Civil Service Board v. Fehler

578 S.W.2d 254, 1978 Ky. App. LEXIS 669
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedDecember 8, 1978
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 578 S.W.2d 254 (Civil Service Board v. Fehler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Civil Service Board v. Fehler, 578 S.W.2d 254, 1978 Ky. App. LEXIS 669 (Ky. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinion

HOWARD, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment entered in the Campbell Circuit Court ordering the reinstatement of plaintiff-appellee, Byron G. Fehler (hereinafter referred to as Fehler), who had been dismissed from his position as Superintendent of the Department of Public Works of the City of Newport for inefficiency and incompetency by defendant-appellant, the Civil Service Board of the City of Newport (hereinafter referred to as the Board).

On this appeal, the Board states that the trial court erred: 1) In filing Supplemental Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law more than ten (10) days after final judgment was entered; 2) In considering inadmissible and immaterial evidence; 3) In using an 'incorrect standard of review to overturn the decision of the Board; 4) In finding that the evidence did not support the Board’s conclusions that Fehler was guilty of incompetency and inefficiency; and 5) In failing to mitigate the damages Fehler was awarded for wrongful dismissal.

The charges of inefficiency and incompetency were brought as the result of Fehler’s actions during a snow emergency in February of 1977. Fehler was notified at 12:05 A.M. on February 20, 1977, that a snow emergency had been declared by the City of Newport. The snow emergency crew was not assembled until 4:00 or 5:00 that morning. The Board states that Fehler failed or refused to get a crew out earlier, thereby demonstrating his incompetency and inefficiency.

Charges were preferred against Fehler pursuant to KRS 90.360 and the City of Newport’s local ordinance. A hearing was held before the Board at which Fehler and his attorney were present. Both sides presented proof after which the Board concluded that Fehler was guilty of the charges and he was dismissed. Fehler does not contend that any of his due process rights were violated in the administrative proceeding held by the Board.

A brief summary of the testimony presented at the hearing is warranted. Emanuel Lane, one of the two foremen working under Fehler, explained the procedure in calling out a snow emergency crew and testified that it normally takes 30 to 45 minutes to call out a crew. He also stated that sometimes it may take an hour and a half. Lane also testified that the policy had been for one the foremen to call out the crew, rather than the Superintendent.

Edward Craig, the other foreman (now Superintendent of the Department of Public Works), testified that he received a call from the police concerning the icy streets around 12:00 A.M. and told the police to call Fehler. He then received a call around 3:00 A.M. from the Mayor, John Peluso, asking him why a crew wasn’t out yet. Craig testified that he then called the police and was told Fehler had been notified of the emergency. Craig went to the City Garage, arriving there at about 4:45 A.M. At that time, Fehler and Jimmy McCulley, a worker, were at the garage. The members of the crew were also arriving. Craig testified it takes a half hour to assemble a crew. He also testified that it was the foremen who usually assembled the crew, but that Fehler was on duty that night.

Certain other people also testified, including the Mayor and the City Manager, Ralph Mussman. Mussman testified that Fehler told the Commission, at a meeting held at a later date, that it was not his responsibility to get the crew out.

Fehler then testified. He stated that since one of the foremen usually calls out the crew, he was unfamiliar with the procedure to use. He then testified as to his unsuccessful efforts to contact certain people by telephone after receiving the call from the police, including calls to Craig. Fehler then stated he had trouble starting his truck and that he was unable to start it until about 3:00 A.M. He then testified that sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 A.M. he called out the crew with the help of Jimmy McCulley. Fehler testified also that he was not responsible for calling a crew out.

Fehler appealed to the circuit court. The proceedings which occurred in that court [257]*257will be discussed as they relate to the errors raised by the Board on this appeal.

According to the record, the proceeding in the trial court was heard de novo upon joint motion of the parties. The trial court, in its Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Judgment (filed in court on January 31, 1978), stated that it considered the record made before the Board, certain affidavits (which the Board states are irrelevant and immaterial) and the briefs filed by both parties, in making its decision. The trial court stated that the findings by the Board that Fehler was guilty of inefficiency and incompetency were not supported by substantial evidence. Fehler was ordered reinstated. A trial on damages was also ordered to be held. Final judgment was entered on March 24, 1978, adjudging Fehler to be entitled to damages in the amount of $12,801.00 for wrongful dismissal.

The Board filed its notice of appeal on March 24, 1978, the same day final judgment was entered. The trial court, on its own initiative, entered Supplemental Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law on April 14, 1978. The Board’s motion to strike the Supplemental Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law was overruled by the trial court.

The trial court has filed a request before this Court for leave to correct the record, so that these Supplemental Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law be considered as relating back to and incorporated into the judgment entered on March 24, 1978. The trial court states that, under CR 60.01, these supplemental findings constitute an oversight or omission.

The Board has also filed before this Court a motion to strike the trial court’s Supplemental Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and a motion to overrule the trial court’s request for leave to correct the record. This Court, by order, has passed these two motions and the trial court’s request to this panel for its consideration on the direct appeal.

Under CR 52.02, the court may amend its findings or made additional findings not later than ten (10) days after entry of judgment. In the instant case, the ten day limit had passed. And CR 60.01 provides for relief from a judgment or order as to clerical mistakes because of oversight or omission.

We believe that some six pages of twenty supplemental findings of fact and conclusions of law do not come under the heading of clerical mistakes. Although we appreciate the trial court’s attempt to clarify the judgment and its reasoning therefor, we are denying the trial court’s request for leave to file the supplemental findings. The Board’s motion to strike the supplemental findings and the Board’s motion to overrule the trial court’s request for leave to file the supplemental findings are granted.

Fehler submitted the affidavits of Robert Sidell and Robert Shomaker, along with his own, to the trial court. These affidavits were admitted. The substance of Sidell’s affidavit, he being a former City Manager, was that the foremen, not the Superintendent, assembled emergency work crews and that Sidell found Fehler to be a competent and efficient Superintendent. The affidavit of Shomaker, a former City Clerk, contained similar statements.

The affidavit of Fehler contained certain allegations that John Peluso, while a member of the City Council, asked Fehler to pave private property belonging to Peluso, with City equipment.

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578 S.W.2d 254, 1978 Ky. App. LEXIS 669, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/civil-service-board-v-fehler-kyctapp-1978.