Case Title: Wiedenhoft v. City of Michigan City

Citation: 236 N.E.2d 40, 250 Ind. 327

Docket Number: 31,073

State: indiana

Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Date: 1968-04-24T00:00:00Z

Document:
250 Ind. 327 (1968)
236 N.E.2d 40
WIEDENHOFT
v.
CITY OF MICHIGAN CITY.
No. 31,073.

Supreme Court of Indiana.
Filed April 24, 1968.
*328 Hilbert L. Bradley, of Gary, for appellant.
Frederick H. Krueger, of Michigan City, George B. Gavit, and Ice Miller Donadio & Ryan, of Indianapolis, for appellee.
LEWIS, C.J.
This litigation has arisen out of a proposed Urban Renewal Project, number R-46, initiated in the City of Michigan City, Indiana. Essentially, the Project will replace a "blighted area" with newly constructed buildings. The appellant seeks to block this Project, and after an unsuccessful hearing on the matter before the Urban Renewal Commission, he appealed to the LaPorte Circuit Court.
During the trial, evidence was elicited which indicated that the appellant was a depositor-stockholder in the Michigan City Loan and Savings Association, but he did not reside in the area; that he owned no property in the area; that he occupied no property for business or otherwise; and, therefore, nothing of the appellant's is going to be displaced, relocated or disturbed in any manner under the administration of Project R-46.
The appellee, by written objections before the Trial Court, objected to receiving into evidence appellant's remonstrance on the grounds that appellant was not an aggrieved person. The Trial Court overruled appellee's objection, admitted the remonstrance into evidence, and permitted the appellant to give his testimony. The Trial Court then made the following findings of fact:
Ultimately the Trial Court affirmed the judgment of the Commission against the appellant on the basis that he was not an aggrieved person. It is from this decision that the appellant appeals to this Court.
The appellant initiated his appeal to the LaPorte Circuit Court under Burns' Indiana Statutes, Anno., (1963 Repl.), § 48-8555, which reads, in part, as follows:
Under this statute, the remonstrator must be an "aggrieved person" in order to have sufficient standing to initiate the appeal. The issue, which we must determine then, is what constitutes an "aggrieved person." After a thorough search, we are unable to find an Indiana case *330 which is directly in point, but there are numerous cases from which great aid may be derived in arriving at a just determination of the appellant's rights in the case at bar.
In McFarland et al. v. Pierce et al. (1897), 151 Ind. 546, 45 N.E. 706, the following three (3) statements appear:
In addition to the above, the following Indiana cases are helpful:
In Campbell et al. Co. v. Souders (1917), 64 Ind. App. 138, 115 N.E. 354, two (2) insurance companies were involved in a suit arising out of a Workman's Compensation Award. However, only one of the companies was held liable. In dismissing the appeal which was brought by the other insurance company, the Appellate Court stated:
*331 Looking to another jurisdiction, Colorado had a similar situation. In the case of Smith v. City of Aurora (1963), 153 Colo. 1204, 385 P.2d 129, there was an attempt by an individual to attack the validity of annexation proceedings. The City of Aurora, Colorado, sought to annex into it some adjacent property. The individual who sought to attack this proceeding did not live in either the City of Aurora or the land to be annexed. In deciding that he was not an "aggrieved person" the Supreme Court of Colorado said, in quoting from City and County of Denver et al. v. Miller et al. (1963), 151 Colo. 444, 379 P.2d 169:
We are impressed by the rationale on which this Colorado case is based. We think that its logic is applicable here in a situation where a non-resident of a "blighted area" who has no interest in the area, save for his deposits in a savings and loan association in the area, attempts to intervene in the proceedings and to thwart the efforts of the Commission.
In an attempt to distinguish himself from other "strangers" to the action, appellant stresses that this Urban Renewal Project is to be financed from Federal funds and that since he is a United States taxpayer, he is an aggrieved person. In our exhaustive search we have found no case which would *332 support the appellant's contention under circumstances similar to those with which we are involved.
In the face of these authorities appellant's position is untenable and he must yield. Millions of Americans pay taxes to the Federal Government, and this alone cannot be a sufficient grounds for one to attack the workings of our government. To allow this to occur would enable any taxpaying citizen to attack any Federal Project at any place in the country. Such lawsuits would be costly in both time and money as well as being unmeaningful to the administration of justice.
We must conclude that from the evidence adduced at trial, the Trial Judge was warranted in making his findings of fact. Such findings being valid, we are compelled to hold that the appellant is without sufficient injury or interest to be an "aggrieved person" under Burns' § 48-8555, supra. There fore, we must affirm the Trial Court in its decision.
Arterburn, Hunter, Jackson and Mote, JJ., concur.
NOTE.  Reported in 236 N.E.2d 40.