Tri-County Landfill, Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners

526 N.W.2d 668, 247 Neb. 350, 1995 Neb. LEXIS 27
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 3, 1995
DocketS-93-1010
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 526 N.W.2d 668 (Tri-County Landfill, Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tri-County Landfill, Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners, 526 N.W.2d 668, 247 Neb. 350, 1995 Neb. LEXIS 27 (Neb. 1995).

Opinion

Wright, J.

In accordance with Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-1702 (Reissue 1991), Tri-County Landfill, Inc. (Tri-County), filed an application with the Board of County Commissioners of Sioux County, Nebraska (Board), requesting siting approval for a solid waste landfill site. The Board denied the request, and Tri-County filed a petition for hearing with the district court for Sioux County. The district court rendered a decision in favor of the Board, and Tri-County appeals. We granted Tri-County’s petition to bypass the Nebraska Court of Appeals.

SCOPE OF REVIEW

When the Administrative Procedure Act is inapplicable because another method of appeal has been prescribed and the standard of review has not otherwise been specified, the standard of review will be to search only for errors appearing in the record; i.e., whether the decision conforms to law, is supported by competent and relevant evidence, and was not arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable. See, Northern Natural Gas Co. v. State Bd. of Equal., 232 Neb. 806, 443 N.W.2d 249 (1989), cert. denied 493 U.S. 1078, 110 S. Ct. 1130, 107 L. Ed. 2d 1036 (1990), overruled on other grounds, MAPCO Ammonia Pipeline v. State Bd. of Equal., 238 Neb. 565, 471 N.W.2d 734 (1991), cert. denied_U.S._, 113 S. Ct. 2930, 124 L. Ed. 2d 681 (1993); In re Application A-15738, 226 Neb. 146, 410 N.W.2d 101 (1987).

The siting approval procedures, criteria, and appeal procedures provided for in Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 13 — 1701 to 13-1714 (Reissue 1991 & Cum. Supp. 1994) shall be the exclusive siting procedures and appeal procedures. Local zoning ordinances, other local land-use requirements, and other ordinances or resolutions shall be considered in such siting decisions. § 13-1709.

A judgment rendered or final order made by the district court may be reversed, vacated, or modified for errors appearing on *352 the record. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1911 (Cum. Supp. 1994).

An appellate court acquires no jurisdiction unless the appellant has satisfied the requirements for appellate jurisdiction. Manske v. Manske, 246 Neb. 314, 518 N.W.2d 144 (1994). In order to vest an appellate court with jurisdiction, the notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the entry of the final order or the overruling of a motion for new trial. Mason v. Cannon, 246 Neb. 14, 516 N.W.2d 250 (1994).

FACTS

Tri-County sought approval for a solid waste landfill site in the west half of Section 32, Township 24 North, Range 55 West of the 6th P.M., in Sioux County, Nebraska. This site is one-half mile north of the Scotts Bluff County-Sioux County line and is approximately 872 miles north and 3 miles west of the city of Scottsbluff. At a hearing held on December 8, 1992, the Board received evidence presented by Tri-County and heard testimony from opponents to the site. Additional evidence was accepted by the Board in the 30-day period following the hearing. On February 12, 1993, the Board voted unanimously to deny the application, for failure to meet all the criteria set forth in § 13-1703.

Thereafter, Tri-County filed a petition in the district court, asserting that the Board’s denial of the application was not based on the law or the evidence presented and that the Board did not have the authority to deny the application. After a hearing, the court wrote to counsel for both parties on September 22, 1993, setting forth its findings. At the court’s request, counsel for the Board prepared a document entitled “Findings, Conclusions and Final Order, ” which was filed with the court on October 5. The court found that the Board’s decision that Tri-County had failed to submit information demonstrating compliance with § 13-1703(1) was not arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable and that the denial of the application by the Board should be affirmed.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Tri-County assigns as error that the district court erred in (1) using a scope of review which applies to administrative agencies, rather than conducting a de novo review; (2) failing to *353 make its own determination as to whether the statutory criteria were proven; (3) finding that Tri-County failed to submit information to demonstrate compliance with the criteria stated in § 13-1703(1), (3), and (4); and (4) applying criteria that were not specified in § 13-1703.

ANALYSIS

We first address a jurisdictional question raised by the Board in its appellate brief. The Board asserts that this court does not have jurisdiction because the notice of appeal filed on November 2, 1993, was not timely. An appellate court acquires no jurisdiction unless the appellant has satisfied the requirements for appellate jurisdiction. Manske v. Manske, supra. In order to vest an appellate court with jurisdiction, the notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the entry of the final order or the overruling of a motion for new trial. Mason v. Cannon, supra.

Following a July 21, 1993, hearing, the matter was taken under advisement. On September 22, the court made a docket entry which stated: “Decision made. Co. board affirmed & fee of Snyder approved.” On the same day, the court wrote a letter to counsel for both parties informing them of the court’s findings and directing the Board’s attorney to prepare the journal and order. The record does not show that an oral pronouncement of the judgment was made in open court. A docket entry dated October 5 reads: “Findings, Conclusions and Final Order.” A document entitled “Findings, Conclusions, and Final Order,” which contains the court’s judgment, was filed with the clerk of the district court on October 5.

A notice of appeal must be filed “within thirty days after the rendition of such judgment or decree or the making of such final order.” Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1912(1) (Cum. Supp. 1994). To answer the question regarding jurisdiction, we must determine the starting point for that 30-day period. In In re Interest of J.A., 244 Neb. 919, 921-22, 510 N.W.2d 68, 71 (1994), we held:

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Bluebook (online)
526 N.W.2d 668, 247 Neb. 350, 1995 Neb. LEXIS 27, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tri-county-landfill-inc-v-board-of-county-commissioners-neb-1995.