Any applicant for a permit or for the renewal of a permit for the manufacture or sale of alcoholic liquor whose application is refused or any permittee whose permit is revoked or suspended by the Department of Consumer Protection or any ten residents who have filed a remonstrance pursuant to the provisions of section 30-39 and who are aggrieved by the granting of a permit by the department may appeal therefrom in accordance with section 4-183. Appeals shall be privileged in respect to the assignment thereof. If said court decides, upon the trial of such appeal, that the appellant is a suitable person to sell alcoholic liquor and that the place named in his application is a suitable place, within the class of permit applied for or revoked, and renders judgment accordingly, a copy of such judgment shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of said court to the department, and the department shall thereupon issue a permit to such appellant to sell such alcoholic liquor at such place for the remainder of the permit year, and the fee to be paid therefor, unless the application is for the renewal of the permit, in which case the full fee shall be paid, shall bear the same proportion to the full permit fee for a year as the unexpired portion of the year from the time when such permit was granted bears to the full year. If the court decides on such trial that the applicant is not a suitable person to sell alcoholic liquor or that the place named in the application is not a suitable place, and renders judgment accordingly, a copy of such judgment shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of said court to the department and the department shall not issue a permit to such applicant or shall rescind the granting of a permit, as the case may be. If said court upholds the decision of the department upon the trial of such appeal, or modifies such decision in whole or in part and renders judgment accordingly, a copy of such judgment shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of said court to the department and, if a renewal fee has been paid within the time during which such appeal has been pending, the department shall thereupon certify to the Treasurer a deduction from such fee of a sum which shall bear the same proportion to the full permit fee for a year as the portion of the year from the time when such renewal would have become effective to the time when such judgment was rendered bears to the full year, and the amount of such deduction shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of section 30-5, and the remainder of such fee shall be paid by the state to the applicant.
(1949 Rev., S. 4277; 1969, P.A. 776; 1971, P.A. 179, S. 21; P.A. 73-616, S. 26; P.A. 76-436, S. 615, 681; P.A. 77-603, S. 113, 125; 77-614, S. 165, 587, 610; P.A. 78-303, S. 80, 85, 136; P.A. 80-482, S. 4, 170, 191, 345, 348; P.A. 95-195, S. 63, 83; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(d); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1.)
History: 1969 act allowed appeals by ten residents who have filed remonstrance and are aggrieved by granting of a permit and added provision re court's notification of commission that applicant is unsuitable permittee or place of business is unsuitable and commission's action upon receipt of court's judgment; 1971 act changed time for appeal from next return day or “the next but one” to a return day between 12 and 30 days after service; P.A. 73-616 affirmed amendments enacted in 1969 act; P.A. 76-436 replaced court of common pleas with superior court, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-603 replaced detailed provisions re appeal procedure with requirement that appeals be made in accordance with Sec. 4-183; P.A. 77-614 and P.A. 78-303 replaced liquor control commission with division of liquor control within the department of business regulation, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-482 made division of liquor control an independent department and abolished the department of business regulation, overriding provision of same act which would have placed the division within the public safety department; P.A. 95-195 substituted Department of Consumer Protection for Department of Liquor Control, effective July 1, 1995; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced Department of Consumer Protection with Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004.
See Secs. 30-55 and 30-56 re revocation and suspension of permits.
Function of court upon appeal; receipt of additional testimony; form of judgment file when denial of permit overturned by court. 114 C. 550. Cited. 118 C. 252. Trial court could not sustain appeal unless it could find that the commission acted arbitrarily, illegally or in abuse of its discretion. 121 C. 705; 122 C. 445; Id., 525; 123 C. 320. Under 1933 statute, on appeal, the court could only by hearing the evidence or by reference determine the facts and assume the commission had those facts before it. 122 C. 526. Cited. 123 C. 35; 124 C. 276. Legislature may commit issuance of licenses to either executive or judicial branch. 129 C. 644. The court cannot on appeal substitute its judgment for that of commission; it can go no further than to make commission's decision conform to law or to a conclusion which is the only reasonable one on the facts proven. Id., 646. Under 1941 amendment, which provided for a trial de novo, the court was not confined to such facts; it conducted an independent inquiry. Id., 645; 130 C. 697; 132 C. 428; Id., 667; quaere as to effect of 1945 amendment on this question. Id., 668. Under former statute, finding of the trial court on appeal should conform to the usual principles governing findings. 130 C. 698. Revocation of license constituted a finding that person was “unsuitable”. 131 C. 700. Town properly admitted to appeal proceedings. 132 C. 213. For court's conclusion, under former statute, that commission acted arbitrarily. Id., 426. Cited. 133 C. 153. Under present statute, where court heard no additional testimony, finding not necessary. Id., 557. Before additional testimony can be received, court must find there was sufficient cause for failure to offer testimony before commission or that reception of additional testimony is necessary for a just determination of the issues. 138 C. 614. Cited. 148 C. 649. Liquor control commission represents public interest in such matters as issuance, renewal, revocation and suspension of liquor permits; when action of commission with respect to such a matter is reversed by a court, commission is a party aggrieved by such decision and, as such, may appeal to Supreme Court; Court of Common Pleas cannot disturb decision of commission unless that decision was arbitrary, illegal or so unreasonable as to constitute an abuse of discretion. 150 C. 68. Cited. Id., 422. Court held commission acted unreasonably in suspending permittee's license. 151 C. 537. There is no direct appeal from action of commission in granting, suspending or revoking permits except by applicants and permittees; but, where commission grants a permit in violation of express provision of law, its action may be attacked by proper legal procedure; where such attack is by way of injunctive proceeding, redress may be sought only by those whose justiciable interests were injured. 153 C. 48. Reviewing court must extract from record certified to it legally admissible evidence pertinent to issue on appeal. 160 C. 1. Reviewing court may remand or modify a commission decision only after it determines that commission acted improperly. 165 C. 26. Where hearsay evidence was introduced without objection at a commission hearing and corroborated by original evidence, commission findings and order sustained. 168 C. 74. Cited. 177 C. 610; Id., 616.
Cited. 4 CA 252.
Cited. 5 CS 51; 13 CS 206; Id., 221. De novo aspect of former statute discussed. 10 CS 307; 13 CS 248; 14 CS 155. Appeal does not affect a transfer of jurisdiction from commission to Court of Common Pleas. 12 CS 388. Plaintiff has burden to show commissioner's decision is unwarranted. 13 CS 273. Where commission issued a removal permit on a mistaken interpretation of the law, court may modify the decision. 16 CS 356. Cited. 31 CS 197.