Park Mgmt. Corp. v. in Def. Animals
Park Mgmt. Corp. v. in Def. Animals
Opinion of the Court
*652Animal rights activist Joseph Cuviello appeals the entry of a permanent injunction in this trespass action prohibiting him from demonstrating outside of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, a privately owned amusement park located in Vallejo, California. Ruling on cross-motions for summary judgment, the superior court rejected Cuviello's federal and state constitutional claims that he had a right to picket there peacefully, as well as a common law defense based on a claimed prescriptive easement, and it entered judgment accordingly.
Cuviello appeals, raising both constitutional and non-constitutional issues. In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we conclude Cuviello failed to prove as a matter of law that he has acquired a common law prescriptive right *653to protest there. In the published portion, we hold as a matter of first impression that the exterior, unticketed areas of the amusement park are a public forum for expressive activity under article I, section 2 of the California Constitution, and accordingly we reverse the judgment.
BACKGROUND
Respondent Park Management Corp. (Park Management) owns and operates Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, an amusement park in Vallejo, California that features rides as well as animal attractions. Its attendance can reach more than 15,000 patrons daily.
Situated on 138 acres, the amusement park consists of a ticketed interior portion where the entertainment activities are located, accessible through a single point of entry and exit, and an exterior portion where there is an admissions area connected by a series of walkways and streets to a paid parking lot that accommodates up to 2,900 cars, with tram service for transporting guests to the admissions area.
The exterior areas of the park (i.e., those outside the ticketed area), including the front admissions area, the parking lot and the walkways that connect them, do not have any areas where guests may gather and stay for any period of time other than for the purpose of waiting for, *733or meeting, friends or family going into the amusement park. Those areas do not offer outdoor performances or other entertainment activities. In addition, it is undisputed that the front entrance area does not include any common areas for guests to congregate for the purpose of entertainment, but merely facilitates the guests' entrance to and exit from the park.
The amusement park is situated on land that, according to local law and land use planning instruments, bears some public attributes. The City of Vallejo's General Plan designates the land as a "Community Park" (or, alternatively, as "Open Space-Community Park"); that designation is defined as including "public and other types of developed recreation areas, state and county parks, and buffer areas. Typical uses include golf courses and neighborhood parks." (Italics omitted.) And under the City of Vallejo's zoning code, the property falls within the city's "public and quasi-public facilities zoning district," an area that is defined as one in which "community *654facilities of a public nature are the principal use" and that is intended to "implement those policies of the land use element of the Vallejo general plan which relate to governmental, and quasi-governmental services, schools, parks and open space areas."
For many years (since at least the 1990s), the amusement park was municipally owned but privately operated. Operating at the time under the name "Marine World" (or "Six Flags Marine World"), the theme park was located on property owned by the City of Vallejo which, through a series of agreements with other governmental agencies,
In May 2006, a federal district court entered a preliminary injunction, over the opposition of Park Management but unopposed by the City of Vallejo, recognizing the constitutional right of an individual named Alfredo Kuba to protest with up to ten other people at the park's front entrance, located on the public portion of the property. Kuba had twice been arrested there, and wanted to protest there during the upcoming, heavily attended Memorial Day weekend. Deciding the question solely under state law, the district court ruled that the areas around the park's entrance are public fora under California's free speech clause, and that the park's public assembly policy (which barred the activity) was not a reasonable time, place or manner restriction and was therefore unconstitutional.
The following year, Park Management exercised its purchase option and, in July 2007, acquired the park from the city for approximately $ 53.9 million. It has owned and operated the entire park ever since.
Although the parties do not focus on many details of the 2007 acquisition, the record reflects continuing local governmental *734involvement in the park notwithstanding the transfer of title.
After the 2007 acquisition, Park Management began limiting free speech at the park in increasingly restrictive ways. Several months after the acquisition, in the fall of 2007, it revised the amusement park's free speech policy to relegate expressive activity to specified locations.
*656policy banned all expressive activity at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, including protests, relegating such activity instead to the nearby public sidewalk.
