Tom Hutto v. City of Rock Hill
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed
The Fourth Circuit upheld summary judgment in favor of the City of Rock Hill, rejecting landlord Tom Hutto’s multiple constitutional challenges to the city’s short-term-rental zoning regulations and concluding he lacked standing to assert his guests’ rights. The panel also affirmed the district court’s decision to allow city officials to invoke legislative privilege during depositions, noting—without resolving—a disagreement among circuits over the proper standard of appellate review for such rulings.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
What is the correct standard of appellate review for a district court’s ruling that upholds the invocation of legislative privilege by state or local officials?
Circuit Positions
Single-layer review: treat the district court’s legislative-privilege ruling as an evidentiary decision reviewed only for abuse of discretion
Three-part review: abuse of discretion (evidentiary ruling), clear error (subsidiary facts), de novo (legal questions)
Position expressly left open; affirmed under either standard
Conflict Summary
Several circuits evaluate a district court’s acceptance of legislative privilege solely for abuse-of-discretion, while others apply a tiered approach—abuse-of-discretion for the evidentiary ruling, clear-error for underlying factual findings, and de novo review for pure legal conclusions. The Fourth Circuit in this case expressly noted the disagreement, cited both lines of authority, and affirmed without choosing a side.