Court Opinion

ID: 9729808
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 14:49:19.834026+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:01.312588
License: Public Domain

SULLIVAN, Judge,
concurring:
I concur in the majority’s treatment of Issues Two, Three, and Four and concur in the ultimate conclusion reached as to Issue One. However, I deem it advisable to express my reservation with respect to certain observations made in Footnote 5 of the majority opinion.
I do agree with the majority that this case is to be distinguished from our decision in Thompson v. Medical Licensing Board of Indiana, (2d Dist. 1979) Ind.App., 389 N.E.2d 43. In the Thompson case, there was available within the administrative structure a review process not available here. But more important, I believe, is the fact that in Thompson, the administrative process was appropriate because there were factual issues to be resolved along with purely constitutional questions.
*62Unlike the majority, I find continuing merit in the principles enunciated in State ex rel. City of South Bend v. St. Joseph Superior Court (1958) 238 Ind. 88, 148 N.E.2d 558, and State ex rel. City of South Bend v. Marckle (1939) 215 Ind. 74, 18 N.E.2d 764. Of vitality is the following rationale enunciated in the Marckle case but which the majority finds “suspect”:
“It must be admitted that the third ground of the court’s opinion is misleading and confusing unless it is carefully construed and applied. It appears inconsistent to say that there is a remedy by an application for certiorari to the circuit court when the board of zoning appeals has made an illegal order, but that if the illegality complained of amounts to an invasion of the petitioner’s constitutional rights, such an appeal will not lie but the constitutional infringement must be by way of a direct attack on the ordinance. Unconstitutionality is illegality, though illegality may not necessarily embrace unconstitutionality. Upon careful consideration of the court’s language, it seems apparent that what was intended to be said was this: that where the invalidity of an ordinance, as a whole, is claimed because of an invasion of constitutional rights, the attack must be direct, and not by way of appeal from a zoning board. This seems sound since, manifestly, one who seeks relief from an unconstitutional ordinance is not restricted to the machinery of the ordinance for his remedy.
“If, however, it is claimed that the order of the zoning board is illegal, as applied to the petitioner, though no such claim is asserted against the ordinance as a whole, the alleged illegality cannot be asserted in such a manner as to destroy the entire ordinance, but relief to the injured party may be had by way of appeal from the illegal order.” 215 Ind. at 81, 18 N.E.2d at 767.
The declaratory judgment action was appropriate in this case.