*735On April 13, 2014, about a month after the new speech ban took effect, approximately eight people protested against the park's treatment of animals at the park's front entrance area, and a ninth person handed out leaflets in the parking lot. They wore large signs around their necks carrying messages such as, "Theme Parks are no place for animals"; "RIP" (with a picture of an elephant); "A day of fun for you ... a lifetime of misery for him" (with a photograph of a whale in a tank); "Animals Don't Belong at Six Flags"; and "This pool is a prison" (with another photograph of a whale in a tank). The protesters also held a large yellow banner that stated, "NOT FUN FOR ANIMALS." Security personnel approached them, handed out copies of the park's speech regulations and asked the protesters to move to the public sidewalk, but the protesters declined and remained at the front gate for three hours without the park's consent or authorization. Park Management contacted the local police department and the local district attorney's office, both of which declined to intervene without a court order.
One of the protesters was Joseph Cuviello, who had been advocating for the humane treatment of animals for decades, including at many public venues in California. Since the early 1990's, Cuviello had participated in many demonstrations at the front entrance area of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, including numerous times in the seven years the park had been under private ownership. He couldn't recall the exact number, but in some years he had attended more than four demonstrations annually.
After the April 2014 protest, Park Management filed this case in superior court against several animal advocacy groups and their members, alleging a single cause of action for private trespass. It sought injunctive relief prohibiting the defendants from protesting anywhere on the property, including the park's parking lots, driving and walking paths, and entrance and admission areas. After the court entered a temporary restraining order, Cuviello intervened as an unnamed Doe defendant, alleging he had been demonstrating against the treatment of animals at the *736park property for over 20 years. He asserted both a federal and constitutional right to protest there.
Park Management moved for summary judgment, arguing Cuviello should be restrained from protesting on the park's driving and walking paths, parking lots and entrance and admission areas. It raised two issues: it contended, first, the park is not a quasi-public forum for purposes of expressive activity under California's constitution, and second, that it had not waived its right to enforce its rules regarding expressive activity simply because Cuviello had protested there in the past. In opposition, Cuviello argued he had a First Amendment right to protest there because the park had been dedicated to a public use, both because of its zoning status (public and quasi-public use) and because the city had designated it as a community park. He also raised two state law issues: he argued the park was a public forum under state constitutional law, and also that, given the frequency of his past activities there, he had acquired a common law prescriptive easement right to protest there.
Cuviello also filed a cross-motion for summary judgment asserting these federal and state constitutional claims as a complete defense to the trespass claim. His cross-motion for summary judgment did not raise the prescriptive easement defense.
The trial court denied Cuviello's cross-motion and granted summary judgment for Park Management. It ruled that the First Amendment does not apply to private property and that the property was not a public forum for expressive activity under California's constitution, and it rejected Cuviello's prescriptive easement claim. The court entered a permanent injunction barring Cuviello from protesting or picketing "on the privately owned premises of Plaintiff, namely, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's driving and walking paths, parking lots, and entrance and admission areas." This appeal followed.
*658DISCUSSION
On appeal, Cuviello reprises the legal arguments he made below. Principally, he argues that his protest activities are constitutionally protected, because the exterior areas of the amusement park are a public forum for free speech under both the First Amendment and article 1, section 2 of California's constitution. He also contends he has a prescriptive right to protest on-site at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom because he met all of the legal requirements for obtaining a prescriptive easement.
