Jansen, d/b/a White Hotel v. Atiyeh

The Oregon State Board of Higher Education (the board) (defendant), acting through Southern Oregon State College (SOSC) (defendant), offered housing, food, and transportation (the services) to certain groups attending a Shakespeare festival on the campus of SOSC in Ashland, Oregon. To qualify for the services, a group needed to have at least 15 members and an educational mission. The festival was a nonprofit unaffiliated with SOSC or the board. Not all of the attendees were students of SOSC. Renovation and construction costs for SOSC facilities came from the issuance of Article XI-F(1) bonds, which under state law were authorized to finance the cost of buildings and other projects for the purpose of higher education. A group consisting of Ashland-area motel and hotel operators, taxi drivers, and caterers (the Ashland businesses) (plaintiffs) sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the board, alleging that it did not have the authority to offer services to festival attendees who were not SOSC students. The Ashland businesses argued that SOSC, in using its facilities, was not fulfilling the purpose of higher education as required by state law. A trial court granted partial injunctive relief, preventing the board from offering the services to non-SOSC students and out-of-state SOSC students. The injunction allowed the board to offer the services to non-State Board of Higher Education students attending educational institutions located within Oregon. Both the board and the Ashland businesses appealed.