Opinion ID: 1947634
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: The plaintiffs filed suit in Superior Court seeking injunctive and declaratory relief. Their resort to Superior Court was proper. This case is not contested for purposes of the DCAPA, D.C.Code 1981, § 1-1502(8). A contested case is one in which a trial-type hearing is required either by statute or as a matter of constitutional right. Id.; Capitol Hill Restoration Society, Inc. v. Moore, D.C. App., 410 A.2d 184, 187 (1979); Schneider v. District of Columbia Zoning Commission, D.C.App., 383 A.2d 324, 326 (1978). Here no such hearing is required. Certainly the Constitution does not mandate a hearing, for there has been no deprivation of a property interest. See Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 576-77, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2708-09, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). The RLA statute merely requires a public hearing, after ten days' public notice, but not until the developer's proposal has been completed and the agency is deciding whether to lease or sell the property to the developer. See D.C.Code 1981, § 5-806(c). Even then, only a public hearing is required, which is less formal in nature than the trial-type hearing accorded to contested cases. See L'Enfant Plaza Properties, Inc. v. District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency, 184 U.S.App.D.C. 30, 39-40, 564 F.2d 515, 524-25 (1977). Nor do the agency regulations confer contested case status here, for the regulations are tailored to simply implement the statute; the hearing requirement is not triggered until an actual lease or sale is contemplated. 28 DCRR § 13-1, 13-2(b), (c). The award of these exclusive rights is an administrative proceeding . . . concerned basically with weighing particular information and arriving at a decision directed at the rights of specific parties. Schneider, supra at 326, quoting Chevy Chase Citizens Association v. District of Columbia Council, D.C.App., 327 A.2d 310, 313 (1974) (en banc). But this standard only indicates that the agency's action was adjudicative as opposed to legislative in nature. It may still be adjudication without rising to the level of a contested case. One cannot rely on the functional test of Schneider alone in determining whether a case is contested; the trial-type hearing requirement of the DCAPA must itself be satisfied. Here, the statutory definition simply does not fit. Because this case is not contested, direct review of the agency's action in this court is unavailable. Nevertheless, any party aggrieved by an agency decision may bring a suit for equitable or declaratory relief in Superior Court under D.C.Code 1981, § 11-921. Capitol Hill Restoration Society, supra at 188; American University Park Citizens Association v. Burka, D.C. App., 400 A.2d 737, 742-43 (1979); Citizens Association of Georgetown v. Zoning Commission, D.C.App., 392 A.2d 1027, 1029 n. 3 (1978) (en banc); Money v. Cullinane, D.C. App., 392 A.2d 998, 1000 n. 2 (1978). Accordingly, plaintiffs' complaint for declaratory judgment was properly brought in Superior Court. This court therefore has appellate jurisdiction to review the trial court's rulings under D.C.Code 1981, § 11-721.