Pittsburgh Palisades Park, LLC v. Com.
| Decision Date | 28 December 2005 |
| Citation | 888 A.2d 655 |
| Parties | PITTSBURGH PALISADES PARK, LLC and Charles J. Betters, Petitioners v. COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania; Edward G. Rendell, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Robert C. Jubelirer, President Pro Tempore and Trustee ad litem of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; John M. Perzel, Speaker and Trustee ad litem of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Respondents. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Michael K. English, Thomas W. King, Butler, for Pittsburgh Palisades Park, LLC and Charles J. Betters, petitioners.
R. Douglas Sherman, for the Com. of PA, respondent.
Linda J. Shorey, David R. Overstreet, John P. Krill, Harrisburg, Amy L. Groff, for, for Robert C. Jubelirer, respondent.
Leonidas Pandeladis, Leslie Anne Miller; Gregory Eugene Dunlap, Harrisburg Peter Grattan Glenn, for Edward G. Rendell.
Jonathan F. Bloom, Jason K. Cohen, C. Clark Hodgson, Philadelphia, for John M. Perzel, respondent.
Lawrence T. Hoyle, Arlene Fickler, Philadelphia, for PA Gaming Control Bd., respondent.
Before: CAPPY, C.J., CASTILLE, SAYLOR, EAKIN and BAER, JJ.
In this matter, we address a facial constitutional challenge to a provision contained in The Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act (the "Gaming Act" or the "Act"), 4 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq. For the reasons stated below, we find that Petitioners Pittsburgh Palisades Park, LLC and Charles J. Betters (collectively "Petitioners") do not have standing to bring this action.
The facts and procedural history of this matter are straightforward. The Gaming Act was passed in July 2004. The Act amends the regulation of gaming in the Commonwealth and, inter alia, specifically authorizes and regulates the licensed operation of slot machines. This legislation also created the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board ("Board") to regulate slots gaming. The Board is authorized to, among other matters, oversee the issuance of three categories of licenses for slot machine gaming. Upon issuance of a license, the license recipient is permitted to locate and operate slot machines at its licensed facility. The Gaming Act permits up to seven Category 1 licenses to qualified horse race track facilities, up to five Category 2 licenses to stand-alone slot machine locations, and up to two Category 3 licenses to hotel-resort slot machine facilities. 4 Pa.C.S. §§ 1302-1307. Relevant for purposes of this matter, the holders of Category 1 and Category 2 licenses must pay the Commonwealth a one-time fee of fifty million dollars. Category 3 license holders must pay a one-time fee of five million dollars. The procedure by which the Gaming Act was enacted was challenged by numerous groups and legislators; after review, our Court in June 2005 concluded that the challengers failed to establish that the Act was passed in a manner that offended our Constitution. Pennsylvanians Against Gambling Expansion Fund, Inc. et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania et al., 583 Pa. 275, 877 A.2d 383 (2005).
Petitioner, Pittsburgh Palisades, LLC, is a Pennsylvania limited liability corporation. Petitioner Charles J. Betters is an individual who directly or indirectly owns a controlling interest in Petitioner Pittsburgh Palisades, LLC. Petitioners brought a constitutional challenge to the Gaming Act through the filing of a Petition for Review in the Nature of a Complaint in Equity Seeking Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (the "Petition"). With respect to their "Interests" in bringing this action, in their Petition, Petitioners aver that they have acquired property in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and have created a plan to develop that property for mixed uses, including commercial and residential development as well as for a gaming facility. Petition at 8. According to Petitioners, once the Board has established the application process, one or both of them intend to apply for a gaming license in accordance with the Gaming Act.
Petitioners' legal challenge focuses solely upon the constitutionality of Section 1209 of the Act, 4 Pa.C.S. § 1209. Specifically, Section 1209 of the Act provides for the Commonwealth to return to license holders their slot machine license fees if, within five years after the issuance of any licenses, the composition of the Board is changed, if the number of the members of the Board is changed, if the voting powers of members of the Board are changed, if the manner in which members are nominated or appointed to the Board are changed, if the length of term for which each member serves is changed, or if the general jurisdiction of the Board is changed in a manner that impairs or otherwise reduces the Board's licensing authority.1 If any such changes occur after the five-year period, only a portion of the licensing fee is required to be refunded and the amount of the refund is set on a sliding scale depending upon the year of the change to the Act. 4 Pa.C.S. § 1209(f)(2).
Petitioners assert that these provisions are an attempt by the current Legislature to "set in stone" its choices regarding the "nature, composition, and structure of the Gaming Act and the Gaming Board." Petitioners' Brief in Opposition to Board's Preliminary Objections at 5. Furthermore, this refund provision, Petitioners argue, will "handcuff" future members of the General Assembly from taking action regarding the Board due to the "resultant drainage of funds from the Commonwealth's Treasury." Id. at 15. According to Petitioners, as Section 1209 forbids the General Assembly from altering, amending, or repealing certain provisions of the Gaming Act, it is in direct contravention of Article II, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. PA. CONST. art. II, § 1.2 Article II, Section 1 prohibits dilution of the rights of the sovereign, and Petitioners maintain that this prohibition implicates the ability of the General Assembly to make, abrogate, amend, or repeal laws. Petitioners request, inter alia, that our Court declare the Gaming Act "illegal, unlawful and/or unconstitutional" and to preclude the Board from issuing licenses pursuant to the Act. Petition at 8.
