Sutter's Place, Inc. v. City of San Jose

Filed 8/30/

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

SUTTER’S PLACE, INC., H046146

(Santa Clara County Plaintiff and Appellant, Super. Ct. No. 2013-1-CV-258057)

v.

CITY OF SAN JOSE et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

Plaintiff Sutter’s Place, Inc., operates a cardroom gambling business in the City of San Jose under the name Bay 101 Casino. The city regulates cardrooms through its Division of Gaming Control. Plaintiff sued the city and the Division of Gaming Control (Division) to challenge the annual cardroom regulation fee the city charges plaintiff and the only other cardroom gambling business in the city, Casino M8trix. Among other things, plaintiff alleged that the cardroom regulation fee is an unconstitutional tax imposed without the required voter approval (Cal. Const., art. XIII C, § 1, subd. (e)) and that its imposition violates plaintiff’s federal constitutional right to due process. After a lengthy bench trial, the trial court concluded the cardroom regulation fee is a valid charge imposed for reasonable regulatory costs; that the amount of the fee is…