Court Opinion

ID: 9858618
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 16:34:11.031599+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:55:11.536234
License: Public Domain

ON APPELLEES’ MOTION FOR REHEARING
On September 22, 1978, the Beaumont Court of Civil Appeals in Enterprise Company v. City of Beaumont et al., Docket No. 8231 (not yet reported) held that the Enterprise Company, publisher of two daily newspapers in the City of Beaumont, had “standing” to seek an injunction enjoining the City of Beaumont and The International Association of Firefighters, Local # 399 from engaging in labor collective bargaining negotiations in a closed meeting in violation of Section 7(e) of Article 5154c-l, Tex.Rev.Stat.Ann.1 The evidence showed that one of plaintiff’s reporters was denied access to a collective bargaining meeting. The City of Beaumont argued that plaintiff had no right to bring the action since it failed to show some special injury sustained by it which was not sustained by the public generally. The City cited the cases relied upon by us in our original opinion. Justice Keith stated that plaintiff had standing to maintain the suit under the rationale of Houston Chronicle Publishing Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston (14th Dist.) 1975), writ ref’d n. r. e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex.1976), and noted parenthetically that the Supreme Court of Minnesota in Channel 10, Inc. v. Independent School Dist. No. 709, 298 Minn. 306, 215 N.W.2d 814, 821 (1974), held that a television station had standing to maintain a suit under the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, based in part upon “the right of the people to be informed in a practical way by the news media.” We respectfully disagree with the reasoning of the Beaumont Court if applied to an alleged violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act. First, it should be noted that the Beaumont Court expressly limited its opinion to a violation of The Fire and Poliee Employee Relations Act. The court stated it was not necessary to consider the applicability of Article 6252-17. We do not think that the authority relied upon by the Beaumont Court in any way changes the rule announced by us in our original opinion. The Houston Chronicle case was essentially concerned with the *749applicability of Article 6252-17a, the Open Records Act. As pointed out in our original opinion, standing to complain of an alleged violation of that Act is granted to “the person” requesting public information and not limited to an “interested person.” Furthermore, neither the Houston Court of Civil Appeals nor the Supreme Court discussed standing. In its per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court expressly stated that since the City of Houston filed no application for writ of error, the court reserved the question of whether the press and public have a “constitutional right” to obtain all of the information which the court of civil appeals held to be public information. The Minnesota Supreme Court in the Channel 10 case noted:
“(t)here is nothing in the statute in any way indicating that the object of the statute was to ensure that only persons with a particular injury or those having a special interest differing from that of the general public were to have any preferred status. . . . ”
Again, we emphasize that the Texas Open Meetings Act in Section 3 limits standing to “interested persons.”
Many states’ open meeting laws do not restrict standing. Florida grants standing to any “citizens of this state.” Fla.Stat. Ann. § 286.011 (1975). New Jersey grants standing to “any person, including a member of the public.” NJ.Rev.Stat. § 10:4-16 (1976). Any “aggrieved person” may bring suit in New York. N.Y. Public Officers Law, art. 7 § 102 (Supp.1978). In Colorado, as in Minnesota, there is no statutory designation as to who has standing. Colo.Rev. Stat.Ann. § 29-9-101 (1976). See generally, Comment, Legislation: Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Law, 29 Okl.L.Rev. 189 (1976); Comment, Invalidation as a Remedy For Open Meeting Law Violations, 55 Or.L. Rev. 519 (1976); Comment, The Iowa Open Meetings Act: A Lesson In Legislative Ineffectiveness, 62 Iowa L.Rev. 1108 (1977).
In California, the statute requiring open meetings provides that any “interested person” may commence an action. Cal.Codes Ann., Govt. Code § 54960 (1968). In Sacramento Newspaper Guild v. Sacramento County Bd. of Supervisors, 263 Cal.App.2d 41, 69 Cal.Rptr. 480 (Cal.Ct. of App. 1968), the intermediate appellate court stated that the broad declaration, contained in the California statute, of the public’s right to disclosure should logically extend standing to any county elector. See also Sacramento Newspaper Guild v. Sacramento County Bd. of Supervisors, 255 Cal.App.2d 51, 62 Cal.Rptr. 819 (1967). The court noted that the defendant did not question plaintiff’s standing to sue, and had the issue been raised in the trial court, the complaint could have been easily amended to add appropriate parties and allegations. The court applied the California definition of “interested party” which is a “person having a direct, and not merely a consequential, interest in the litigation.” Associated Boat Industries v. Marshall, 104 Cal.App.2d 21, 230 P.2d 379 (Cal.Dist.Ct. of App. 1951). The Texas definition of interested party is different. We do not consider the case persuasive.
