JLPR LLC v. Procurement Policy Board
JLPR LLC v. Procurement Policy Board, 2021 UT App 52 (Harris, J.)
Administrative
Under the Utah Medical Cannabis Act passed, the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food may award up to 10 licenses to operate a cannabis cultivation facility. A company applied for but was denied a license. The company appealed the denial of the license through the administrative appeal process. The company’s appeals were generally short letters with no supporting documents, generally alleging bias and inconsistencies in the award process. The company’s appeals were denied, and the company appealed to the Utah Court of Appeals. In its opening brief, the company attached documents that provided evidence of bias and inconsistencies in the award process. The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed, holding:
- The appellate court cannot consider the evidence the company attached to its opening brief but did not attach to its administrative appeals. In administrative appeals, the appellate court is confined to reviewing the record on appeal, which includes all papers in the agency file. The majority of the documents the company attached to its opening brief were not in the agency file and thus not part of the record on appeal.
- Given the materials that were in the record on appeal, the company could not show that the decision to deny a license was arbitrary.