Housing Our Seniors in Vermont Inc. v. Agency of Commerce & Community Development, 315 A.3d 1000

Plaintiffs (Housing Our Seniors in Vermont, Inc. and Lakemont Retirement Community, LLC) applied for a $750,000 grant from the Newport Development Fund Grant Committee, seeking to support a senior housing project in Newport, Vermont.
The grant program was established by Vermont using settlement funds from the EB-5 scandal, intended for economic development in Newport, and administered with broad discretion by ACCD.
Plaintiffs were not awarded a grant; the largest grant was instead given to Northeast Kingdom Development Corporation (NEKDC), which plaintiffs claim was ineligible.
Plaintiffs alleged conflicts of interest on the grant committee and argued that NEKDC did not meet project criteria such as being shovel-ready or affected by the EB-5 scandal.
The trial court dismissed the case for lack of standing, finding the grant process did not create legally enforceable rights for applicants.
Plaintiffs appealed, contending that eligibility criteria in the grant process did create enforceable rules and thus a legally cognizable injury.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Standing to challenge grant awards	Plaintiffs were denied a legally cognizable interest due to eligibility criteria	No legal right to grant funds or process; grant process is discretionary	Plaintiffs lack standing
Existence of enforceable procedural rules	Committee's Letter of Intent created enforceable standards for application	No statutory/contractual requirement for any process; guidelines discretionary	No enforceable procedural rights
Actual injury to a protected legal interest	Did not receive grant due to alleged unfair process, resulting in injury	Plaintiffs are not entitled to grant or process; no injury-in-fact	No actual injury to a protected legal interest
Court’s jurisdiction to review executive discretion	Court should review failure to follow published criteria	Review would encroach on executive branch discretion	Judicial review not warranted; separation of powers

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office v. St. Albans City Police Department, 2012 VT 62, 192 Vt. 188, 58 A.3d 207 (Vt. 2012) (Declined standing for disappointed bidder where no legal right to award process or funds existed)
Town of Cavendish v. Vt. Pub. Power Supply Auth., 141 Vt. 144, 446 A.2d 792 (Vt. 1982) (Standing requires an actual injury to a legally protected interest)