Opinion ID: 732434
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Substantial Legal Interest

Text: 14 The focus of the parties' arguments concerning intervention was, appropriately, on the question of whether the Chamber has a legal interest in this case that is substantial enough to warrant intervention as of right. Plaintiffs characterize the Chamber's interest as remote, consisting of nothing more than a desire to see a law enforced against someone else. The Chamber responds that its involvement in the political process that culminated in adoption of the 1994 amendments and its status as an entity similarly regulated by the challenged statutes deserve legal protection. 15 This circuit has opted for a rather expansive notion of the interest sufficient to invoke intervention of right. See Purnell, 925 F.2d at 948; Bradley v. Milliken, 828 F.2d 1186, 1192 (6th Cir.1987) ([T]his court has acknowledged that 'interest' is to be construed liberally.). We have, for example, noted that an intervenor need not have the same standing necessary to initiate a lawsuit, Purnell, 925 F.2d at 948, and cited with approval decisions of other courts reject[ing] the notion that Rule 24(a)(2) requires a specific legal or equitable interest. Id.; cf. Associated Builders & Contractors v. Perry, 16 F.3d 688 (6th Cir.1994) (noting that intervenor need not have standing before district court but distinguishing standing required for appeal). The inquiry into the substantiality of the claimed interest is necessarily fact-specific. 16 While none of our cases have addressed the significance to be accorded a proposed intervenor's interest in the validity of legislation, the Ninth Circuit has adopted a broader rule that a public interest group that is involved in the process leading to adoption of legislation has a cognizable interest in defending that legislation. See Idaho Farm Bureau Fed'n v. Babbitt, 58 F.3d 1392, 1397 (9th Cir.1995); Sagebrush Rebellion, Inc. v. Watt, 713 F.2d 525, 527 (9th Cir.1983); see also State of Idaho v. Freeman, 625 F.2d 886 (9th Cir.1980). Idaho Farm Bureau supports our conclusion in this case that the rules governing intervention are construed broadly in favor of the applicants. 58 F.3d at 1397 (citing United States v. Oregon, 913 F.2d 576, 587 (9th Cir.1990), cert. denied, Makah Indian Tribe v. United States, 501 U.S. 1250, 111 S.Ct. 2889, 115 L.Ed.2d 1054 (1991)). There, the intervening public interest group had been involved in a separate suit in a matter related to the issues in controversy. It had filed a timely motion to intervene, had supported the action of the defendant in the case--just as the Chamber has supported the legislation challenged in the instant case--and had been active in the process leading to the litigation. Id. at 1398. The court was also satisfied that the Fish & Wildlife Agency (FWA) (the government entity defendant) would not have adequately represented the intervenor's interest. Members of the intervening group, moreover, had direct contact with the subject of the litigation and FWA had failed to appeal an important ruling on a significant issue of great concern to the intervenor. If anything, however, the successful intervenors in Idaho Farm Bureau had less direct interest and exposure to potential injury than does the Chamber in this case, although the bases for intervention were generally the same. Similarly, in Sagebrush Rebellion, Inc. v. Watt, the intervening public interest group also supported the position of the government defendant and had actively opposed the plaintiff in the administrative process leading to the governmental action. 713 F.2d at 525. 17 In Meek v. Metropolitan Dade County, 985 F.2d 1471 (11th Cir.1993), the Eleventh Circuit, in a suit challenging the country's at-large system for electing county commissioners, ordered intervention as of right for individuals seeking to uphold that system. There, the court identified the intervenors' interest as maintaining the election system that governed their exercise of political power, a democratically established system that the district court's order had altered. Id. at 1480. The situation now before us is analogous, as the Chamber seeks to vindicate the statutory scheme that regulates political contributions by labor unions and corporations, contributions that can have a substantial impact upon the exercise of political power in Michigan by influencing the outcome of elections. Under somewhat similar circumstances, in the State of New York, pharmacists and their association were permitted to intervene as of right in order to defend their financial interests with respect to a state regulation prohibiting the advertising of prescription drug prices that was under attack in a lawsuit brought by consumers. New York Pub. Interest Research Group, Inc. v. Regents, 516 F.2d 350 (2d Cir.1975). 18 Plaintiffs rely principally upon Athens Lumber Co. v. Federal Election Comm'n, 690 F.2d 1364 (11th Cir.1982). In that case, Athens Lumber sued the Federal Election Commission challenging a provision of the Federal Elections Commission Act that limited corporate expenditures. Id. A labor union and its president sought to intervene on behalf of defendant, claiming an interest in not being harmed financially in federal elections by corporate contributions. Id. at 1366. The union had no contact at all with the corporation, nor had it been shown to have been a part of the legislative process. The corporation challenged only the application of the law to its own contributions. The court denied the application, correctly in our view, because the union lacked a direct, substantial, legally protectable interest inasmuch as it was not a real party in interest in the transaction which is the subject of the proceeding. Id. The court went on to state that the sole basis of [the union's] interest is general concern ... shared with all unions and all citizens concerned about the ramifications of direct corporate expenditures. Id. The court denied the application, holding that the interest is so generalized it will not support a claim for intervention as of right. Id. 19 We acknowledge that our holding is not without limit, and do not disagree with Athens Lumber on its facts. However, based upon the particularly compelling facts presented in the case before us, we find it to be clearly distinguishable. The evidence shows that the Chamber was (1) a vital participant in the political process that resulted in legislative adoption of the 1994 amendments in the first place, (2) a repeat player in Campaign Finance Act litigation, (3) a significant party which is adverse to the challenging union in the political process surrounding Michigan state government's regulation of practical campaign financing, and (4) an entity also regulated by at least three of the four statutory provisions challenged by plaintiffs. Admittedly, the intervention issue raised in this appeal is a close one, but in view of the facts unique to this particular case, and in the belief that close cases should be resolved in favor of recognizing an interest under Rule 24(a), we hold that the Chamber has a substantial legal interest in this litigation.