Dick Irvin, Inc. v. Montana Department of Labor

673 P.2d 1271, 207 Mont. 336, 1983 Mont. LEXIS 877
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 30, 1983
Docket83-284
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 673 P.2d 1271 (Dick Irvin, Inc. v. Montana Department of Labor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dick Irvin, Inc. v. Montana Department of Labor, 673 P.2d 1271, 207 Mont. 336, 1983 Mont. LEXIS 877 (Mo. 1983).

Opinions

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE HASWELL

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Vern Greenwood appeals the Toole County District Court’s reversal of the Board of Labor Appeals of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry determination that he was entitled to unemployment benefits after his discharge from Dick Irvin, Inc., respondent.

On March 26, 1981, Dick Irvin, Inc., hired Vern Greenwood as a truckdriver. On May 29, 1982, Irvin discharged Greenwood. Several incidents led to his termination.

First, in April 1981, on a haul to California, Greenwood [338]*338attempted to drive to Big Timber to meet his wife. At Moore, his truck broke down causing a delay in the delivery of the load. There is a dispute as to whether Irvin had given specific routing instructions to Greenwood. Further, Greenwood contends that any deviation from the normal route would have only been sixty-one miles. He was instructed not to take such side trips again, and he obeyed.

Second, Greenwood was involved in an accident in Texas where a car ran into the lower right front of his tractor as he was turning right. Greenwood asserts that he was signaling for the turn, and the car was traveling completely on the shoulder of the road attempting to pass him on the right. Greenwood was issued a citation, but it is unclear what the violation was. He also claims that he sent a notarized statement of an eyewitness to the accident to Irvin, but it is not part of the record. Irvin blames Greenwood for the accident because he was issued the citation and Irvin’s insurance carrier paid for the damage to the other vehicle.

Third, on one of Greenwood’s hauls the wheel, tire and hub came off the axle due to lack of oil in the hub of the wheel. Greenwood accepts partial responsibility for this as he failed to check the oil level on this occasion. However, he argues that Irvin knew the truck was due for service at this time but dispatched him on another delivery.

Fourth, while on a haul into Louisiana, Greenwood needed certain permits to pass through Texas with an oversize load. Apparently, he would have violated Texas law by traveling without the permits. Thus, he waited over the weekend to obtain them at the border instead of traveling into Texas to pick them up at New Boston as instructed by Mark Cole of the Irvin office. This caused a late delivery in Louisiana.

Fifth, while he and a forklift driver were loading his truck, the forklift operator drove the lift over a piece of sideboard and punched a hole therein. Greenwood claims that the high winds blowing at the time prevented the sideboard from standing up so he simply laid it on the deck of the [339]*339truck. Irvin replaced the sideboard with a new piece of plywood.

Finally, the last incident prior to Greenwood’s termination was an accident in Wyoming. It appears that while turning a corner in a Casper suburb, the underside of the trailer was pulled across the front or hood of another vehicle causing damage to the vehicle. No citations were issued for the accident, although Irvin’s insurance carrier again paid for the damaged vehicle.

In May 1982 Greenwood was discharged and, according to Greenwood, this occurred upon the advice of Irvin’s insurance company. He then applied for unemployment benefits. Irvin challenged this application asserting that Greenwood was ineligible because he had been discharged for misconduct. On June 14, Greenwood was awarded benefits and Irvin appealed this decision to the appeals Section of the Employment Securities Division of the Department of Labor and Industry. A telephone hearing was conducted and the hearings officer found that Greenwood was ineligible for benefits due to discharge for misconduct.

Greenwood then appealed to the Board of Labor Appeals, and another telephone hearing was conducted. The Board found in favor of Greenwood and reversed the decision of the appeals section. In accordance with Section 39-51-2410, MCA, Irvin filed a petition for judicial review of the Board’s decision. A hearing was held on April 21, 1983, in the Ninth Judicial District, Honorable R.D. McPhillips presiding, after which the decision of the Board was reversed. Essentially, the District Court found that Greenwood’s actions were within the definition of misconduct and, according to Section 39-51-2403, MCA, sufficient to deny benefits. From this decision Greenwood appeals and raises three issues for our consideration.

1. Did the District Court err by making findings of fact different than those of the Board of Labor Appeals?

2. Is there substantial evidence supporting the Board’s findings?

[340]*3403. Did the District Court err by determining that the acts of appellant are within the statutory definition of misconduct to deny unemployment benefits?

First, Greenwood asserts that the District Court erred by making findings of fact different than those made by the Board. The District Court must first determine if substantial evidence supports the Board’s factual findings, and, if so, those facts are conclusive and the District Court jurisdiction is confined to questions of law. If the Court determines no such substantial evidence exists, it can make its own findings. This determination was never made; thus, the District Court was incorrect in making its own findings.

Irvin simply contends that the District Court accepted the findings of the Board. In essence, the District Court did not make its own factual findings.

The District Court’s review of rulings made by the Board of Labor Appeals is strictly governed by statute and case law. Section 39-51-2410(5), MCA, outlines the scope of judicial review of Board decisions. This subsection reads:

“(5) In any judicial proceeding under 39-51-2406 through 39-51-2410, the findings of the board as to the facts, if supported by evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive and the jurisdiction of said court shall be confined to questions of law. Such action and the questions so certified shall be heard in a summary manner and shall be given precedence over all other civil cases except cases arising under the workers’ compensation law of this state.”

This Court has enunciated and further defined this standard on several occasions. In Kirby Co. of Bozeman, Inc. v. Employment Security Division (Mont. 1980), 614 P.2d 1040, 37 St.Rep. 1255, we were called upon to determine whether the District Court erred by entering findings of fact different from those made by the Board of Labor Appeals. Justice Harrison, writing for a unanimous court explained that,

“Under the plain meaning of this statute and the case law interpreting it, the District Court must treat the findings of [341]*341the Board as conclusive, if the findings are supported by the evidence and in the absence of fraud. Noone v. Reeder (1968), 151 Mont. 248, 252, 441 P.2d 309. The District Court should, therefore, limit its review of the findings of the Board to a consideration of whether they are supported by the evidence. The District Court should not enter findings different from the Board’s without first determining the Board’s findings are not supported by the evidence.” 614 P.2d at 1042-1043.

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Bluebook (online)
673 P.2d 1271, 207 Mont. 336, 1983 Mont. LEXIS 877, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dick-irvin-inc-v-montana-department-of-labor-mont-1983.