We review the trial court's summary judgment rulings de novo. " 'On review of an order granting or denying summary judgment, we examine the facts presented to the trial court and determine their effect as a matter of law.' [Citation.] We review the entire record, 'considering all the evidence set forth in the moving and opposition papers except that to which objections have been made and sustained.' [Citation.] Evidence presented in opposition to summary judgment is liberally construed, with any doubts about the evidence resolved in favor of the party opposing the motion. [Citation.] [¶] Summary judgment is appropriate only 'where no triable issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.' " ( Regents of University of California v. Superior Court (2018)
"A plaintiff ... has met his or her burden of showing that there is no defense to a cause of action if that party has proved each element of the cause of action entitling the party to judgment on the cause of action. Once the plaintiff ... has *737met that burden, the burden shifts to the defendant ... to show that a triable issue of one or more material facts exists as to the cause of action or a defense thereto." ( Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (p)(1).) By contrast, a defendant moving for summary judgment based on an affirmative defense " 'bears an overall burden of persuasion that there is a complete defense to the plaintiff's action' ... [and] must persuade the court there is no triable issue of fact as to that defense." ( Fazio v. Fairbanks Ranch Country Club (2015)
On appeal, "[w]e apply the same three-step analysis required of the trial court. ' " 'First, we identify the issues framed by the pleadings since it is these allegations to which the motion must respond.... [¶] Secondly, we determine whether the moving party's showing has established facts which negate the opponent's claim and justify a judgment in movant's favor.... [¶] When a summary judgment motion prima facie justifies a judgment, the third and final step is to determine whether the opposition demonstrates the existence of a triable, material factual issue.' " ' " ( Hamburg v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2004)
*659I.
II.
Under California's Constitution, the Amusement Park's Unticketed, Exterior Areas Are a Public Forum for Expressive Activity.
Article I, section 2 of the California Constitution protects the right of every individual to "freely speak, write and publish his or her sentiments on all subjects" (subject to "being responsible for the abuse of this right") and provides that "[a] law may not restrain or abridge liberty of speech or press." ( Cal. Const., art. I, § 2, subd. (a).) It is by now well-settled that this free speech guarantee sometimes extends to speech on private property. Exactly how far it extends, however, is not.
The California Supreme Court has not articulated a precise standard to judge whether private property constitutes a public forum for free speech purposes under California's constitution, but it has said, at the highest level of generality, private property constitutes a public forum if the property is open to the public "in the same manner as public streets or parks." ( Fashion Valley Mall, LLC v. National Labor Relations Bd. (2007)
We also are mindful that private shopping malls, although they have featured prominently in free speech jurisprudence (both state and federal), do not represent the outer limits of private property that may be subject to article 1, section 2's liberty of speech clause. As our Supreme Court previously explained, "The idea that private property can constitute a public forum for free speech if it is open to the public in a manner similar to that of public streets and sidewalks long predates [the Court's] decision in Pruneyard. " ( Fashion Valley Mall , supra , 42 Cal.4th at pp. 858,
Another authority the Supreme Court discussed in Fashion Valley Mall was Hoffman , supra ,
This is a difficult, close case, in part because the California Supreme Court's decisions in this area are hard to synthesize.
On the one hand, Six Flags is zoned by local law in a manner similar to that of a park, which is a quintessential type of public forum (see Hoffman , supra , 67 Cal.2d at p. 849,
In terms of sheer size, moreover, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, at 138 acres, is more than six times larger than the Pruneyard shopping center (see Pruneyard , supra , 23 Cal.3d at p. 902,
*663Kuba v. 1-A Agricultural Assn. (9th Cir. 2004)
Other facts, on the other hand, weigh against a conclusion that Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is a public forum. Most notably, its exterior portions are not designed and furnished in a manner that encourages people to linger, other than as necessary to purchase tickets and wait for family or friends.
Given that the California Supreme Court has not charted a clear path, we turn to guidance from appellate court decisions in order to resolve this case, although we have found none that are closely on point.
