Gilman v. Martin

662 P.2d 120, 1983 Alas. LEXIS 407
CourtAlaska Supreme Court
DecidedApril 1, 1983
Docket5937
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 662 P.2d 120 (Gilman v. Martin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Alaska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gilman v. Martin, 662 P.2d 120, 1983 Alas. LEXIS 407 (Ala. 1983).

Opinions

OPINION

COMPTON, Justice.

This appeal concerns the validity of the land sale lottery ordinance enacted by the Kenai Peninsula Borough (“the Borough”). The superior court entered a declaratory judgment that the ordinance authorizing the lottery violates the equal protection clauses of the United States and Alaska Constitutions because it requires participants to have been residents of the Borough for one year preceding their applications and because participants may file an unlimited number of applications for any parcel of land upon payment of a nonrefundable $10.00 fee for each application. The superi- or court further declared that the ordinance violates the statute prohibiting certain forms of gambling in the state.

We conclude that the ordinance does not violate the statute prohibiting unlawful gambling. We agree with the superior [122]*122court, however, that the ordinance is unconstitutional insofar as it requires participants to have been residents of the Borough for one year preceding their applications. We also conclude that the ordinance is unconstitutional to the extent that it grants a five percent reduction in the sale price of a parcel for each year of residency in the Borough, up to a maximum reduction of fifty percent. This provision violates the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution for the same reasons that the initial distribution plan for the permanent fund dividend program was held unconstitutional in Zobel v. Williams, - U.S. -, 102 S.Ct. 2309, 72 L.Ed.2d 672 (1982) (Zobel III).

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In September 1979, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly enacted Ordinance 79-53, which is entitled, “Providing for the Disposal of Certain Parcels of Borough Selected Lands by Lottery Sale.” This ordinance authorizes the sale by lottery of certain Borough lands at fair market value to persons who file applications within ten days of the lottery. Section 4(3) of the ordinance provides that, in order to be eligible for the lottery, the applicant must be a resident of the Borough for at least one year immediately prior to the sale. Section 3(7) provides that there shall be a five percent reduction in the sale price “for each full year of Borough residence up to a maximum credit of 50%.” No limitation is placed on the number of applications that may be filed by a person for a particular parcel, so long as a nonrefundable $10.00 fee is paid for each application.

The first lottery sale was scheduled to take place in Kenai, Alaska, on October 20, 1979. Harry Martin, a member of the Ke-nai Peninsula Borough Assembly, objected to the sale because he believed Ordinance 79-53 to be unconstitutional. On October 4, 1979, Martin filed a complaint in the superi- or court against the Mayor, Clerk, Planning Director and Finance Director of Kenai Peninsula Borough (hereinafter collectively referred to as “the Borough”). Martin sought a declaratory judgment that the ordinance is invalid, as well as an injunction against the scheduled lottery sale. On October 19, 1979, Martin amended his complaint to include two additional plaintiffs, Larry Zervos and Garland Thompson, neither of whom was eligible to participate in the scheduled lottery sale under the provisions of the ordinance.

A preliminary injunction was issued, restraining the Borough from holding the lottery sale until the constitutional issues raised by the plaintiffs were adjudicated on the merits. The parties subsequently filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The only significant issue raised in these motions that has not already been referred to is the argument made by the Borough that none of the plaintiffs has standing to maintain this action.

The superior court determined that there were no material issues of fact in dispute and, therefore, the case could properly be resolved by summary judgment. The court concluded that the plaintiffs have standing to maintain the action. On the merits, the court concluded that the one-year residency requirement bears no rational relationship to the stated objectives of the ordinance and thus the residency requirement violates the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as the equal protection clause of article I, section 1, of the Alaska Constitution. The court further concluded that the ordinance violates the statute prohibiting certain forms of gambling in Alaska because it establishes a lottery. The court accordingly enjoined the Borough from enforcing or implementing the ordinance.

The Borough appeals from this judgment. It contends that the superior court erred in determining that the plaintiffs have standing to maintain the action and further erred in determining that the ordinance is invalid in any respect.

II. STANDING

We first consider the argument of the Borough that none of the plaintiffs has [123]*123standing to maintain this action. Harry Martin has been a resident of Kenai for a substantial period of time and was a member of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly at the time Ordinance 79-53 was enacted. Martin contends that he has standing both in his individual capacity and in his representative capacity as an elected official. The superior court concluded that Martin has no standing as an individual, presumably on the basis that Martin is eligible to participate in the lottery sale and thus has not sustained any “injury in fact” from the enactment of the allegedly unconstitutional ordinance. The court concluded, however, that Martin does have standing as an elected official. The court stated, “Having taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the State of Alaska and the Constitution of the United States, plaintiff Martin has a duty and ethical obligation to challenge any ordinance passed by the assembly of which he was a member and which he opposed.”

We need not review the court’s conclusion that Martin has standing as an elected official because we hold, contrary to the superi- or court, that he has standing as an individual. In Moore v. State, 553 P.2d 8 (Alaska 1976), we addressed the issue of standing:

[T]he concept of standing has been interpreted broadly in Alaska, favoring increased accessibility to judicial forums. In Coghill v. Boucher, 511 P.2d 1297, 1303 (Alaska 1973), we noted that “[i]n the past . .. this court has departed from a restrictive interpretation of the standing requirement.”
Whether a party has standing to obtain judicial resolution of a controversy depends on whether the party has a sufficient personal stake in the outcome of the controversy. In our recent decision of Wagstaff v. Superior Court, Family Division, 535 P.2d 1220, 1225 (Alaska 1975), we described this requirement in terms of “injury-in-fact,” and explained that its purpose is to assure the adversity which is fundamental to judicial proceedings.

553 P.2d at 23 (footnotes omitted).

Martin has been a resident and taxpayer of Kenai for many years. Prior to the issuance of the injunction prohibiting the Borough from conducting the lottery sale, the Borough had spent over $36,000.00 in administrative and publishing costs for the proposed lottery, at which approximately 825 acres were to be sold.

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

Related

Jack Potter v. City of Lacey
46 F.4th 787 (Ninth Circuit, 2022)
Summer Sagoonick v. State of Alaska
503 P.3d 777 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2022)
Heller v. State, Department of Revenue
314 P.3d 69 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2013)
Fannon v. Matanuska-Susitna Borough
192 P.3d 982 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2008)
Stanek v. Kenai Peninsula Borough
81 P.3d 268 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2003)
Laverty v. Alaska RR Corp.
13 P.3d 725 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2000)
Chiropractors for Justice v. State
895 P.2d 962 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1995)
Longwith v. State, Department of Natural Resources
848 P.2d 257 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1992)
State v. Anthony
810 P.2d 155 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1991)
Native Village of Stevens v. Gorsuch
808 P.2d 261 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1991)
McDowell v. State
785 P.2d 1 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1989)
Patrick v. Lynden Transport, Inc.
765 P.2d 1375 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1988)
Owsichek v. State, Guide Licensing & Control Board
763 P.2d 488 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1988)
Kenai Peninsula Borough v. State
743 P.2d 1352 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1987)
Trustees for Alaska v. State
736 P.2d 324 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1987)
Hoblit v. Commissioner of Natural Resources
678 P.2d 1337 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1984)
Irby-Northface v. Commonwealth Electric Co.
664 P.2d 557 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
662 P.2d 120, 1983 Alas. LEXIS 407, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gilman-v-martin-alaska-1983.