City of Revere, et al. v. Massachusetts Gaming Commission (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-042-17)

NOTICE:  All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.  If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us   SJC-12111 SJC-12177   CITY OF REVERE & others[1]  vs.  MASSACHUSETTS GAMING COMMISSION.       Suffolk.     December 5, 2016. – March 10, 2017.   Present:  Gants, C.J., Botsford, Lenk, Hines, Gaziano, Lowy, & Budd, JJ.     Gaming.  License.  Administrative Law, Judicial review, Intervention.  Practice, Civil, Action in nature of certiorari, Review of administrative action, Intervention, Interlocutory appeal.  Jurisdiction, Judicial review of administrative action.       Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on October 16, 2014.   A motion to dismiss the intervener’s complaint and a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ second amended complaint were heard by Janet L. Sanders, J.   The Supreme Judicial Court granted an application for direct appellate review, and following the order by Sanders, J., for entry of final judgment, the Supreme Judicial Court granted a second application for direct appellate review.     Kenneth S. Leonetti & Christopher E. Hart (Michael Hoven also present) for the intervener. Patricia L. Davidson for city of Revere. David S. Mackey (Mina S. Makarious & Melissa C. Allison also present) for the defendant.     BOTSFORD, J.  This case concerns the process by which the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (commission) awarded a gaming license in late 2014 to Wynn MA, LLC (Wynn).  The plaintiffs — an unsuccessful applicant for the license, the city that would have hosted the unsuccessful applicant, a labor union, and individual citizens — filed two complaints in the Superior Court that alleged numerous defects in the commission’s process for awarding the license to Wynn.  The commission filed motions to dismiss both complaints.  A judge in the Superior Court allowed the motions on all but one count of one of the complaints, permitting only the unsuccessful applicant’s claim for certiorari review to survive.  The parties now appeal various aspects of the judge’s decision.  For the reasons discussed below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the case for further proceedings. Background.  1.  Gaming in Massachusetts.  In November, 2011, the Legislature enacted St. 2011, c. 194, An Act establishing expanded gaming in the Commonwealth (act).[2]  Section 16 of the act created the gaming commission and set forth standards under which applicants could obtain a license from the commission to operate a gaming establishment.  See G. L. c. 23K, inserted by St. 2011, c. 194, § 16.  The act describes two types of licenses.  The one […]

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