Rancho Viejo Waste Mgmt., LLC v. City of Laredo

364 F. Supp. 3d 698
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 11, 2019
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 5:18-CV-59
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 364 F. Supp. 3d 698 (Rancho Viejo Waste Mgmt., LLC v. City of Laredo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rancho Viejo Waste Mgmt., LLC v. City of Laredo, 364 F. Supp. 3d 698 (S.D. Tex. 2019).

Opinion

Marina Garcia Marmolejo, United States District Judge *700This is a case about political speech and the impact it can have on the marketplace. It is about a company's attempts to secure a permit from a state administrative agency and a community's attempts to have a voice in that process. But above all else, it is about the proper role of the judiciary in our constitutional republic.

The judicial power of the United States "extends only to 'Cases' and 'Controversies.' " Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins , --- U.S. ----, 136 S.Ct. 1540, 1547, 194 L.Ed.2d 635 (2016) (citing U.S. CONST. art. III, §§ 1 -2). An "essential and unchanging part of the case-or-controversy requirement of Article III" is "that a litigant have standing to invoke the authority of a federal court." DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno, 547 U.S. 332, 342, 126 S.Ct. 1854, 164 L.Ed.2d 589 (2006) (citation omitted). The "[f]irst and foremost" of Article III standing's three elements is that a plaintiff have suffered an injury in fact. Spokeo , 136 S.Ct. at 1548 (quoting Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment , 523 U.S. 83, 103, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998) ).

The state administrative agency is the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), which is reviewing a landfill permit application submitted by Rancho Viejo Waste Management, LLC. The Laredo City Council determined that the proposed landfill is not in the best interests of the community and decided to express that opinion to the TCEQ. While the underlying facts are interesting, they don't bestow Article III standing-Rancho Viejo may frown upon the council's comments, but it has failed to allege a cognizable injury in fact. The Court therefore GRANTS Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. No. 4) under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1).

I. BACKGROUND

For several years, Rancho Viejo Waste Management has had an application for a Municipal Solid Waste Permit pending with the TCEQ. (Dkt. Nos. 1 at 6; 11 at 2-4; 11-3). Its proposed solid-waste landfill, the Pescadito Environmental Resource Center, would be located roughly twenty miles from the City of Laredo. (Dkt. Nos. 1 at 4; 11 at 1-2). Both Rancho Viejo and the City of Laredo acknowledge that the landfill's proposed site is outside of the municipality's jurisdiction-the city simply lacks regulatory authority over the matter. (Dkt. Nos. 1 at 2; 11 at 4; 14 at 2-3).

With the TCEQ application pending, Bernhard Capital Partners Management, LP reached out to Rancho Viejo to discuss purchasing or investing in the landfill. (Dkt. No. 11-4 at 1-2). Representatives from both entities spoke frequently about the status of the application, and following a February 2016 meeting, they were optimistic that they would eventually strike a deal. (Id. at 2).

In May 2016, public concerns about Rancho Viejo's proposed landfill came to the attention of the Laredo City Council. (Dkt. Nos. 1 at 2, 4-6; 11 at 2; 11-2 at 32-34). The council gave advocates and opponents1 of the project an opportunity to speak and ultimately took up "a resolution in opposition to the proposed regional landfill that is currently in the permitting process by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality." (Dkt. No. 11-1 at 13).

The resolution passed-its final form read: "Motion to resolve to oppose a regional landfill and that all public comments *701made at this Council meeting be forwarded to TCEQ for their consideration during the public comment in the application process." (Dkt. Nos. 11 at 2; 11-2 at 22). In May 2018, Laredo City Councilmen Rudy Gonzalez and Alberto Torres again relayed opposition to Rancho Viejo's application at a TCEQ public meeting. (Dkt. Nos. 1 at 6; 11 at 3). And in August 2018, the city asked the TCEQ for leave to file an amicus brief in opposition to the application. (Dkt. No. 11 at 3-4; 11-5).

After the city council passed its resolution, negotiations between Rancho Viejo and Bernhard Capital broke down. (Dkt. Nos. 1 at 6; 11 at 8-9; 11-4 at 3). When pressed as to whether Bernhard Capital intended to finalize a deal, one of its representatives responded, "No, the City's opposition made it impossible now." (Dkt. Nos. 11 at 8-98; 11-4 at 3).

Rancho Viejo subsequently brought this lawsuit against the City of Laredo and the councilmembers who voted in favor of the resolution, requesting damages, declaratory judgment, and injunctive relief under § 1983 and the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause, as well as damages for tortious interference with prospective business relations under Texas law. (Dkt. No. 1 at 6-8). Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) & (6). (Dkt. No. 4). Because the Court must be assured of its power to hear an action before proceeding to its merits, it ordered the parties to address an issue that none had independently raised-standing. (Dkt. No. 10).

II. LEGAL STANDARD

The judicial power of the United States flows from Article III of the Constitution, which only affords federal courts jurisdiction to adjudicate actual cases or controversies. U.S. CONST. art. III, § 2, cl. 1. "[T]he requirement that a claimant have 'standing is an essential and unchanging part of the case-or-controversy requirement of Article III.' " Davis v. Fed. Election Comm'n , 554 U.S. 724, 733, 128 S.Ct. 2759, 171 L.Ed.2d 737 (2008) (quoting Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife , 504 U.S. 555

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Bluebook (online)
364 F. Supp. 3d 698, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rancho-viejo-waste-mgmt-llc-v-city-of-laredo-txsd-2019.