Nebraska School Dist. No. 148 v. Lincoln Airport Authority, 84-287
| Decision Date | 26 July 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 84-287,84-287 |
| Citation | 220 Neb. 504,371 N.W.2d 258 |
| Parties | , 26 Ed. Law Rep. 802 NEBRASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 148 et al., Appellants, v. LINCOLN AIRPORT AUTHORITY et al., Appellees. |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. Standing. Before a person can invoke the jurisdiction of the court, he must have standing to sue, which is having some real interest in the cause of action, or a legal or equitable right, title, or interest in the subject matter of the controversy.
2. Actions: Taxation: Municipal Corporations: Governmental Subdivisions: Injunction. A resident taxpayer may invoke the interposition of a court of equity to prevent the illegal disposition of money of a municipal or public corporation or the illegal creation of a debt which he, in common with other property holders, may otherwise be compelled to pay.
3. Actions: Taxation: Municipal Corporations: Governmental Subdivisions: Injunction. A resident taxpayer, without showing any interest or injury peculiar to himself, may bring an action to enjoin the illegal expenditure of public funds raised for governmental purposes.
4. Actions: Taxation: Municipal Corporations: Governmental Subdivisions: Injunction. To plead a resident taxpayer's action the plaintiff must allege a demand made upon the municipal or public corporation and a refusal by the corporation to bring the action itself, or facts which show such a demand would be useless.
Beverly Evans Grenier of Steven D. Burns, P.C., Lincoln, for appellants.
Michael R. Johnson of Barney, Carter & Johnson, P.C., William G. Blake, Chief Asst. Lincoln City Atty., John F. Sheaff, and Gary Dolan, Lincoln, for appellees.
This is an appeal from the decision of the Lancaster County District Court sustaining the individual demurrers of the defendants to plaintiffs' second amended petition. The defendants-appellees are the Lincoln Airport Authority, a duly constituted airport authority created by the City of Lincoln pursuant to Neb.Rev.Stat. § 3-502 et seq. (Reissue 1983); the individual members of the board of the Lincoln Airport Authority; the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska; Goldie M. England; and First National Bank & Trust Company. Each demurred to the petition filed by the plaintiffs-appellants. The plaintiffs are Nebraska School District No. 148, organized under Neb.Rev.Stat. § 79-426.19 (Reissue 1981) and located in Seward and Lancaster Counties in Nebraska; Al Schulz, a taxpayer of School District No. 148, who owns land in the district; and Billy J. Langan, a resident taxpayer and real estate owner in the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County. The petition sought declaratory and injunctive relief concerning specific real estate acquisitions made by the Lincoln Airport Authority.
The petitioners' second amended petition was filed on January 30, 1984. All defendants demurred on the grounds that the second amended petition failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action and that there was an improper joinder of causes of action. Defendant First National Bank & Trust Company and defendant Goldie M. England demurred on the additional grounds that there was an improper joinder of parties and that no relief was sought against First National Bank and England. Defendant Lincoln Airport Authority demurred on the additional ground that the plaintiffs School District No. 148 and Al Schulz lacked standing to bring this action. Other defendants named in the petition did not file a response to petitioners' second amended petition and are not before this court.
The district court, without setting out specific grounds, sustained the demurrers of all the defendants and gave the petitioners 10 days to amend their petition or have the case dismissed for failure to do so. Plaintiffs chose to stand on their second amended petition. The petition was dismissed, and plaintiffs timely appealed to this court.
We affirm the decision of the trial court, finding that plaintiffs School District No. 148 and Schulz lack standing to invoke the jurisdiction of a court and that Billy J. Langan, who has standing to bring a resident taxpayer's action in equity, has failed to plead facts which state a cause of action.
In reviewing a case decided on a demurrer, we consider all proper allegations of fact to be true. Hall v. Cox Cable of Omaha, Inc., 212 Neb. 887, 327 N.W.2d 595 (1982). Therefore, we assume the facts as alleged in "CAUSE OF ACTION I" of the petition to be true. Those facts are that the Lincoln Airport Authority Board acquired property without a present plan or purpose for it to be used by any project conducted or planned by the Lincoln Airport Authority.
The petition states, in pertinent part, that the Lincoln Airport Authority Board, pursuant to a motion and resolution on December 20, 1983, authorized the acquisition of specific property without a present plan or purpose for the property, contrary to § 3-503(4); that the acquisition will increase the tax burden; and that there is no adequate remedy at law for the injury inflicted.
Before any party can invoke the jurisdiction of the court, he must have standing to sue, which is having some real interest in the cause of action, or a legal or equitable right, title, or interest in the subject matter of the controversy. Hall v. Cox Cable of Omaha, Inc., supra. To establish standing to bring suit it is necessary to show that a party is in danger of sustaining direct injury as result of anticipated action, and it is not sufficient that one has merely a general interest common to all members of the public. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Assn. v. Department of Banking, 187 Neb. 562, 192 N.W.2d 736 (1971). There is an exception to the general interest prohibition where a resident taxpayer (who has a general interest with other taxpayers) sues to enjoin an illegal act by a municipal body. In Martin v. City of Lincoln, 155 Neb. 845, 850, 53 N.W.2d 923, 926 (1952), we noted:
Another established principle, which is conceded by defendants, is that a resident taxpayer may invoke the interposition of a court of equity to prevent the illegal disposition of money of a municipal corporation or the illegal creation of a debt which he, in common with other property holders, may otherwise be compelled to pay....
Another principle is that a resident taxpayer without showing any interest or injury peculiar to himself may bring an action to enjoin the illegal expenditure of public funds raised for...
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