van Frank v. Salt Lake City Corporation

2012 UT App 188, 283 P.3d 535, 712 Utah Adv. Rep. 39, 2012 WL 2849300, 2012 Utah App. LEXIS 196
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedJuly 12, 2012
Docket20100861-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2012 UT App 188 (van Frank v. Salt Lake City Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
van Frank v. Salt Lake City Corporation, 2012 UT App 188, 283 P.3d 535, 712 Utah Adv. Rep. 39, 2012 WL 2849300, 2012 Utah App. LEXIS 196 (Utah Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

THORNE, Judge:

1 1 Plaintiff Roger van Frank appeals from the district court's decisions granting Salt Lake City Corporation's (the City) motion for summary judgment and denying van Frank's summary judgment motion. Van Frank also appeals from the court's decision denying his motion for a new trial or to reconsider. We affirm the district court's dismissal of van Frank's claims.

BACKGROUND

T2 In 2006, van Frank, a licensed architect, entered into a contract with Mr. Thomas to provide architectural services. 1 *537 Presumably van Frank prepared architectural plans, which Thomas then included in his application for a building permit submitted to the Salt Lake City Building Services and Licensing Division (the Division). The Division denied Thomas a building permit, allegedly based upon the lack of a certified engineer's calculations. In 2007, van Frank entered into a contract with Mr. William Buchanan to provide architectural services to design a garage with a loft. Van Frank prepared the architectural plans, which Buchanan included in his application for a building permit submitted to the Division. The architectural plans included structural support calculations van Frank had performed for the loft's floor system. The Division conditionally denied Buchanan a building permit based upon van Frank's calculations. 2 Buchanan obtained the required endorsement of a structural engineer certifying that the floor system van Frank designed was safe. Thereafter, the Division issued a building permit to Buchanan.

3 In 2008, van Frank filed a complaint in the Third District Court against the City and Orion Goff, the Division's director, 3 seeking redress for harm done to him when the Division allegedly imposed unauthorized restrictions on the seope of his architect's license. Van Frank complained that such actions by the Division deprived him of a property right without due process. Van Frank also sought an injunction prohibiting the Division from making further determinations limiting the scope of an architect's work.

T4 In 2010, the City filed a motion for summary judgment based on the grounds that van Frank failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, lacked standing to sue the City, had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies, and that no due process constitutional violation had occurred. Van Frank filed a reply brief and a cross-motion for summary judgment, seeking damages and a permanent injunction against the City for its alleged violation of his substantive due process rights. The district court held a hearing on the parties' motions for summary judgment. After considering the parties' arguments and supplemental authorities, the district court in its September 16, 2010 memorandum decision concluded that the City's rejection of proposed plans in two instances does not demonstrate a policy of limiting van Frank's practice of architecture, . incidental to which he may engage in engineering, and granted the City's summary judgment motion and denied van Frank's motion. *

11 5 On September 29, 2010, van Frank filed a motion for new trial or to reconsider. The district court held oral arguments on the motion and subsequently denied the motion, concluding that van Frank's "Motion for New Trial or to Reconsider [was] not well-taken, either procedurally or substantively." Van Frank now appeals from both the district court's summary judgment and new trial rulings.

ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW

T 6 Van Frank first argues that the district court erred by granting the City's motion for summary judgment and denying van Frank's summary judgment motion. "An appellate court reviews a trial court's 'legal conclusions and ultimate grant or denial of summary Jjudgment' for correctness, and views 'the facts and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party'" Orvis v. Johnson, 2008 UT 2, ¶ 6, 177 P.3d 600 (citations omitted).

17 Van Frank also argues that the court erred by denying his motion for a new trial or to reconsider. "'[T)he trial court's decision to deny [a] ... motion for a new trial is reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard."" State v. Millett, 2012 UT App 31, ¶ 13, 271 P.3d 178 (alterations in original) (citation omitted). "However, 'we review the legal standards applied by the [trial] court in denying [a] motion [for a new trial] for cor *538 rectness.'" Id. (alterations in original) (citation omitted).

ANALYSIS

18 Van Frank generally argues that each of the several district court rulings that he appeals from should be reversed. The City, however, argues that van Frank failed to exhaust his administrative remedies under Salt Lake City Code 18.20.140 and that, therefore, the district court was ultimately correct in dismissing van Frank's claims. We agree with the City.

19 "Under Utah law, there is a specific exhaustion requirement with regard to land use decisions: 'No Person may challenge in district court a municipality's land use decision ... until that person has exhausted the person's administrative remedies....'" Salt Lake City Mission v. Salt Lake City, 2008 UT 31, ¶ 6, 184 P.3d 599 (omissions in original) (quoting Utah Code Ann. § 10-92a-801(1) (Supp.2007)). The denial of a building permit constitutes a written decision by a land use authority. Cf. Fox v. Park City, 2008 UT 85, ¶ 17, 200 P.3d 182 ("A building permit constitutes a written decision by a land use authority." (internal quotation marks omitted) (citing Utah Code Ann. § 10-9a-103(15) (defining "land use authority" as "a person, board, commission, agency, or other body designated by the local legislative body to act upon a land use application"))). "Where the legislature has imposed a specific exhaustion requirement ... we will enforce it strictly." Salt Lake City Mission, 2008 UT 31, ¶ 6, 184 P.3d 599 (alterations in original) (internal quotation marks omitted). "Strict enforcement of this provision dictates that if a party fails to exhaust [its] administrative remedies prior to filing suit, the suit must be dismissed." Id. (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted).

{10 The process for obtaining a building permit includes submitting an application "accompanied by all required plans, diagrams and other data." See Salt Lake City, Utah, City Code § 18.20.040. The Salt Lake City Code informs applicants that "[the building official may require the plans and other data to be prepared and designed by an engineer or architect licensed by the state to practice as such." See id. The Salt Lake City Code also provides that if the building official denies or revokes a permit, "[a Jny person adversely affected by the action of the building official in accordance with the preceding see-tions may appeal to the board of appeals and examiners for a hearing upon such revocation or denial." Id. § 18.20.140 (emphasis added).

$11 Here, two of van Frank's clients submitted building permit applications accompanied by architectural plans van Frank prepared.

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Bluebook (online)
2012 UT App 188, 283 P.3d 535, 712 Utah Adv. Rep. 39, 2012 WL 2849300, 2012 Utah App. LEXIS 196, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/van-frank-v-salt-lake-city-corporation-utahctapp-2012.