Van Sant & Co. v. Town of Calhan

83 F.4th 1254

VAN SANT & CO., Plaintiff - Appellant, v. TOWN OF CALHAN, a Colorado municipality; Cameron Chaussee;Tyler Chaussee; Brent Chaussee; Continental Properties, Inc.; Video Productions Inc.;Dominion Development, Inc.; Annette Chaussee; Calvin Chaussee, II;Blake Chaussee, Defendants - Appellees.

No. 22-1190

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit

FILED October 13, 2023

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado (D.C. No. 1:20-CV-03035-RBJ)

Thomas P. McMahon, Jones & Keller, P.C., Denver, Colorado, and Benjamin P. Wieck, GSL Trial Lawyers, Glendale, Colorado, appearing for Appellant.

Marni Nathan Kloster (Nicholas C. Poppe, with her on the brief), Nathan Dumm & Mayer P.C., Denver, Colorado, appearing for Appellees Town of Calhan, Cameron Chaussee, Tyler Chaussee, and Brent Chaussee.

Erik R. Neusch, Neusch Law, LLC, Denver, Colorado (David C. Fawley, Allman, Mitzner & Fawley, LLC, Denver, Colorado, with him on the brief), appearing for Appellees Continental Properties, Inc., Video Productions, Inc., Dominion Development, Inc., Annette Chaussee, Calvin Chaussee II, and Blake Chaussee.

Before ROSSMAN, KELLY, and BRISCOE, Circuit Judges.

BRISCOE, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff Van Sant & Co. (Van Sant) has owned and operated a mobile home park in Calhan, Colorado, for a number of years. In 2018, Van Sant began to publicly explore the possibility of converting its mobile home park to an RV park. In October 2018, Calhan adopted an ordinance that imposed regulations on the development of new RV parks, but also included a grandfather clause that effectively exempted the two existing RV parks in Calhan, one of which was connected to the grandparents of two members of Calhan's Board of Trustees (Board) who voted in favor of the new RV park regulations.

Van Sant subsequently filed this action against Calhan, several members of its Board, the owners of one of the existing RV parks, and other related individuals. Van Sant asserted antitrust claims under the Sherman Act, as well as substantive due process and equal protection claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The defendants moved for summary judgment. The district court granted those motions in their entirety. Van Sant now appeals from those rulings. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I

Factual background

a) The Town defendants

Calhan (Calhan or the Town) is a Colorado municipality organized as a statutory town pursuant to Colo. Rev. Stat. § 31-1-203(1). Calhan, which has a population of approximately 700, is located thirty-five miles northeast of Colorado Springs. Calhan is administered by a Board of Trustees (Board) consisting of a Mayor and six Trustees. Calhan has a Planning and Development Committee (PAD) that advises the Board on urban planning and land use issues.

Cameron Chaussee is a former Mayor of Calhan. Tyler Chaussee is a former member of the Board of Trustees for Calhan. Brent Chaussee is a former member of the PAD.

b) The plaintiff

Van Sant is a Colorado corporation that is solely owned by an individual named Thomas Brierton. Van Sant owns real property located at 1350 Eighth Street in Calhan. Van Sant's property in Calhan "was developed as a mobile home park circa 1974 and later expanded in 1995." Aplt. App., Vol. 1 at 272. "The property is 5.76 acres and in 2008 contained 33 mobile home pads or sites." Id. Prior to 2019, the property operated under the name Prairie View Mobile Home Park (Prairie View).

Before 2015, Van Sant operated Prairie View exclusively as a mobile home park. In the fall of 2015, however, Van Sant began also renting a few lots at Prairie View to recreational vehicles (RVs). At that time, Calhan's Land Development Code (Code) did not specifically regulate RVs or otherwise prohibit RVs in mobile home parks.

c) Cadillac Jack's RV Park

Cadillac Jack's RV Park, which opened in the mid to late 1980s, is located at 1001 5th Street in Calhan and is composed of five acres of property and forty RV sites. Cadillac Jack's is managed solely by Calvin Chaussee, II (Calvin). Calvin and his wife, Annette Chaussee (Annette), who are residents of Calhan, are the parents of Brent Chaussee and Blake Chaussee, and the grandparents of Tyler Chaussee and Cameron Chaussee. Calvin and Annette characterize Cadillac Jack's as a "mom-and-pop operation that does not have or maintain annual financial statements, balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements or statements of shareholder equity." Id., Vol. 2 at 370. Cadillac Jack's RV Park does not permit manufactured or mobile homes on its property.

