Lloyd Corporation v. Whiffen

849 P.2d 446, 315 Or. 500, 1993 Ore. LEXIS 34
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 23, 1993
DocketCC A8512-08127, A8803-01216; CA A62648; SC S38606
StatusPublished
Cited by50 cases

This text of 849 P.2d 446 (Lloyd Corporation v. Whiffen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lloyd Corporation v. Whiffen, 849 P.2d 446, 315 Or. 500, 1993 Ore. LEXIS 34 (Or. 1993).

Opinions

[503]*503TONGUE, retired Justice, pro tempore

The question presented for decision in this case is whether the owner of a large shopping center, such as the Lloyd Center, may be required by the provisions of either Article IV, section 1 (initiative and referendum), or Article I, section 8 (free speech), of the Oregon Constitution to allow persons to seek signatures on initiative petitions in the common areas of the shopping center.

We hold that persons seeking signatures on initiative petitions in the common areas of the Lloyd Center have a constitutional right to do so under Article IV, section 1, of the Oregon Constitution, subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. We further hold that three of the present restrictions, as adopted by plaintiff Lloyd Corporation (respondent on review) and approved by the trial court in this case, are unreasonable.

This is the second time that this case has been before this court. In Lloyd Corporation v. Whiffen, 307 Or 674, 773 P2d 1294 (1989) (Whiffen I), this court held, on a “sub-constitutional basis,” that defendants have some right to petition on plaintiffs property. The case then was remanded to the trial court for consideration of reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions upon the exercise of that right. In response to that decision, Lloyd Corporation then adopted rules that limited petition-gathering activity in the Lloyd Center.

Defendants then, from time to time, attempted to solicit signatures for initiative petitions in the common areas of the Lloyd Center. They wish to do so on a scale greater than that permitted by plaintiffs rules.

Plaintiff Lloyd Corporation made application to the trial court for an injunction to enjoin defendants from doing anything not in accordance with Lloyd Corporation’s adopted rules. The trial court then entered an injunction enjoining defendants from soliciting signatures on initiative petitions at Lloyd Center in violation of time, place, and manner restrictions in the rules adopted by Lloyd Corporation. Defendants appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Lloyd Corporation v. Whiffen, 107 Or App 773, 813 P2d 573 (1991). We [504]*504allowed defendants’ petition for review and now affirm in part and reverse in part.

CONTENTIONS OF THE PARTIES AND ISSUES TO BE DECIDED

Defendants contend that:

“The Court erred in confining petitioners to specified areas, in requiring 24 hour prior personal written notice of an intent to petition, in limiting the number of petitioners at any given time, and in banning petitioning during the Christmas and Rose Festival seasons.”

To the contrary, plaintiff Lloyd Corporation contends that:

1. “On the present record, the court cannot avoid a constitutional analysis.”
2. “Forcing the Lloyd Center to Allow Petitioning Activity on its Private Property Violates the United States and Oregon Constitutions.
‘ ‘A. Compelling the Lloyd Center to provide a forum on its private property constitutes a taking under Article I, Section 18, and under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
‘ ‘B. Compelling the Lloyd Center to provide a forum on its private property for positions with which it disagrees or on which it wishes to remain neutral violates its rights and those of its tenants under Article I, Section 8 of the Oregon Constitution and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.”
3. “Petitioners do not have a Constitutional Right to Gather Signatures on Private Property.
‘ ‘A. Article I, Sections 8 and 26 do not grant petitioners the right to solicit signatures at the Lloyd Center.
“B. Article IV, Section 1 does not grant petitioners the right to solicit signatures at the Lloyd Center.”
4. “Lloyd Center’s Rules are a Reasonable Means of Minimizing Safety Risks and Reducing Distractions which Interfere with Commercial Activity.”

Several amicus curiae briefs also have been submitted in support of the positions of both parties.

[505]*505During oral argument, a question was raised by a member of the court whether the fact that the City of Portland had vacated eight acres of public streets that now lie inside the Lloyd Center, which occupies about 80 acres, may provide a basis on which defendants may have a right to enter the Lloyd Center to seek signatures on initiative petitions. The parties were then requested to submit supplemental briefs on that question.

Plaintiff Lloyd Corporation, in its supplemental brief, contends, among other things, that vacating a city street extinguishes all of the public’s interest in the property. Defendants did not submit a supplemental brief on this issue, but in a letter to the court stated that they would “rely on the arguments submitted on our behalf by amicus curiae.” The brief submitted by Oregon AFL-CIO, as amicus curiae, states that:

“[T]he street vacation is not what gives rise to the public’s right to gather signatures, rather the public’s right arises from the fact that Lloyd Center’s common areas are a public forum.”

Because neither of the parties contend that the vacation of the streets provides a proper basis for the decision of this case, we find no need to discuss that question.

We next consider the contentions by plaintiff Lloyd Corporation and agree with its first contention that “on the present record, the court cannot avoid a constitutional analysis.”

I. PLAINTIFF’S “TAKING” AND “FORUM” CONTENTIONS

A, Plaintiffs “Taking” Contention

Plaintiff contends that compelling it to provide a forum on its private property is a ‘ ‘taking’ ’ under both Article I, section 18, of the Oregon Constitution and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

Article I, section 18, of the Oregon Constitution provides:

“Private property shall not be taken for public use * * * without just compensation[.]”

[506]*506The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides:

“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” (Emphasis added.)

By the Fourteenth Amendment, the rights of persons as guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment are made applicable to the states.

Plaintiff does not suggest any different analysis under the Oregon Constitution than under the Constitution of the United States. Therefore, we assume, without deciding, that the analysis would be the same under both constitutions. See Dept.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
849 P.2d 446, 315 Or. 500, 1993 Ore. LEXIS 34, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lloyd-corporation-v-whiffen-or-1993.