Hollywood Park Land Co., LLC v. Golden State Transportation Financing Corp.

Amended Indian gaming compacts approved by the Governor authorize an increase in the number of permissible slot machines on Indian tribal land, in exchange for a substantial payment to the State of California (the State), and authorize the sale of bonds (compact bonds) to provide an income stream to the State in return for the State’s promise to limit who may engage in certain types of gaming within the Indian tribes’ core geographic market.

Defendants, California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) and Golden State Transportation Financing Corporation (Golden State), then initiated the sale of such bonds. However, plaintiffs, Hollywood Park Land Company, LLC, Terrence Fancher, MEC Land Holdings (California), Inc., Santa Anita Companies, Inc., Los Alamitos Race Course, and Bay Meadows Main Track Investors, LLC, filed a reverse validation action, raising three constitutional challenges to the compact bonds.

The trial court entered judgment in favor of defendants. Plaintiffs appeal, and defendants cross-appeal.

We shall dismiss the appeal and cross-appeal. As we will explain, Government Code section 63048.8, subdivision (e) states “the exclusive means…