Moon v. North Idaho Farmers Ass'n

96 P.3d 637, 140 Idaho 536, 2004 Ida. LEXIS 160
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 2, 2004
Docket29896, 29897, 29898, 29899, 29900, 29901
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 96 P.3d 637 (Moon v. North Idaho Farmers Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moon v. North Idaho Farmers Ass'n, 96 P.3d 637, 140 Idaho 536, 2004 Ida. LEXIS 160 (Idaho 2004).

Opinions

BURDICK, Justice.

The defendant-seed growers are appealing the district court’s decision holding the amendments to I.C. § 22-4801 et seq., which were passed by the 2003 Legislature, unconstitutional. This Court granted a permissive appeal of this interlocutory order. For the reasons outlined below, we hold the recently enacted amendments to be in conformity with the Idaho and United States Constitutions.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The plaintiffs are individuals claiming sensitivity to grass smoke, who filed an action against various seed growers in north Idaho who traditionally burn the post-harvest straw and stubble in their fields as part of their farming activities. The plaintiffs’ complaint, filed in June of 2002, asserted among others, claims of nuisance and trespass. The plaintiffs filed for a preliminary injunction in July of 2002, seeking to enjoin the defendant-seed growers from burning their Kentucky bluegrass fields. The district court, in August 2002 took testimony from the plaintiffs’ medical experts, State officials from Washington and Idaho, class members and grass farmers. The district court issued findings of fact and conclusions of law and ultimately granted the preliminary injunction to abate the injury caused by the field burning of the grass farmers and required the posting of a bond.

In September of 2002, however, the Idaho Supreme Court granted the defendant-seed growers’ request for a writ of prohibition, after concluding that the injunction exceeded in some respects the district court’s jurisdiction. The Court enjoined the district court from enforcing the terms of the preliminary injunction against the grass burners.

The plaintiffs sought and were granted certification as a class1 and were granted leave to amend their complaint to assert a punitive damage claim. Thereafter, in the early spring of 2003, several bills related to field burning were under consideration by the Idaho legislature. The district court held a hearing on April 11, 2003, where the impact of the various bills was discussed with respect to the plaintiffs’ property and their statutory rights to abate the nuisance and/or enjoin the trespass caused by the grass burners’ smoke.

In April 2003, after Governor Kempthorne signed House Bill 391 into law, the plaintiffs filed a motion to the district court to declare the law unconstitutional as applied to the facts of this case. HB 391, which was passed as an emergency measure, amended the Smoke Management and Crop Residue Disposal Act of 1999, I.C. § 22-4801 et seq., and effectively extinguished liability for all North Idaho grass farmers that burn in compliance with its provisions. Of particular significance, HB 391 amended portions of I.C. § 22-4803 and added a new statute, I.C. § 22-4803A.

The district court heard the motion of the plaintiffs, arguing the unconstitutionality of I.C. § 22-4803A(6), which reads as follows:

[540]*540(6) Crop residue burning conducted in accordance with section 22-4803 Idaho Code, shall not constitute a private or public nuisance or constitute trespass. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to create a private cause of action against any person who engages in or allows crop residue burning of a field or fields required to be registered pursuant to section 22-4803(3) Idaho Code, provided such activities are conducted in accordance with chapter 49, title 22, Idaho Code, and rules promulgated thereunder.

On June 4, 2003, the district court issued an order holding HB 391 unconstitutional. The district court held: (1) that HB 391 effects an unconstitutional taking of property without prior compensation or due process; (2) that HB 391 imposes a limitation that is not in the interests of the common welfare and thus violative of Article I, § 1 of the Idaho Constitution; and (3) that HB 391 is a “local or special law” in violation of Article III, § 19 of the Idaho Constitution. The district court concluded that for two months of the year, August and September, “the burning invades and destroys two of the three fundamental aspects of the plaintiffs’ property rights ... possession and use.” The district court also ruled that by affirmatively granting the grass burners the right to maintain the nuisance on the plaintiffs’ property, the State imposed an easement on the plaintiffs’ land.

The district judge who ruled on the constitutionality of the statutory amendments, particularly I.C. § 22-4806, was disqualified by order dated June 12, 2003. By order of the Idaho Supreme Court dated June 28, 2003, the Honorable District Judge W.H. Woodland was appointed to take over the case. Shortly thereafter, the district court granted the defendants’ motion to stay the proceedings until the Supreme Court determines the motion for a permissive appeal of the interlocutory order pursuant to I.A.R. 12(a). The Idaho Supreme Court granted the motion for permissive appeal on July 22,2003. -

ISSUES ON APPEAL

1.Did the district court err in finding HB 391 is an unconstitutional “taking” of private property under both the Idaho and United States Constitutions?

2. Did the district court err in finding that HB 391 is a violation of Article I, § 1 of the Idaho Constitution, because the “limitation” imposed by the amendments were not in the “interests of the common welfare”?

3. Did the district court err in finding the HB 391 is a “local or special law” in violation of Article III, § 19 of the Idaho Constitution?

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The constitutionality of a statute is a question of law over which this Court exercises free review. State v. Cobb, 132 Idaho 195, 197, 969 P.2d 244, 246 (1998); Fremont-Madison Irr. Dist. and Mitigation Group v. Idaho Ground Water Appropriators, Inc., 129 Idaho 454, 926 P.2d 1301 (1996). The party challenging a statute on constitutional grounds bears the burden of establishing that the statute is unconstitutional and “must overcome a strong presumption of validity.” Olsen v. J.A. Freeman Co., 117 Idaho 706, 709, 791 P.2d 1285, 1288 (1990). Courts are obligated to seek an interpretation of a stat ute that upholds its constitutionality. State v. Newman, 108 Idaho 5, 13, 696 P.2d 856, 864 (1985). The judicial power to declare legislative action invalid upon constitutional grounds is to be exercised only in clear cases. State ex rel. Brassey v. Hanson, 81 Idaho 403, 406, 342 P.2d 706, 709 (1959).

DISCUSSION

I.

HB 391 affected amendments to portions of I.C. §§ 22-4801, -4803 and -4804 and added an entirely new section, I.C. § 22-4803A. The plaintiffs’ motion dated April 30, 2003, challenged the constitutionality of HB 391 in several respects.

In asserting their challenge to the statute, the plaintiffs contended that the immunity conferred by I.C. § 22-4803A(6) to the grass farmers who burn their fields results in a taking of private property without the payment of compensation in violation of federal and state constitutional provisions. The stat[541]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
96 P.3d 637, 140 Idaho 536, 2004 Ida. LEXIS 160, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moon-v-north-idaho-farmers-assn-idaho-2004.