DuBois v. Town of Arundel

202 A.3d 524
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedFebruary 12, 2019
DocketDocket: Yor-18-147
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 202 A.3d 524 (DuBois v. Town of Arundel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
DuBois v. Town of Arundel, 202 A.3d 524 (Me. 2019).

Opinion

JABAR, J.

*526[¶1] Marcel Dubois and Sol Fedder appeal from an order of the Superior Court (York County, O'Neil, J. ) granting the Town of Arundel's motion to dismiss their complaint and imposing sanctions on Dubois and Fedder. We affirm the order dismissing Dubois and Fedder's complaint, but vacate the order of sanctions and remand to the Superior Court.

I. BACKGROUND

[¶2] This appeal relates to the Town of Arundel Planning Board's denial of an application to renew a conditional use permit submitted by Dubois Livestock, Inc.1 Dubois and Fedder were not listed as the applicants for the renewal permit, were not listed as the property owners, and were not listed as the authorized agents of Dubois Livestock. Dubois Livestock's application was denied by the Town of Arundel Planning Board on July 21, 2017, during a public hearing that was not attended by any representative of Dubois Livestock.2 Dubois and Fedder did not participate in the public hearing in any capacity.

[¶3] On September 18, 2017, Dubois and Fedder filed a complaint against the Town of Arundel, individual members of the Planning Board, and the Arundel Town Planner. Dubois and Fedder's complaint alleged that a memorandum drafted by the town planner and distributed to the members of the Planning Board led to an illegal executive session or sessions. Following the submission of briefs pursuant to a Rule 80B Notice and Briefing Schedule, the Town of Arundel moved to dismiss Dubois and Fedder's complaint as untimely filed, for lack of standing, and for failure to state a claim. On February 1, 2018, the Superior Court granted the motion to dismiss, concluding:

[T]he plaintiffs lack standing to bring the action, no subject matter jurisdiction exists for the court to properly review the matter, and plaintiffs fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under the [Freedom of Access Act]. Defendants' motion to dismiss is granted. Given the significant problems with the present litigation, the court also awards defendants reasonable attorney's fees and expenses pursuant to Rule 11 of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure....

At the invitation of the Superior Court, the Town of Arundel subsequently submitted an affidavit of attorney fees and costs, seeking $ 5,862.50 in attorney fees and $ 231.75 in costs, which the court then determined was reasonable. Dubois and Fedder moved for reconsideration and relief from the Superior Court's judgment, but both motions were denied. This timely appeal followed. See M.R. Civ. P. 80B(n) ; M.R. App. P. 2B(c)(1)-(2)(D).

II. DISCUSSION

[¶4] It is unclear from the face of the complaint whether Dubois and Fedder rely on the Freedom of Access Act (FOAA), 1 M.R.S. §§ 400 - 414 (2017), as the statutory avenue for review under Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 80B, or if they are asserting a separate cause of action pursuant to *527FOAA. Nevertheless, the present appeal fails in either event because Rule 80B is not the proper mechanism to assert a FOAA claim, Dubois and Fedder lacked standing to pursue a Rule 80B complaint, and the complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under FOAA.

A. Rule 80B Standing

[¶5] The court concluded that Dubois and Fedder did not have standing to bring this claim pursuant to Rule 80B and, alternatively, that any such claim was untimely. We have held that Rule 80C is inapplicable to FOAA claims. See Dubois v. Office of the Attorney General , 2018 ME 67, ¶ 7 n.3, 185 A.3d 734. Rule 80B is the municipal analogue to Rule 80C, which applies to appeals from state administrative action, and thus the same principle applies here, in the context of appeals from municipal action. Accordingly, to the extent that Dubois and Fedder seek to assert a FOAA claim through the process prescribed by Rule 80B, the court correctly dismissed the claim because Rule 80B is inapposite. See id.

[¶6] Even if the complaint can be construed as a Rule 80B appeal that seeks relief from municipal action other than a FOAA violation, the court correctly concluded that neither Dubois nor Fedder has standing. We review whether a party has standing de novo. See Bank of Am., N.A. v. Greenleaf , 2015 ME 127, ¶ 6, 124 A.3d 1122. "Standing is a condition of justiciability that a plaintiff must satisfy in order to invoke the court's subject matter jurisdiction in the first place." Id. ¶ 7. In order to have standing to file a Rule 80B complaint, the complainant must show "(1) that it was a party at the administrative proceeding, and (2) that it suffered a particularized injury as a result of the agency's decision." See Norris Family Assocs., LLC v. Town of Phippsburg, 2005 ME 102, ¶ 11, 879 A.2d 1007.

[¶7] Here, Dubois and Fedder were not involved in the administrative proceedings in any manner. In Dubois Livestock's application for renewal of the conditional use permit, "Dubois Livestock" is listed as the applicant, "Randrick Trust" is listed as the property owner, and "Ricky Dubois and Randy Dubois" are listed as the authorized agents for Dubois Livestock. Neither Dubois nor Fedder attended the administrative hearing on July 21, 2017, and neither has alleged a particularized injury as a result of the Planning Board's denial of Dubois Livestock's application for a renewal permit. As a result, the Superior Court did not err by dismissing Dubois and Fedder's Rule 80B complaint for lack of standing. See Friends of Lincoln Lakes v. Town of Lincoln , 2010 ME 78, ¶¶ 12-17, 2 A.3d 284.

B. Failure to State a Claim Pursuant to FOAA

[¶8] Dubois and Fedder argue that a complaint brought pursuant to FOAA is not subject to dismissal under M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Dubois and Fedder further assert that, even if a claim for relief based on FOAA is subject to a motion to dismiss, the Superior Court erred because they pleaded sufficient facts to entitle them to relief pursuant to FOAA. We review the grant of a motion to dismiss de novo and examine the complaint in the light most favorable to Dubois and Fedder to determine whether their complaint sets forth elements of a cause of action or alleges facts that would entitle them to relief on some legal theory. See Paul v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Upstream Watch v. City of Belfast et al.
2023 ME 43 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2023)
Richard Ouellette v. Saco River Corridor Commission
2022 ME 42 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2022)
Holman v. STJ, Inc.
Maine Superior, 2020
Mark Tomasino v. Town of Casco
2020 ME 96 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2020)
MSAD 6 Board of Directors v. Town of Frye Island
2020 ME 45 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2020)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
202 A.3d 524, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dubois-v-town-of-arundel-me-2019.