Main Street Taxpayer Assn. v. Town of Mammoth Lakes CA3

BACKGROUND

MSTA has sued Mammoth three times in recent years. It first sued in 2019, naming as defendants Mammoth, Mammoth Lakes Tourism, Mammoth Lakes Mountain Ski Area, Alterra Mountain Company, Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce, and several individuals. MSTA alleged, among other things, that Mammoth misused funds from District assessments, unlawfully formed the District, and enacted an invalid transient occupancy tax. But the trial court found its claims time-barred, and we affirmed on appeal. (Main Street Taxpayer Association v. Town of Mammoth Lakes, supra, C091546.)

2 MSTA sued twice more in 2022, filing both a complaint and petition for writ of mandate. In its complaint, MSTA named the same defendants as in its earlier suit apart from a few changed individuals. Before any defendant responded, MSTA filed a first amended complaint, alleging, among other things, that Mammoth misused funds from District assessments and enacted an invalid transient occupancy tax. Mammoth and Mammoth Lakes Tourism demurred. The court tentatively sustained the demurrer, finding MSTA failed to show it had standing to sue, but granted MSTA leave to amend. MSTA then filed a second amended…