MS Appeals Court Reverses City’s Denial of Pay Day Loan Business Use Permit Finding Decision was Not Supported by Substantial Evidence

Check Into Cash, Inc., a consumer-financial-services company, appealed the City of Jackson’s decision to deny a use permit, which would allow CICM to engage in the title-pledge business at its current payday-loan location.   On appeal, CICM argued that: the City’s decision was arbitrary, capricious, and not supported by substantial evidence; the City’s zoning administrator failed to submit the entire record to the City Council; and the City’s zoning administrator failed to publish proper notice before the City Council hearing.

As to its first claim, CICM contended that the City Council did not make any findings of fact to support of its conclusion that the grant of the use permit “will adversely affect the surrounding properties, or otherwise be detrimental to the public welfare.”  The court discussed that evidence of public need is only relevant if CICM sought to rezone the property, and to obtain a use permit the applicant does not have to establish that there is a public need for the special use.  Alternatively, the applicant need only establish that it has met the elements and factors necessary to obtain the use permit. Here, CICM met its burden of proof and offered relevant evidence of the requirements of section 1703.02.4–A(2) of the zoning ordinance, thus the decision to deny the permit was found by the court to be arbitrary and capricious.

Check Into Cash of Mississippi, Inc. v City of Jackson, 2015 WL 1015746 (MS App. 3/10/2015)

The opinion can be accessed at: http://courts.ms.gov/Images/Opinions/CO101587.pdf