Moulding Inv. v. Box Elder County
Moulding Inv. v. Box Elder County, 2024 UT App 23 (Tenney, J.)
Civil Procedure/Constitutional Law
Moulding Investments sued Box Elder County after the County denied its request for a zoning change, alleging the County violated Moulding’s equal protection rights. The County moved to dismiss, and the district court granted the County’s motion. On appeal, the Utah Court of Appeals affirmed, holding:
- Moulding did not allege sufficient facts to establish that there was a “similarly situated comparator,” which is required for the “class-of-one” equal protection claim here.
- Practice tip: “Class-of-one” equal protection claims require plaintiffs to identify similarly situated comparators; this is difficult in the land-use context because each property is unique.