Before the Supreme Court's most recent decision in Ralphs Grocery , this court had construed Pruneyard as establishing a balancing test to determine whether private property constitutes a public forum ( Trader Joe's Co. v. Progressive Campaigns, Inc. (1999)
We quote at some length our analysis of Pruneyard in Trader Joe's : "[T]he Pruneyard court was careful to not ' "minimize the importance of the constitutional guarantees attaching to private ownership of property." ' ( Pruneyard , supra , 23 Cal.3d at p. 906,
In Trader Joe's we thus concluded, " Pruneyard instructs us to balance the competing interests of the property owner and of the society with respect to the particular property or type of property at *742issue to determine whether there is a state constitutional right to engage in the challenged activity." ( Trader Joe's , supra , 73 Cal.App.4th at p. 433,
Ralphs Grocery neither endorsed nor rejected our understanding of Pruneyard as requiring a balancing test. However, nothing in the reasoning of Ralphs Grocery undermines that interpretation, and one appellate court decision subsequent to Ralphs Grocery continues to endorse it. (See Ralphs Grocery Co. v. Victory Consultants, Inc. , supra , 17 Cal.App.5th at p. 259,
Balancing society's interest in free expression here against Park Management's interests as a private property owner, we conclude the unticketed, exterior portions of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom are a public forum.
*665Park Management's interest in restricting free expression in those areas is minimal. Those areas are large and freely open to the public. In addition, regardless of its reasons, Park Management has allowed Cuviello and other animal rights activists to peacefully protest there for at least seven years, which suggests a diminished interest in enforcing a private property right to exclude them. And although the exterior portion of the park does not offer the amenities of a busy railway station, a small group of people peacefully handing out leaflets and displaying posters there is not likely to interfere with the property's use. (See Hoffman, supra , 67 Cal.2d at p. 851,
By contrast, the public's interest in engaging in expressive activity in the exterior portions of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is strong. The venue attracts up to 15,000 people daily, and the protesters' message is directly connected to the animal attractions featured at the park. In effect the protesters are urging a boycott, which is a traditional form of speech to which our state Constitution affords even greater protection than the First Amendment. (See Fashion Valley Mall , supra , 42 Cal.4th at pp. 867-868,
Accordingly, for all of these reasons, we conclude the exterior, unticketed portions of the park are a public forum under California's liberty of speech clause.
*744Ordinarily, that conclusion would not end the inquiry because expressive activity in a public forum may be restricted by reasonable "time, place and manner" restrictions. (See Fashion Valley Mall , supra , 42 Cal.4th at p. 870,
Accordingly, the trial court erred in granting Park Management's summary judgment and in denying Cuviello's cross-motion for summary judgment under article 1, section 2 of the California Constitution. And given our resolution of the state constitutional question, we do not reach the First Amendment issues raised by the parties.
To be clear, we do not hold that the exterior areas of all privately owned amusement parks or similar privately owned venues are public fora for free expression under California law. Each case is of course unique, and each turns on its particular facts. We merely hold on the undisputed facts here that Park Management may not ban expressive activity in the non-ticketed, exterior areas of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is reversed.
We concur.
KLINE, P.J.
RICHMAN, J.
There also is overflow, off-site parking lot at a nearby, county-owned fairground.
One was the city's redevelopment agency, the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Vallejo. The other was the Marine World Joint Powers Authority which, as described by a preliminary injunction entered in a prior federal case, was a public agency created by agreement between the City of Vallejo and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Vallejo, whose purpose was to accept conveyance of the assets, assume the liabilities and protect the City of Vallejo's interest related to Marine World.
The record does not reflect the disposition of the Kuba case.
The record contains a copy (without exhibits) of an amended option agreement dated April 21, 2005, which Park Management represents in its brief "sets forth the general terms of the sale", and portions of the city's July 31, 2017 development agreement with Park Management. In his reply papers, Cuviello also introduced without objection a complete copy of the sales agreement itself, a prodigious document consisting of 28 separate transfer and collateral documents.
It is unclear from the record whether, or to what extent, the City of Vallejo's economic stake in the park diminished to any significant degree when the park was transferred to private ownership. The parties did not brief that question, and their relative economic positions are difficult to discern based solely on the complex legal and financing structures governing their relationship, both before and after the transfer.
The operation fee was structured as 2.5 percent of annual admissions revenue, but the parties contemplated that the amount of the fee would fluctuate annually based on a number of factors, agreed that it shouldn't be adversely impacted by ticket pricing strategies, and agreed to amend the development agreement if necessary if the fee fell below 45 percent of gross revenues.
