Cannizzaro v. Commonwealth

564 A.2d 564, 129 Pa. Commw. 39, 1989 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 650
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 6, 1989
DocketNos. 219 C.D. 1989 and 220 C.D. 1989
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 564 A.2d 564 (Cannizzaro v. Commonwealth) 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
Cannizzaro v. Commonwealth, 564 A.2d 564, 129 Pa. Commw. 39, 1989 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 650 (Pa. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

NARICK, Senior Judge.

Petitioners John and Anthony Cannizzaro have separately appealed from an order of the State Real Estate Commission (Commission) revoking the real estate salesperson’s, associate broker’s and broker’s licenses of John Cannizzaro and the salesperson’s license of Anthony Cannizzaro.

On October 27, 1982, John and Anthony Cannizzaro were involved in an altercation with a former salesman, Kenneth Manear, of Park Realty Co., owned by John Cannizzaro. The dispute between the Cannizzaros and Manear centered around Manear’s efforts to collect a default judgment he had obtained for commission payments the Cannizzaros allegedly owed him. John Cannizzaro went to Manear’s office to confront him regarding harassment of his, Cannizzaro’s, parents. Worried for his safety, his brother Anthony and father Frank Cannizzaro followed him to Manear’s office. A struggle ensued, during which Manear took from John Cannizzaro the baseball bat he had brought with him, struck Frank Cannizzaro with it and began to choke him. Coming to his father’s aid, Anthony Cannizzaro struck Manear on the head with a hammer, to no avail, and ultimately shot Manear three times with the gun he carried for self-protection.

The brothers were convicted of third-degree murder, a felony, on September 27, 1983. John was sentenced to one-to-three years, served one year and was paroled. Anthony was sentenced to five-to-ten years.

The Commission issued complaints against the Cannizzaros under Section 604(a)(14) of the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act (RELRA), Act of February 19, 1980, P.L. 15, as amended, 63 P.S. § 455.604(a)(14). These complaints were later amended to include charges under Section [42]*429124(c)(1) of the Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA), 18 Pa.C.S. § 9124(c)(1). Following a hearing at which John Cannizzaro appeared and was represented and which Anthony Cannizzaro permitted to proceed in his absence with representation of counsel, the Commission’s hearing examiner recommended fines and suspension of the Cannizzaros’ licenses. The Commission rejected this recommendation and revoked their licenses, prompting these appeals.

The pivotal issue raised by both Cannizzaros is whether Section 9124(c)(1) of CHRIA empowered the Commission to revoke their real estate licenses for the commission of a felony. The Commission concedes that the applicable section of RELRA, Section 604(a)(14), as it was worded before its 1984 amendment, did not authorize the Commission to revoke a license because of a felony conviction.1

The Cannizzaros argue that Section 9124(c)(1) of CHRIA does not apply because of the principle of statutory construction that the specific language of Section 604(a)(14) of RELRA2 must prevail over the more general language of Section 9124(c)(1) of CHRIA.3 The Commission argues that [43]*43because the two statutes cover essentially the same subject matter—the Commission’s authority to discipline a licensee for a criminal offense—they should be read in pari materia, and, in accordance with 1 Pa.C.S. § 1932(b), be construed together.

In Gangewere v. State Architects Licensure Board, 98 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 613, 512 A.2d 1301 (1986), this Court upheld the suspension of an architect’s license for a felony conviction involving tax evasion. The Cannizzaros vehemently argue that Gangewere is distinguishable because the law governing the licensure of architects itself contained a provision allowing suspension of an architect’s license for a felony conviction. Therefore, they contend, there was no conflict in Gangewere such as exists here.

However, we find that the two cases cited by the Cannizzaros in support of their argument are distinguishable. Both Commonwealth v. Lawson, 315 Pa.Superior Ct. 84, 461 A.2d 807 (1983) and Commonwealth v. Bidner, 282 Pa.Superior Ct. 100, 422 A.2d 847 (1981) involved criminal activities which fit within two different statutory definitions. In Lawson, the defendant was convicted of both retail theft and theft by unlawful taking. Although the conduct involved, theft of jewelry from a department store, fit within either statutory definition, the Superior Court held that the more specific provisions of the definition of retail theft should apply. Similarly, in Bidner, the question was whether the defendant’s conduct in falsifying his address to obtain a court order allowing him to vote should fall under the general definition of perjury or that specifically relating to perjury in election matters. In both cases, a conflict existed because the defendant’s acts fell squarely within two different definitions containing different penalty provisions. Because effect could not be given to both, the Superior Court applied the rule of 1 Pa. C.S. § 1933, concluding that the more specific provision should govern.

Here, we do not have an irreconcilable conflict between RELRA Section 604(a)(14) and CHRIA Section 9124(c)(1). [44]*44Rather, the two supplement each other, and may, in accordance with the mandate of 1 Pa.C.S. § 1933, be construed so that effect may be given to both. As we noted in Gangewere:

It is true that Section 9124(c) of the Crimes Code does not by its own terms grant authority to the Board to suspend or revoke an architect’s license. The Section applies only to boards, commissions and departments which are otherwise so authorized. However, the plain language of the statute evinces the clear intention of the legislature to authorize licensing boards which have independent authority to suspend or revoke a license to do so for the conviction of a felony.

Id., 98 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. at 620, 512 A.2d at 1305 (emphasis added).

It is not disputed that the Commission here is empowered to revoke or suspend licenses. According to Gangewere, Section 9124(c)(1) operates to allow the Commission to exercise its powers of revocation or suspension where a licensee has been convicted of a felony. Were we to read that section as requiring a board to have independent authority both to suspend or revoke licenses and to have independent authority to do so in cases involving felony convictions, Section 9124 would be utterly superfluous.

The principles of statutory construction dictate against such a reading. As noted above, 1 Pa.C.S. § 1933 directs that conflicts between statutes should be construed in order to give effect to both, where possible. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(a) provides that every statute shall be construed so as to give effect to all of its provisions. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1922(2) instructs that the legislature is presumed to have intended to give effect to all provisions of a statute. Finally, as the Commission points out, statutes relating to the same persons or things are in pari materia and should be construed together. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1932. Accordingly, we conclude that the Commission was empowered to revoke the Cannizzaros’ licenses under Section 9124(c)(1) of CHRIA.

[45]*45The second issue we must address, raised by Anthony Cannizzaro, is whether the Commission erred in disregarding its hearing examiner’s findings of fact and conclusions. Section 701 of RELRA, 63 P.S. § 455.701, provides, in relevant part, as follows:

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Bluebook (online)
564 A.2d 564, 129 Pa. Commw. 39, 1989 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 650, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cannizzaro-v-commonwealth-pacommwct-1989.