The rationale of Enterprise Company; Channel 10, and Sacramento Newspaper Guild is that the statutes under consideration were obviously passed for the protection of the public; therefore, any member of the public should have standing to enforce such statutes. We find no defect in such logic. We encounter, however, great difficulty in applying such logically reached conclusion to the well established Texas rules regarding standing. In City of San Antonio v. Stumburg, 70 Tex. 366, 7 S.W. 754 (1888), the court pointed out that the real reason for the rule was not to prevent a multiplicity of suits, but when the injury affects, “all the public alike an individual is not the representative of the public interest.” The court added, “A suit in such case must be brought by such officer or officers as have been intrusted by the lawmaking power with this duty.” In Yett v. Cook, 115 Tex. 205, 281 S.W. 837 (1926), the court said, “However, the people of the city are not without remedy, for the reason that the state, the guardian and protector of all public rights, can maintain a mandamus suit for redress of the wrongs complained of, if any exist.” Again in San Antonio Conser*750vation Soc. v. City of San Antonio, 250 S.W.2d 259 (Tex.Civ.App.—Austin 1952, writ ref’d), the court stated:
“The reason that appellants have no justiciable interest in this controversy is that any right which they have to enjoy the charm and beauty of the San Antonio River and its banks within the City of San Antonio is a right shared in common with all the people of San Antonio and with the public in general and any impairment of this right is an injury or damage sustained by appellants in common with the general public. Only lawfully constituted guardians of the public interest may maintain actions for the redress of such character of injuries . . .”
The court in Pierce v. Southern Pacific Company, 410 S.W.2d 801 (Tex.Civ.App.—Waco 1967, writ ref’d) stated, “It is the nature of the wrong, injury or damage which controls and not the extent.” After holding that the plaintiff’s injury was shared in common with the public, the court said:
“(a)n action such as this, under the circumstances alleged, may only ‘be brought by the lawfully constituted guardian or guardians of the public interest.’ City of San Antonio v. Stumburg, 70 Tex. 366, 7 S.W. 754. We cannot discard a settled rule merely because it dictates a result which may seem harsh to a single litigant.”
The rule that a plaintiff must show that he has been injured or damaged other than as a member of the general public in order to have standing was approved by our Supreme Court in the recent case of American Nazi Party v. Zindler, 561 S.W.2d 247 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston (14th Dist.)), writ ref’d n. r. e. per curiam, 568 S.W.2d 662 (Tex.1978).
Plaintiffs have at no time asserted that, they have a constitutional right of “access to the affairs of government” independent of and without regard to the charter and statutory provisions discussed in our original opinion. Their constitutional complaint is that because of their “unique status of public trust” they have “a constitutional right of access to the affairs and proceedings of government” and “therefore have standing to seek injunctive and declaratory relief based upon violations of Sections 122 and 123 of the Charter of the City of Abilene, Texas.” We do not think that their constitutional argument enhances their “standing” status. Furthermore, it should be noted that in the recent case of Houchins v. KQED, Inc., - U.S. -, 98 S.Ct. 2588, 57 L.Ed.2d 553 (1978), the United States Supreme Court stated:
“Branzburg v. Hayes, supra, offers even less support for the respondents’ position. Its observation, in dictum, that ‘news gathering is not without its First Amendment protections,’ 408 U.S. 665, at 707, 92 S.Ct. 2646, 33 L.Ed.2d 626, in no sense implied a constitutional right of access to news sources. . . .”
The court added:
“(t)here is an undoubted right to gather news ‘from any source by means within the law,’ id., at 681-682, 92 S.Ct. 2646, 33 L.Ed.2d 626, but that affords no basis for the claim that the First Amendment compels others — private persons or governments — to supply information.”
The court concluded:
“Neither the First Amendment nor Fourteenth Amendment mandates a right of access to government information or sources of information within the government’s control. . . .”
See generally, Comment, Invalidation as a Remedy For Open Meeting Law Violations, 55 Or.L.Rev. 519 (1976); Note, Open Meeting Statutes: The Press Fights For the “Right to Know”, 75 Harv.L.Rev. 1199 (1962).
The record reveals that in the instant case there are several persons who had standing to contest the matters in controversy had they elected to do so. As we understand the existing statutes, common law rules, and appropriate constitutional provisions, plaintiffs are not included within the group having standing to complain of the alleged closed meeting.
*751As stated in our original opinion, if the Texas rule regarding standing is to be changed, it should be changed by the Legislature or our Supreme Court.
We find nothing in the record to cause us to change the judgment heretofore entered. The motion for rehearing is overruled.
DICKENSON, J., not participating.

. Section 7(e) of The Fire and Police Employee Relations Act provides:
“(e) All deliberations pertaining to collective bargaining between an association and a public employer or any deliberation by a quorum of members of an association authorized to bargain collectively or by a member of a public employer authorized to bargain collectively shall be open to the public and in compliance with the Acts of the State of Texas.”