17 Pa. Commw. 329 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1975
Opinion by
Before us are the preliminary objections by defendant, Jacob Kassab, then Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, to complaints in mandamus filed by plaintiffs, Pennsylvania-based manufacturers of mobile homes, in which they seek to compel defendant to exercise the discretion vested in him by Section 905(a) of The Vehicle Code
“It is axiomatic that mandamus is an extraordinary writ which lies to compel the performance of a ministerial act or a mandatory duty where there is a clear legal right in the plaintiff, a corresponding duty in the defendant, and a want of any other appropriate and adequate remedy .... Mandamus does not lie to compel the performance of discretionary acts except where the exercise or non-exercise of discretion is arbitrary, fraudulent or based upon a mistaken view of the law.” Valley Forge Racing Association, Inc. v. State Horse Racing Commission, 449 Pa. 292, 295, 297 A. 2d 823, 824, 825 (1972). See also, South Whitehall Township v. Commonwealth, 11 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 558, 316 A. 2d 104 (1974). Plaintiffs allege that defendant has not exercised his discretion with respect to the oversized mobile home movements proposed by plaintiffs, and thus
Consistent with the foregoing, we enter the following
Order
And Now, this 6th day of February, 1975, the preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer are hereby sustained and plaintiffs’ complaints in mandamus are dismissed.
. Act of April 29, 1959, P.L. 58, as amended, 75 P.S. §905 (a).
. Act of July 31, 1968, P.L. 769, 45 P.S. §1101 et seq. (Supp. 1974-1975).
. Act of June 4, 1945, P.L. 1388, as amended, 71 P.S. §1710.1 et seq.