of the funds involved. His right to the use of such funds after a gubernatorial veto is at least questionable, and his alleged demand and threat to institute legal proceedings suggests that the seeds of a controversy have ripened. Thus, the first condition requisite for the granting of declaratory relief is present.

In view of the fact that the other three conditions blend together and that the reasons controlling one influence the remaining two, we consolidate them for purposes of discussion.

Section 104-64-2, U.C.A.1943, sets forth the interests which must be possessed by plaintiffs in order to entitle them to maintain an action for a declaratory judgment. It provides as follows: 'Any person interested under a deed, will or written contract, or whose rights, status or other legal relations are affected by a statute, municipal ordinance, contract or franchise, may have determined any question of construction or validity arising under the instrument, statute, ordinance, contract or franchise and obtain a declaration of rights, status or other legal relations thereunder.' (Emphasis added.)

Plaintiffs first contend that their interest as taxpayers is sufficient to establish that their rights or legal relations are affected and that they have a legally protectible interest in the controversy. In support of this contention they cite the annotation in 174 A.L.R. 549, which contains the following statement on page 555: 'A taxpayer is generally deemed to have a sufficient interest to obtain a declaratory determination as to the validity of statutes or ordinances under which public authorities will proceed to levy taxes or make expenditures of public money.'

We need not consider whether this general rule has been adopted by previous decisions of this court as plaintiffs do not seek a determination as to the constitutionality or validity of a statute. What they appear to seek is a declaration as to the legal effect of a claimed veto by the Governor. The question thus posed is whether a plaintiff, who alleges only an interest as a taxpayer, can question acts of the legislative or executive officials prior to the time any pecuniary detriment could arise.

To what extent a taxpayer may interfere with the ordinary processes of government and resist the acts of state officers has posed a problem not easy of solution. On the one hand, a taxpayer should be permitted to enjoin the unlawful expenditure of tax moneys in which he has a pecuniary interest, or to prevent increased levies for illegal purposes. On the other hand, he should not be able to meddle in the internal affairs of the state departments to such an extent that every official act can be questioned, hindred and delayed. Generally speaking, the various state departments should be answerable to taxpayers when a direct, definite and illegal injury is threatened, but not so until it appears that injury is more than a future possibility. Here we have not yet reached the state of a threatened expenditure, we are only concerned with an alleged dispute as to defendant's right to claim the money as available to his department.

Our research has indicated that the federal courts and a few of the state courts have refused to permit taxpayers to question the execution of an appropriation act on the grounds that it is invalid or unconstitutional and will result in taxation for illegal purposes. The...

To continue reading

Request your trial
26 cases
  • Laws v. Grayeyes
    • United States
    • Utah Supreme Court
    • 30 Septiembre 2021
    ...Swan , 675 P.2d 1145, 1149 (Utah 1983), Baird v. State , 574 P.2d 713, 717 (Utah 1978), and a case they both cite, Lyon v. Bateman , 119 Utah 434, 228 P.2d 818, 820–21 (1951).63 ¶87 The plaintiffs in Jenkins , Baird , and Lyon all sought relief under Utah's declaratory judgment statute. See......
  • Gregory v. Shurtleff
    • United States
    • Utah Supreme Court
    • 19 Marzo 2013
    ...the defendant to assert all defenses or counterclaims available against the real owner of the cause.”). 24.See Lyon v. Bateman, 119 Utah 434, 228 P.2d 818, 824 (1951) (“We believe the departments of the state should be first given a fair opportunity to settle their differences before being ......
  • State ex rel. Bayou Liquors, Inc. v. City of Casper, 94-254
    • United States
    • Wyoming Supreme Court
    • 20 Noviembre 1995
    ...Tenn. 594, 194 S.W.2d 459 (1946); Jenkins v. Swan, 675 P.2d 1145 (Utah 1983); Baird v. State, 574 P.2d 713 (Utah 1978); Lyon v. Bateman, 119 Utah 434, 228 P.2d 818 (1951). See Ahern v. Baker, 148 Colo. 408, 366 P.2d 366 (1961). In Ahern, the Supreme Court of Colorado considered a situation ......
  • Richardson v. Relf
    • United States
    • Alabama Supreme Court
    • 4 Mayo 2018
    ...has sustained pecuniary loss because the challenged government action wasted public funds derived from taxation (see Lyon v. Bateman, 119 Utah 434, 228 P.2d 818, 823 (1951) ; Henderson v. McCormick, 70 Ariz. 19, 215 P.2d 608, 611 (1950) ), it is also true that a clear, if less generally acc......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT