FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In 1990, the California legislature enacted legislation to address the increased costs associated with the need to provide off-site stabling for horses during race meetings due to rising horse populations exceeding the number of stalls available at a single race location. Section 19607 required satellite wagering facilities to redirect a small portion of the funds they would otherwise allocate for commissions, purses and owners' premiums into a fund (the fund), and created an organization comprised of race associations, fairs conducting racing, and the organization representing horsemen and horsewomen (collectively, the fund management organization
At that time, SLRR operated an auxiliary facility and provided additional stabling
Unable to reach a resolution with the fund management organization or the CHRB, SLRR filed a complaint and petition for writ of mandamus with the superior court in early 2012. In the complaint, SLRR asserted claims for unfair competition, interference with contracts, and interference with prospective economic advantage, among others, based on allegations the fund management organization provided illegal subsidies to certain race associations, making it impossible for SLRR to compete for horse stalling business. SLRR also requested a writ directing the CHRB to exercise its jurisdiction to compel the fund management organization (referred to in the complaint as SCOTWINC) to comply with the statutory provisions governing the fund and to prohibit certain distributions from the fund.
The CHRB, along with other named defendants, filed various demurrers in response to SLRR's writ petition. The superior court granted the demurrers with respect to all claims asserted against the CHRB except for the writ petition. The court noted that certain racing associations had requested an audit of the fund, thereby invoking the board's primary jurisdiction to investigate and adjudicate the issue of whether the fund management organization had properly disbursed the funds in accordance with the law, and therefore stayed the remainder of the action in the interest of judicial efficiency. In making its ruling, the superior court noted SLRR had conceded it did not have standing to seek reimbursement from the fund, but that SLRR was not precluded from asserting other claims for damages, restitution or injunctive relief.
Of relevance here, in the proposed decision Referee Chaney found the CHRB audit was conducted in accordance with the law, the statute required the fund management organization to reimburse the race associations for payments made to off-site facilities but the fund management organization
Referee Chaney also determined the fund management organization did not use the funds in the most efficient manner, in part due to the circumvention of negotiations between individual race associations and stabling facilities that resulted from the direct reimbursement of off-site stabling faсilities, and thus recommended additional oversight by the CHRB. In particular, Referee Chaney noted there was a general acceptance of overpaying for off-site stabling because race associations that acted as auxiliary facilities were generally willing to overpay to be overpaid in return. As a result, auxiliary facilities like SLRR that did not also act as a race association did not receive reimbursements. However, Referee Chaney acknowledged decisions for reimbursement could not be driven purely by economics and nothing in the law precluded the fund management organization from considering additional factors such as goodwill, service to the industry and minimizing disruptions in stabling. Thus, he stated it was unclear how SLRR would have benefited had the fund management organization administered the fund in accordance with his interpretation of the governing statutes, although he also acknowledged that determination was outside the scope of his inquiry.
The next month, SLRR filed an ex parte request in the superior court, asking the court to lift its stay and to prohibit the CHRB from reconsidering its July 18, 2013 order. SLRR argued the CHRB's July 18 оrder was a final agency decision and the CHRB therefore no longer had jurisdiction to reconsider it. The court denied the request, noting Referee Chaney's proposed decision itself indicated it was limited in scope and was only a guide for the CHRB to utilize in making a determination as to the larger issues in the case. Thus, the court concluded there was support for the CHRB's assertion the July 18, 2013 order was not a final order. The court permitted SLRR to renew its request by way of a noticed motion, but SLRR did not file any further papers.
The CHRB referred the matter to the LLRC and, on April 24, 2014, the LLRC held a meeting to considеr the issues raised by SLRR and the respondents. Although they had submitted a brief to the LLRC, SLRR did not attend the meeting. Following the meeting, the LLRC issued
Almost a full year later, in February 2015, SLRR filed an amended writ petition in the superior court, asking the court to direct the CHRB to void its orders dated August 29, 2013 and April 28, 2014, in addition to the relief sought in the original petition SLRR filed in 2012. The superior court concluded SLRR did not have standing to pursue the writ petition because it
SLRR filed a motion for a new trial, submitting additional evidence of its alleged contractual relationships regarding off-site stabling. The superior court concluded SLRR had previously argued that it had a direct interest in the fund based on the alleged contracts, but that, regardless of the evidence, SLRR had only asserted an indirect interest, insufficient for standing, and denied the motion.
SLRR appeals.
DISCUSSION
I
STANDING
A. Standard of Review
The parties dispute whether this court should apply a de novo or substantial evidence standard of review in deciding whether the superior court erred in concluding SLRR did not have standing. Both standing and the interpretation of statutes are questions of law to which we typically apply a de novo standard of review. ( Fry v. City of Los Angeles (2016)
Here, SLRR concedes it is not a race association and is not entitled to direct reimbursement under the statute. Thus, there are few, if any, underlying factual findings relevant to our inquiry and we address the legal question of whether SLRR has standing to dispute the CHRB's decisions and oversight of the fund de novo.
B. SLRR Does Not Have Standing
To obtain relief based on a petition for a writ of mandamus under Code of Civil Procedure section 1085, the petitioner must be a beneficially interested party-one that has a direct and substantial interest in the action.
1. Waste Management is Instructive and SLRR Does Not Have a Sufficiently Direct Interest to Confer Standing
In Waste Management , the county permitted Browning-Ferris, a competitor of Waste Management, to accept certain types of waste without requiring the same California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review it had required Waste Management to undergo before accepting the same type of waste. ( Waste Management, supra , 79 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1230-1231,
Here, just as in Waste Management, supra,
SLRR concedes that it is not a race association conducting races and therefоre the CHRB has never had any obligation under the statutes to reimburse SLRR from the fund, but contends it has a direct interest in competing for off-site stabling business. However, no interpretation of the statutes, or any of the evidence before the superior court, indicates SLRR had a right to any portion of that business or that any race association had any obligation to use SLRR facilities. At most, SLRR asserts the racing associations should have been free to contract with SLRR and to receive reimbursement from the fund for their costs associated with off-site stabling at SLRR, but even under this interpretation, the racе associations were equally free to choose facilities other than SLRR. Further, SLRR fails to acknowledge that
SLRR asserts the race associations had a contractual obligation to use, and subsidize, a certain number of SLRR stalls, but the record does not support this contention. While SLRR may have had prior contracts with еither the race associations or the managers of the fund to pay for the cost of off-site stabling for certain years, there are none in the record indicating any race association had agreed to use a certain number of stalls after 2009. Instead, SLRR points to the license applications
Moreover, even if the CHRB had accepted Referee Chaney's proposed decision instead of the recommendations of the LLRC-essentially the outcome SLRR is attempting to achieve through its writ petition-it is unlikely SLRR would have received any additional reimbursements from the fund. Referee Chaney found the audit of the fund was conducted in accordance with the law and, except for a couple of instances the CHRB had already rectified, the funds were used for the statutorily mandated purpose.
Alternatively, SLRR argues it had beneficial interest standing pursuant to section 19607 because it had a direct interest in the CHRB directly and adequately supervising the fund management organization as mandated by the statute. Howevеr, SLRR's interest is the same regardless of whether we consider the CHRB's supervision of the fund mandated by section 19607 or the reimbursements the fund management organization made pursuant to section 19607.1. In either case, SLRR only has a direct interest if it stands to benefit directly from a revised application of the
2. Save the Plastic Bag Coalition Is Not Instructive Because SLRR Does Not Assert Public Interest Standing
SLRR argues Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, supra,
In Save the Plastic Bag Coalition , the court considered whether an association of plastic bag manufacturers had standing to maintain a citizen's suit asserting the city was required to conduct an environmental impact report
In addition, the court also concluded the ban would have a direct, severe and immediate effect on the coalition members' ability to sell plastic bags in the city, and accordingly the coalition had standing based on a direct and substantial beneficial interest. ( Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, supra ,
Here, SLRR does not assert public interest standing, nor could it. As discussed, the statutes at issue created a mechanism and oversight for redistributing profits within the horse racing industry to address the increased cost of off-site stabling during races due to rising horse populations. They do not relate to or seek to protect a public interest such as the environmental concerns at issue in Waste Management, supra,
The other cases SLRR relies upon are similarly distinguishable. In J & K Painting Co. Inc. v. Bradshaw (1996)
We therefore conclude the superior court correctly applied Waste Management and Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, supra,
II
SLRR WAIVED ARGUMENT BY FAILING TO FILE A WRIT PETITION WITHIN 30 DAYS
The CHRB also asserts that, even if SLRR had standing, SLRR waived its right to challenge any jurisdictional issues by failing to file a writ petition within 30 days of the disputed order. (See § 19463.) SLRR asserts the CHRB waived any argument regarding timeliness of the petition by failing to raise it below, but SLRR misrepresents the record; the CHRB did include affirmative defenses in its answer asserting the petition was an improper attempt at a rehearing and that the statute of limitations barred the petition. We therefore address the merits of the waiver argument and conclude that, if SLRR had standing, it still could not pursue its writ petition based on the statute of limitations.
SLRR argues it was not subject to any statute of limitations because its petition asserted the CHRB, a state agency, took action without the authority to do so. SLRR relies exclusively on Miller v. Board of Medical Quality Assurance (1987)
SLRR also asserts it was not subject to the 30-day time limitation because the superior court had ongoing jurisdiction based on its original petition for writ of mandamus. However, that petition was filed before the orders of the CHRB that SLRR now disputes and, as such, logically could not have included those orders. Moreover, the stay order issued by the superior court recognized the CHRB's primary jurisdiction to decide issues related to the use of the statutory funds and stayed the case in the interest of judicial efficiency, without reserving its own jurisdiction for the ongoing judicial review of the CHRB's decision. (Cf. Morrison v. California Horse Racing Bd. (1988)
Based on the foregoing, we conclude SLRR has not established the statute of limitations is not applicable in the present case, and, as SLRR filed the petition more than 30 days after the CHRB's order adopting the LLRC's recommendations, we agree SLRR's petition would be time barred even if SLRR had stаnding.
The judgment is affirmed.
WE CONCUR:
McCONNELL, P.J.
O'ROURKE, J.
Notes
All further statutory references are to the Business and Professions Code unless otherwise noted.
The parties dispute whether the Southern California Off Track Wagering, Inc. (SCOTWINC) or a smaller subset of SCOTWINC referred to as the Southern California Stabling and Vanning Committee carried out the management duties set forth in the statute. As used herein, "fund management organization" refers to the Southern California Stabling and Vanning Committee within SCOTWINC, consistent with the findings of the CHRB's Legislative, Legal and Regulations Committee (LLRC). Regardless, it would not affect our analysis regarding SLRR's standing if we determined SCOTWINC instead acted as the fund management organization.
The court in Waste Management described Waste Management's interest as being outside the "zone of interests" of CEQA, a term it derived from federal law regarding standing despite recognizing federal law was not binding. The court concluded the "zone of interests" concept was nevertheless relevant in determining Waste Management's interest in forcing compliance with the statute was not direct enough to confer standing. (Waste Management, supra, 79 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1234-1235,
SLRR also argues the inclusion of the descriptor "Board-approved" somehow confers a contractual right for all board approved auxiliary stabling facilities to receive reimbursements from thе fund, but, taken in context, it is clear the statute creates no such contractual obligation. A straightforward reading of the statute indicates it permits use of the fund to reimburse race associations for their additional costs in procuring off-site stabling, and further requires the race associations to use only board approved facilities for such off-site stabling. It does not require race associations to use all board approved facilities, and SLRR provides no authority indicating that it does. Further, this position is in direct contradiction with SLRR's stated position that the race associations putting on races were free to use any facility of their choosing for off-site stabling under the statute.