Petitioners originally filed their Petition in the Commonwealth Court against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Governor Edward G. Rendell, President Pro Tempore and Trustee ad litem of the Senate, Robert C. Jubelirer, and Speaker and Trustee ad litem of the House of Representatives, John M. Perzel (collectively "Respondents"). Based on Respondents' unopposed application, the matter was transferred, pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 751, to our Court where proper original jurisdiction of constitutional challenges to the Gaming Act lies. PA. CONST. art. V, § 2(c)( that Supreme Court "shall have such jurisdiction as shall be provided by law"); 4 Pa.C.S. § 1904 ().
Respondents each filed preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer to the Petition contending, inter alia, that Petitioners have no standing; that the matter is not ripe for adjudication; and that Section 1209 does not violate our Constitution. It is these preliminary objections that we now consider.
As standing is a threshold issue to this dispute, we will begin with Respondents' preliminary objections to the Petition based on their assertion that Petitioners lack standing.3
Respondents contend that Petitioners lack standing because they have not been aggrieved by the matter they attempt to challenge. Simply because Petitioners may seek a gaming license does not establish that they have a direct, substantial, and immediate interest in the outcome of the litigation. Furthermore, as the Board has not yet promulgated regulations governing the licensing application process, they cannot demonstrate that they have been or will be harmed by any potential amendment to the Gaming Act. Thus, Petitioners, according to Respondents, have not shown that they have standing to pursue their claim.
Petitioners rejoin that they have standing because, although the Board has not promulgated regulations to govern the application process, one or both Petitioners will be seeking a Category 2 non-horse racing facility gaming license once the Board has established such process and both Petitioners intend to obtain a Category 1 horse racing facility gaming license. Thus, as an "applicant and potential gaming license holder" they maintain that they will have a "direct, substantial and immediate interest in the constitutionality of Gaming Act section 1209," and thus, standing to challenge that section. Petitioners' Brief in Opposition to Board's Preliminary Objections at p. 9.
Prior to judicial resolution of a dispute, an individual must as a threshold matter show that he has standing to bring the action. Bergdoll v. Kane, 557 Pa. 72, 731 A.2d 1261, 1268 (1999). The traditional concept of standing focuses on the idea that a person who is not adversely impacted by the matter he seeks to challenge does not have standing to proceed with the court system's dispute resolution process. See William Penn Parking Garage v. City of Pittsburgh, 464 Pa. 168, 346 A.2d 269, 280-81 (1975) (plurality). The courts in our Commonwealth do not render decisions in the abstract or offer purely advisory opinions; consistent therewith, the requirement of standing arises from "the principle that judicial intervention is appropriate only when the underlying controversy is real and concrete...." City of Philadelphia v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 575 Pa. 542, 838 A.2d 566, 577 (2003).
Stated another way, a controversy is worthy of judicial review only if the individual initiating the legal action has been "aggrieved." In re Hickson, 573 Pa. 127, 821 A.2d 1238, 1243 (2003); see also City of Philadelphia, 838 A.2d at 577. This...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
West Farms Mall, LLC v. West Hartford
...intensive inquiry to determine whether standing is appropriate under the circumstances. See, e.g., Pittsburgh Palisades Park, LLC v. Commonwealth, 585 Pa. 196, 888 A.2d 655, 662 (2005) (considering whether: "[1] the governmental action would otherwise go unchallenged; [2] those directly and......
-
Stilp v. Com.
...other channels is unavailable; and (5) no other persons are better situated to assert the claim. Pittsburgh Palisades Park, LLC v. Commonwealth, 585 Pa. 196, 888 A.2d 655, 662 (2005) (citing Consumer Party, 507 A.2d at 329). If not for Stilp's challenge, Act 44 would go unchallenged because......
-
Kuren v. Luzerne Cnty. of Pa.
...Cmwlth. 2014). The court first held that Flora lacked traditional standing to sue Appellees. Citing Pittsburgh Palisades Park, LLC v. Commonwealth, 585 Pa. 196, 888 A.2d 655, 660 (2005), the Commonwealth Court explained that Flora was not personally aggrieved by Luzerne County's alleged fai......
-
Commonwealth v. Sean Donahue & the Office of Open Records. Appeal of Office of Open Records
...be real and concrete, such that the party initiating the legal action has, in fact, been “aggrieved.” Pittsburgh Palisades Park, LLC v. Commonwealth, 585 Pa. 196, 888 A.2d 655, 659 (2005). As this Court explained in William Penn Parking Garage, “the core concept [of standing] is that a pers......