In re Kaye

11 Alaska 556
CourtDistrict Court, D. Alaska
DecidedApril 1, 1948
DocketNo. La. 61
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 11 Alaska 556 (In re Kaye) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Kaye, 11 Alaska 556 (D. Alaska 1948).

Opinion

. PRATT, Judge.

I. Upon the 5th day of February, 1948, A. L. Kaye filed his application in the above-named Court for a retail liquor license at Number 521 — 2nd Avenue in the City of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Upon February 6, 1948, the Clerk of said Court advised the Mayor and Common Council of said City of said application, and directed that they take action thereon at least within 30 days.

[558]*558Upon the 12th day of March, 1948, a certificate was filed in said cause by said Common Council, stating that it, al a regular meeting upon the 8th day of March, 1948, had disapproved the 'issuance of said license to said A. L. Kaye.

Upon the 23rd day of March, 1948, said A. L. Kaye filed in this Court a petition that the Court grant him said liquor license. The reasons set forth in said petition and supporting affidavits were:

(1) That said Common Council had not acted upon said application within the 30 days required of them ‘by the Clerk of Court;

(2) That it required four votes of the Common Council to disapprove said application; that upon a motion to recommend the granting of said liquor license to said A. L. Kaye, two councilmen voted for the motion, and three voted against. Whereupon, the Mayor cast his ballot against the granting of said liquor license;

(3) That two of the councilmen who voted against granting said liquor license stated at such meeting “That they did not want any more liquor stores on Second Avenue in Fairbanks, Alaska”.

The petition further stated that said Council had approved 12 licenses for other locations on Second Avenue in said Town within the past two months, and that the action of said Council as to the application of petitioner was arbitrary, unreasonable and not based upon any legal reasons.

A demurrer upon the ground that said petition did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action, was filed.

II. a. The Compiled Laws of the Territory of Alaska 1933, hereinafter referred to as C.L.A., provide that there shall be a Mayor and 6 Councilmen for cities of the first class, such as Fairbanks. Sec. 2383 further provides:

“The council shall have and exercise the following powers: * * * To take such other action by ordinance, resolution or otherwise as may be necessary to protect and [559]*559preserve the lives, the health, the safety and the well-being of the people of the city.”

Section 2390, C.L.A., provides:

“It shall be the duty of the mayor to preside at meetings of the council, to approve or disapprove of all ordinances or resolutions passed by the council * * *. He shall have authority to vote only in case of a tie; * * * ”

Section 2391 provides:

“The council may exercise its powers by ordinance or resolution; at all meetings of the council five members or four members and the mayor shall constitute a quorum * * *; but no ordinance or resolution shall be passed at any meeting unless it receives at least four votes. 5jc

b. As the council could act only by resolution, and it required four votes to pass a resolution, the effect of a vote of two councilmen for and three councilmen against a resolution to approve the liquor application was that the vote on each side prevented the vote on the other side from being sufficient to pass the resolution, and thus a tie ensued. As the mayor could vote in case of a tie, he properly cast his vote and a sufficient number of votes, to-wit, four, for the passage of a resolution was recorded against the resolution of approval. As the disapproval of the resolution was, in effect, the same as a resolution to disapprove the granting of the application for a liquor license, it will be taken as such.

When the City Council failed to take action within 30 days, from the date of 'the notice of the Clerk of Court, to-wit, February 6, 1948, it came within the provisions of Chapter 78, Session Laws of Alaska 1937, Section 3 which provides:

“A failure of the municipal officers to act upon applications for license within the period specified in the notice furnished them shall be considered a default and shall sub[560]*560ject the city to the penalty of losing its right to a refund as herein provided.”

But Mr. Kaye did not claim the default in any manner until he filed his petition on the 23rd day of March, 1948, the council having filed their certificate on the 12th day of March, 1948.

If said Chapter 78 used the word “default” in the same manner as it is used in legal proceedings, it would be necessary for the applicant for a liquor license to claim his default before the same was cured by the city council filing the certificate of its action in the matter. In legal proceedings the failure to claim a default is waived if the defaulting party cures the default before it is claimed.

On the other hand, said Chapter 78 does not state that the city shall lose its right to consent or dissent to the granting of the license merely by being in default. The only result of being in default which said Chapter 78 mentions is that the city shall be subject to the penalty of losing its right to a refund of the license fee.

In either event, the failure of the city to take action within 30 days has not lost to the city its right to consent or dissent to the granting of the liquor license.

c. Chapter 78 of the Session Laws of Alaska, 1937, sets forth the only conditions under which a liquor license may be issued for the sale of liquor within Alaska. If the application is within an incorporated town or city, the Clerk of the District Court shall notify, the city council of the necessity for action by the council upon the application, and to file with the Clerk of the Court a certificate showing the action taken.

If the application is for premises outside of a town or city it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the Court that a majority of the citizens over the age of 21 years, residing within two miles of the place where the liquor is to be sold, have given their consent to the issuance of such liquor license.

[561]*561It will thus be seen that the Legislature made every area within two miles of the place where a liquor license was to be utilized, a local option area in which no liquor license could be issued unless a majority of the inhabitants (if not within an incorporated town) had consented to the issuance thereof. If the place of sale was within an incorporated town, the local option was to be expressed for the town by the city council.

d. It is urged by counsel for the applicant that the only legal reasons which would justify the city council in refusing to recommend the granting of a liquor application are those which are set forth in Chapter 78, S.L.A. ’37, as disqualifications for the receipt of a liquor license, as follows :

(1) That the place exercising the license is within 200 feet of a church or school.

(2) That the license, applicant has not resided in Alaska for one year prior to his application.

(3) That someone, other than the applicant, has a direct or indirect financial interest in the business.

(4) That the licensed premises are connected by doors or otherwise with other premises covered by another liquor license.

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Bluebook (online)
11 Alaska 556, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-kaye-akd-1948.