Cheyenne Newspapers, Inc. v. Building Code Board of Appeals
Wyoming Supreme Court
222 P.3d 158 (2010)
Facts
Several homeowners applied to the City of Cheyenne’s Historic Preservation Board for permits to demolish six houses located in a historic district. The applications were denied. The homeowners appealed to the Building Code Board of Appeals for the City of Cheyenne (the board) (defendant). The board was created by city ordinance and had authority over certain land-use matters. The board held a contested hearing in which it heard witnesses and took evidence. After the board closed the hearing, it conducted deliberations in private. The board considered the deliberations as quasi-judicial. Later, the board convened a public meeting to discuss its private deliberations. After the board discussed its deliberations at this public meeting, the board voted to affirm the denial of the applications for demolition permits. Cheyenne Newspapers, Inc. (plaintiff) initially had filed a petition for injunction with the district court, seeking an order that the board was required to deliberate in a public meeting, but the board issued its decision before Cheyenne Newspapers’ petition was heard. Accordingly, Cheyenne Newspapers filed an amended complaint, which sought an order declaring that the board’s action was null and void under the Wyoming Public Meetings Act. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the board. Cheyenne Newspapers appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Voigt, C.J.)
Concurrence/Dissent (Burke, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 710,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 44,600 briefs, keyed to 983 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
