Association of City Management & Professional Employees v. Civil Service Commission of Philadelphia

721 A.2d 815, 1998 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 904, 1998 WL 865094
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 15, 1998
DocketNo. 651 C.D. 1998
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 721 A.2d 815 (Association of City Management & Professional Employees v. Civil Service Commission of Philadelphia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Association of City Management & Professional Employees v. Civil Service Commission of Philadelphia, 721 A.2d 815, 1998 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 904, 1998 WL 865094 (Pa. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

COLINS, President Judge.

Before the Court is the appeal of the Association of City Management and Professional Employees (ACMPE) from the decision of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (trial court), which found that the Philadelphia Civil Service Commission (Commission) did not violate the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter in enacting and amending certain civil service regulations. Since we find that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to decide this matter, we vacate the trial court’s decision and dismiss ACMPE’s appeal.

ACMPE is an organization that represents otherwise non-represented civil service employees of the City of Philadelphia. ACMPE filed a Petition for Review with the trial court on May 29, 1986 challenging the promulgation and amendment of certain regulations by the Commission. Related regulations were implemented on June 20, 1986, and ACMPE filed an Amended Petition for Review challenging these regulations as well. ACMPE alleged that the regulations violated the Open Meeting Law,1 the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter,2 and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The case was initially assigned to the Honorable Lois G. Forer. After a trial on stipulated facts, Judge Forer held that the regulations were enacted in contravention of the Open Meeting Law, and that therefore, it was not necessary to address ACMPE’s City Charter and constitutional arguments. The case was then transferred to the Honorable 1. Raymond Rremer for disposition of the outstanding issue of damages. After additional briefing and oral argument, Judge Kremer issued an opinion awarding attorney’s fees and costs to ACMPE. Because the trial court had not yet ruled on the City [817]*817Charter allegations, the parties agreed that this order would be withdrawn to allow the trial court to rule on those allegations.3 Judge Kremer retired before addressing the alleged City Charter violations, and the case was eventually transferred to the Honorable William J. Lederer. On October 29, 1996, Judge Lederer ruled that ACMPE had not proven that the Commission violated the City Charter.

This present matter is one in a series of cases brought by ACMPE contesting the Commission’s decision in 1985 to effectuate changes in the benefits program offered to civil service employees. ACMPE makes two arguments in its appeal. First, ACMPE argues that the institution of certain regulations violated the Home Rule Charter because the regulations took the decision of what levels of benefits to offer employees away from the Commission.4 Second, ACMPE contends that the Commission’s amendment of a specific regulation violated the Home Rule Charter because the amendment created a disparity in vacation and sick time benefits between represented and non-represented employees. We will not reach the merits of these arguments because the trial court lacked jurisdiction over this matter from its inception.

What ACMPE has effectively done here is brought an action in the trial court appealing the Commission’s promulgation of civil service regulations. There was no basis for the trial court to assume jurisdiction over this matter because no authority for such an appeal exists.

This Court has commented on the duality of state administrative bodies. State administrative agencies function as quasi-judieial bodies, while at the same time they possess quasi-legislative powers. See Insurance Co. of N. Am. v. Commonwealth, 15 Pa.Cmwlth. 462, 327 A.2d 411, 413 (Pa.Cmwlth.1974) (North America I) (contrasting quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative functions of Insurance Department); see also Laurel Lake Ass’n v. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Comm’n, 710 A.2d 129, 132-33 (Pa.Cmwlth.1998) (discussing North America 1). Surely an aggrieved party has the right to appeal the adjudications of certain Commonwealth agencies to the courts of common pleas pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. §933, and than to this Court pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. §762. In other instances, an aggrieved party may appeal the adjudications of certain Commonwealth agencies directly to this Court pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. §763. However, this right to appeal does not extend into the realm of legislative-type actions taken by state administrative agencies. North America I, 327 A.2d at 413-14. Simply stated, legislative-type actions of state administrative agencies are not appealable. Id.

Moreover, this Court has addressed direct challenges to regulations promulgated by state administrative bodies. In addressing those challenges, this Court has held that no right of appeal is provided under the Administrative Agency Law5 from the mere promulgation of a regulation by a state agency. For example, in North America I, and its companion case, Insurance Co. of N. Am. v. Commonwealth, 15 Pa.Cmwlth. 460, 327 A.2d 414 (Pa.Cmwlth.1974) (North America II), this Court was faced with two appeals challenging regulations implemented by the Insurance Department. In North America I, we addressed the judicial-legislative dichotomy of the Insurance Department and held that no right to appeal the promulgation of an agency regulation is provided under the Administrative Agency Law. The North America I Court concluded that the act of [818]*818passing a regulation was not of a judicial character and was not appealable.6

More recently, this Court again addressed a direct challenge to a state agency’s promulgation of regulations. In Laurel Lake, the petitioner brought an action challenging the promulgation of regulations that restricted the use of boats on a lake to those with motors not in excess of sixty horsepower. In disposing of that case, the Court reiterated the holding in North America I and concluded that the Fish and Boat Commission’s implementation of regulations was not an ap-pealable agency action. Laurel Lake, 710 A.2d at 133.

We see no reason why these holdings should not be applied by analogy to local administrative agencies. The Commission is paradigmatic of the judicial-legislative dichotomy seen in administrative bodies. The Commission acts as an quasi-judicial body pursuant to Section 7-201 of the Home Rule Charter.7 Under Section 7-201, the Commission is empowered to hear appeals from dismissals, demotions, and suspensions of civil service employees and is permitted to adjudicate the merits of these appeals. The Commission is at the same time empowered to act in a quasi-legislative capacity. Pursuant to Section 7-400 of the Home Rule Charter,8 the Commission is charged with approving civil service regulations that govern the incidents of civil service employment. Recognizing the similarities between the present matter and those previously addressed by this Court, we find that there is no right of appeal from the Commission’s promulgation or amendment of regulations.9

This is not to say that ACMPE is precluded from bringing suit when one of its members is harmed by an action taken pursuant to an illegal regulation.

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721 A.2d 815, 1998 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 904, 1998 WL 865094, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/association-of-city-management-professional-employees-v-civil-service-pacommwct-1998.