Tucker v. Humphreys County

944 S.W.2d 613, 1996 Tenn. App. LEXIS 734
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedNovember 13, 1996
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 944 S.W.2d 613 (Tucker v. Humphreys County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tucker v. Humphreys County, 944 S.W.2d 613, 1996 Tenn. App. LEXIS 734 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION

TODD, Presiding Judge.

The complexity of this suit and this appeal is demonstrated by the issues presented on appeal by plaintiffs, which issues are:

I. Whether the Trial Court erred as a matter of law in holding that defendant, Humphreys County, had the authority in May of 1993 to approve or disapprove Plaintiffs’ landfill under T.C.A. §§ 68-211-701 through 708 (“Local Approval Law”).
II. Whether the action of the Humphreys County Board of Commissioners in voting to disapprove plaintiffs’ landfill at a public [615]*615hearing called at the request of “interested persons” pursuant to T.CJL § 68-211-703(e) is null and void and violated T.C.A. § 68-21 l-704(a) and T.C.A. § 6-5-105 as a matter of law.
III. Whether the failure of the Hum-phreys County Board of Commissioners to approve or disapprove Plaintiffs’ proposed landfill as required by T.CJL § 68-211-704(a) constituted approval of the landfill as a matter of law, thereby entitling the plaintiffs to proceed with the permitting of the landfill with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
IV. Whether the Trial Court erred as a matter of law in holding, at the insistence of the defendant, that the scope of judicial review under T.CJL § 68-211-704(e) was by common law writ of certiorari (T.CJL § 27-8-101) rather than a de novo trial on all issues in the chancery court.
V. Whether the Trial Court erred in denying plaintiffs’ motion in limine to exclude or limit and restrict the admissibility and use at trial as evidence certain statements and documents which appear in the transcript of the public hearing, in re: Landfill Proposal, conducted on May 11, 1993, and thereafter allowed such statements and documents to be introduced as evidence over objections of plaintiffs.
VI. Whether the Trial Court erred as a matter of law in holding that the Hum-phreys County Board of Commissioners had the discretionary authority to approve or disapprove plaintiffs’ landfill under the local approval law.
VII. Whether the Trial Court erred as a matter of law in holding that the defendant, Humphreys County Board of Commissioners, did not act arbitrarily, capriciously, illegally or unreasonably in refusing to approve plaintiffs’ proposed landfill under the local approval law.
VIII. Whether the Trial Court erred as a matter of law in failing to find that the plaintiffs were entitled to approval of their landfill under the local approval law based upon the preponderance of the undisputed, admissible, material and relevant evidence and if so, whether the plaintiffs are entitled to a judgment in this court holding that the defendant was required to approve plaintiffs’ landfill under the local approval law.
IX. Whether the Trial Court erred in dismissing plaintiffs’ claims challenging the constitutionality of the local approval law and T.CJL § 68-211-105(h) on the grounds that the chancery court lacked subject matter jurisdiction.
X. Whether the local approval law (T.C.A. §§ 68-211-701, et seq.) and T.CJL § 68-211-105(h) are unconstitutional.

Plaintiff’s brief states:

All evidence introduced in the trial court was documentary evidence. No witnesses testified. The material facts are undisputed and were admitted in the pleadings and other documents filed.

Because of this statement the facts stated hereafter will be only those which are supported by citation of pleadings or documents in the record.

As material to the issues presented, the law, facts and procedure were as follows:

T.C.A. §§ 68-211-101 et seq., the Tennessee Solid Waste Disposal Act, vests in the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation the authority to regulate, supervise and control solid waste disposal, including the issuance of permits to construct and operate solid waste disposal facilities.

T.CJL §§ 68-211-701-708, the “Local Approval Law” grants local governing bodies the power to approve or disapprove the construction of private solid waste landfills within their jurisdiction prior to consideration of such landfills by the State authorities if no zoning ordinance is in effect in the jurisdiction and if the governing authority has by 2/3 vote accepted such authority. No zoning ordinance has been adopted in Humphreys County. On December 9, 1991, the defendant Board duly accepted said authority by “Resolution 43.”

On February 17, 1993, plaintiffs submitted to the Board an “Application, Public Notice, and Fact Sheet for Proposed Landfill in Humphreys County” and “Preliminary Opinion of Site Feasibility for Private Municipal Solid Waste Facility in Humphreys County.”

[616]*616On April 16, 27 and 30, 1993, defendants duly published notice that a public hearing in respect to said application would be held on May 11, 1993. The notice concluded as follows:

The Purpose of the meeting will be to fulfill the requirements of TCA 68-211-703 et seq. and TDEC 1200-1-7, and to gather facts in order for the Humphreys County Commissioners to make a decision.
1. The Hearing shall be recorded.
2. Any person speaking will come forth, state their name, address, and speak into the microphone.
3. The Humphreys County Commissioners will only be allowed to ask questions of the investors.
4. Each person speaking will be sworn in by the Court Clerk.
6. Each side shall have one designated speaker and shall be allowed one hour each. Then each side shall have an additional fifteen minutes for rebuttal. The Commissioners will then hold their meeting.

On May 7, 1993, the defendants published notice of a Board meeting to be held on May 13, 1993 to consider the following business:

1. Resolution on a $2,200,000. School Capital Outlay Notes
2. Resolution for the Buffalo Mall Project
3. Voting on a private Landfill

At the conclusion of the public meeting on May 11,1993, the Board voted on a motion to reject the application of plaintiffs. The vote was 11 yeses, 1 nay, one pass, one absent; and the motion was declared carried.

No action was taken on the proposed landfill at the May 13,1993, meeting.

On June 10, 1993, plaintiffs filed with the State Environment Department an application for approval of the landfill.

On the same date, June 10, 1993, plaintiffs filed the present action against the County and Board.

The complaint sought a declaratory judgment that the action of the Board on May 11, 1993, was null and void, and that the failure of the Board to timely act upon the application constituted an approval; that the Court grant a de novo review as provided by T.C.A. § 68-211-704

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Bluebook (online)
944 S.W.2d 613, 1996 Tenn. App. LEXIS 734, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tucker-v-humphreys-county-tennctapp-1996.