Cadillac Jack's is owned by Video Productions, Inc. (Video Productions), a Missouri corporation authorized to transact business in Colorado. Video Productions was originally owned by Annette Chaussee. In March 1990, Annette Chaussee established the AMC Video Trust and transferred all of her interest in Video Productions to that trust. The AMC Video Trust documents contain conflicting statements about who the beneficiary of the trust is. Some of the trust documents list the principal beneficiary of the AMC Video Trust as the Antique and Toy Museum, Inc., a non-profit organization. Other trust documents, however, list Calvin as the principal beneficiary, with all of Annette's descendants as beneficiaries upon the deaths of Annette and Calvin. In addition, there are also conflicting trust and estate planning documents that purport to give all interest in Video Productions to Blake Chaussee upon the deaths of Annette and Calvin. Finally, there is a conflicting trust document that purported, effective July 2019, to transfer all shares in Video Productions to Annette and Blake Chaussee as joint tenants.

The land where Cadillac Jack's operates is owned by Continental Properties, Inc. (Continental), an Iowa corporation authorized to transact business in Colorado. Prior to June 7, 1990, Annette was the sole shareholder of Continental. On or about June 7, 1990, Annette transferred all of her shares in Continental to an entity she created called the AMC Family Trust. On that same day, Annette "instructed that upon the sale of any assets the trustee" of the AMC Family Trust "must establish a financial educational program for children ages 12-18." Id., Vol. 3 at 832.

Dominion Development, Inc. (Dominion), a Delaware corporation authorized to transact business in Colorado, owns a storage building on the property where Cadillac Jack's operates. Dominion is owned in part by the AMC Family Trust.

d) Jolly RV Park

Jolly RV Park is a second RV park that operates in Calhan. Jolly RV Park is owned and operated by an individual named Calvin Jolly. Calvin Jolly began operating the Jolly RV Park in or around 2015. The Jolly RV Park is comprised of approximately seven acres, with twenty-seven full hook-up RV spaces and one additional RV space with partial hook-ups. Calvin Jolly has no familial relationship with the Chaussee family, nor does he have any personal or financial interest in any businesses or properties owned by members of the Chaussee family. Like Cadillac Jack's RV Park, Jolly RV Park does not permit manufactured or mobile homes on its property.

e) The Board's and PAD's discussion and adoption in 2015 and 2016 of zoning regulations for RVs and RV parks

During a regular meeting held on May 11, 2015, the Board discussed "concerns about the appearance of the town." Id., Vol. 1 at 201. The suggestion was made that the "[b]est way to clean it up [wa]s [through] zoning." Id. The Board concluded that Calhan "need[ed] a re-vamp of code enforcement with some system in place to enforce it." Id.

On October 7, 2015, the PAD held a regularly scheduled meeting and discussed the issue of zoning and whether it would "give the town more leverage." Id. at 203. The PAD concluded that Calhan would "have to have zoning eventually," but was uncertain if "now [was] the time." Id. Ultimately, the PAD did not vote on the issue of zoning at the meeting.

The 2016 version of the Calhan Municipal Code included a definition of "Recreational Vehicle" that provided as follows:

RECREATIONAL VEHICLE (RV) means a vehicular or portable unit mounted on a chassis and wheels, which either has its own motive power or is mounted on or drawn by another vehicle, such as travel trailers, fifth wheel trailers, camping trailers, or motor homes, but excluding truck campers. A recreational vehicle is not designed or intended for use as a permanent dwelling or sleeping place, but is to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel use.

Id. at 273.

On March 2, 2016, the PAD met and discussed a proposed new land development code for Calhan. On April 6, 2016, the PAD met again and recommended approving the land development code. "With the new code," the PAD noted, "all current RV's w[ould] have to meet standards." Id., Vol. 3 at 671. The PAD also noted that it "need[ed] documentation of what [RVs]" currently existed, so that it would "know if . . . a new RV [wa]s brought in." Id.

At a regularly scheduled meeting on April 11, 2016, the Board reviewed a report from the PAD regarding Calhan's land development code and, in particular, the presence of RVs in mobile home parks. During the executive session portion of the meeting, the Board voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2016-09, which prohibited RVs in mobile home parks and did not include a grandfathering option for existing mobile home parks such as Prairie View.

f) Prairie View's Code violations

On February 12, 2016, representatives from Calhan "conducted an on-site inspection" of Prairie View "to determine individual lot owners' compliance with the Town's Water and Wastewater Regulations." Id., Vol. 3 at 676. "During the inspection," the Town's representatives "identified some of the mobile homes or [RVs] situated on certain lots . . . to be in violation of various provisions of the Town Code." Id. Further, the Town's representatives "identified...