Their agreement disclaimed the existence of a joint venture or partnership.
The record does not specify the locations.
Those current regulations state: "The entrance ways, driving and walking paths, parking lots, entrance and admission areas, restaurants, animal viewing areas, and the amusement and animal park as a whole, are all on private property. These areas are not open to the public for purposes of congregation, assembly, and/or protest, and are not public or quasi-public forums. As such, no protests or similar expressive activities, whether orally or in writing (signs, handbills, leaflets, papers, etc.) are allowed on the private property. Any protests or similar expressive activity, if conducted, must be done from the public sidewalks, in front of Discovery Kingdom, as designated on the attached Map. " (Italics added.)
The park also deactivated the season passes of two of the protesters who had caused a disruption during an animal performance the previous month. Those two individuals are not parties to this appeal, and their prior conduct inside the park is not at issue.
His recollection was consistent with that of a park employee who testified in deposition that demonstrations occurred there about four to six times every year, including after the park had transferred to private ownership.
The trial court memorialized their agreement in a December 28, 2015 discovery ruling, in what the court described as an "issue preclusion."
See footnote *, ante .
In re Lane rested in part on federal law that has been abrogated but it remains useful precedent for purposes of interpreting our state Constitution. (See Pruneyard, supra , 23 Cal.3d at p. 908,
A plurality of the court also has concluded that article I, section 2 contains a state action requirement, which is satisfied by the actions of a private property owner "only if the property is freely and openly accessible to the public." (Golden Gateway Center v. Golden Gateway Tenants Assn. (2001)
Only two published California decisions have construed and applied Ralphs Grocery and, like both Ralphs Grocery and Pruneyard , they involve privately owned retail stores. (See Ralphs Grocery Co. v. Victory Consultants, Inc. (2017)
"Article I's free speech clause is at least as broad as the First Amendment's, and its right to freedom of speech is at least as great." (Gerawan Farming, Inc. v. Lyons (2000)
According to the uncontroverted declaration of an urban planning expert proffered by Park Management, the exterior areas have no places where park patrons may gather and stay for any period of time other than for the purpose of waiting for, or meeting, friends or family going into the amusement park, and have no performance or other entertainment activities.
Relegating the protesters to the public sidewalk is not an adequate substitute, a proposition Park Management does not seriously dispute. Cuviello introduced uncontroverted evidence that only a very small number of park patrons enter from the sidewalk, whereas the vast majority of patrons drive onto property and park in its parking lot. And when, after the issuance of a temporary restraining order, the protesters conducted their activities on the public sidewalk they distributed on average about 90 percent fewer flyers than when they had demonstrated on park property (averaging about 80 flyers in two hours compared with 800 to 1300 previously). The right of free speech " 'is worthless in the absence of a meaningful method of expression' "; " 'it contemplates effective communication.' " (Van Nuys Pub. Co. v. City of Thousand Oaks (1971)
We also note that for many years the amusement park had been municipally owned, and upon its conversion to private ownership it appears to have undergone no discernible change, either in purpose or in terms of at least its major physical characteristics. Moreover, after the City of Vallejo divested itself of title to the park in the wake of the adverse federal court ruling in the Kuba case, the City appears to have retained a significant, continuing financial stake in the amusement park and, to some degree, a measure of control (at least vis-à-vis a contractual commitment requiring the park to remain in operation for another decade as a condition of public financing). The parties have not ascribed any significance to these facts, however, and they were not a basis upon which Cuviello either sought or opposed summary judgment below, and so we do not rely on them in reaching our conclusion. We simply note that had the issue been briefed, and contrary to Park Management's refrain throughout its briefing that the property is privately owned, these facts would raise significant questions as to whether the technical transfer of title was of any constitutional significance. (See, e.g., Summum v. Duchesne City (10th Cir. 2007)
Reference
- Full Case Name
- PARK MANAGEMENT CORP., and v. IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS, Defendants Joseph Cuviello, Intervener and
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published