Joseph v. Salt Lake City Civil Service Commission

2002 UT App 254, 53 P.3d 11, 452 Utah Adv. Rep. 43, 2002 Utah App. LEXIS 72, 2002 WL 1726898
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedJuly 26, 2002
Docket20010399-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2002 UT App 254 (Joseph v. Salt Lake City Civil Service Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Joseph v. Salt Lake City Civil Service Commission, 2002 UT App 254, 53 P.3d 11, 452 Utah Adv. Rep. 43, 2002 Utah App. LEXIS 72, 2002 WL 1726898 (Utah Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

THORNE, Judge:

11 Robert L. Joseph appeals from an order of the Salt Lake City Civil Service Commission (the Commission) dismissing his administrative appeal following his repeated failure to comply with discovery requirements. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

T 2 In March of 1999, Joseph was involved in an incident that resulted in the Salt Lake City Police Department (the City) determining that he had acted unprofessionally and had violated the City's deadly foree policy. While this finding was later affirmed by the Commission, Joseph was permitted to continue his employment pending the results of a fitness for duty examination. Thus, Joseph was examined by Dr. David McCann, who, in March of 2000, submitted to the City the following conclusions regarding Joseph:

[He] has Disordered Personality Traits which have contributed to him placing himself in jeopardy in the shooting incident and in other incidents. Officer Joseph's personality traits have caused him to be excessively self-centered and unwilling to learn from peers or superiors. His personality traits are likely to lead him to increased isolation and alienation from appropriate professional supervision and the needs of the citizens of Salt Lake City. Personality traits similar to those of Offi *14 cer Joseph's are notably resistant to psy-chotherapeutie intervention, additional training, closer supervision or disciplinary action. His personality traits cause an increased risk for harm to himself, to other officers and to the citizens of Salt Lake City. In [Dr. McCann's] opinion, Officer Joseph is not psychologically suitable to perform the duties of a police officer.

Based at least in part on this evaluation, on" March 31, 2000, the City's Chief of Police, Mac Connole, terminated Joseph's employment. Joseph appealed the City's decision to terminate his employment to the Commission.

{3 Soon after learning of the appeal, the City requested certain documents and materials known or suspected to be in Joseph's possession. Joseph, however, neither proffered the requested discovery materials nor did he petition the Commission for protection from the request. Over the course of the next ten months, the City repeatedly renewed its request, which Joseph ignored on every occasion. Frustrated with Joseph's refusal to cooperate, the City filed a motion to dismiss as a sanction for Joseph's inaction. This finally roused Joseph to act.

4 To stave off possible dismissal, Joseph, through counsel, entered into a stipulation with the City. Joseph agreed to supply all of the requested material within fifteen days or face renewal of the dismissal motion, likely ending his appeal. Following a hearing on the proposed agreement, the Commission adopted the stipulation and specifically informed Joseph's attorney that failure to comply with the clear terms of the agreement would result in his appeal being dismissed with prejudice. Nonetheless, Joseph failed to timely produce the requested material, thereby violating the terms of the stipulation.

T5 The City subsequently renewed its request for dismissal, which the Commission readily granted on April 9, 2001. Then, after a hearing on Joseph's motion to strike the order of dismissal, the Commission found that Joseph had presented no good cause to explain his failure to comply with the terms of the stipulation and denied his motion. Joseph now appeals.

ISSUE AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

T6 While Joseph submits several arguments for our review, only one is properly before this court.

17 Joseph argues that the Commission erred in dismissing his appeal as a discovery sanction. We will reverse an adjudicative body's decision to levy discovery sanctions only in the face of a clear abuse of discretion. See Hales v. Oldroyd, 2000 UT App 75, ¶ 15, 999 P.2d 588.

ANALYSIS

18 Prior to addressing Joseph's claim, we must first determine whether this court is properly vested with jurisdiction over his claim. While we are generally limited in our authority to address issues sua sponte, see In re R.N.J., 908 P.2d 345, 347 (Utah Ct.App.1995) ("if a [party] has not raised an issue on appeal, we may not consider the issue sua sponte" (quoting State v. Rodrigues, 841 P.2d 1228, 1229 (Utah Ct.App.1992)) (alteration in original)), when the issue is jurisdictional we are under no such limitation. See id. "[Tlhe jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals ... must be provided by statute." DeBry v. Salt Lake County, 764 P.2d 627, 627 (Utah Ct.App.1988) (citing Utah Const. art. VIII, § 5). In the absence of a specific statute granting this court jurisdiction over the subject matter, we have no jurisdiction. See Barney v. Division of Occupational & Prof'l. Licensing, 828 P.2d 542, 543-44 (Utah Ct.App.1992); DeBry, 764 P.2d at 628.

T9 Here, were we restricted to the jurisdictional boundaries found in Utah Code Ann. § 78-22a-8(2)(b)G) (Supp.2001) (granting this court jurisdiction over appeals from the district court's review of "adjudicative proceedings of agencies of political subdivisions of the state or other local agencies"), we would not have jurisdiction and would be forced to dismiss the petition. See Barney, 828 P.2d at 544. However, Utah Code Ann. § 10-3-1012.5 (1999) provides an express grant of jurisdiction to this court for the specific purpose of reviewing decisions made *15 by municipal commissions. 1 Therefore, because the Legislature has provided a specific statute granting this court jurisdiction, we conclude that we have jurisdiction and address Joseph's claim on appeal.

T10 Joseph first argues that the discovery sanction levied by the Commission violates his due process right to a full hearing before the Commission. "Post-deprivation procedures, while not constitutionally guaranteed, must comport with due process requirements providing for a fair hearing." Lucas v. Murray City Civil Serv. Comm'n, 949 P.2d 746, 758 (Utah Ct.App.1997). " 'The fundamental requirement of due process is the opportunity to be heard, at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner, and, when this opportunity is granted a complainant, who chooses not to exercise it, that complainant cannot later plead a denial of procedural due process'" Utah Dept. of Trans. v. Osguthorpe, 892 P.2d 4, 8 (Utah 1995) (citation omitted). Moreover, while local administrative bodies are not strictly bound by the formal rules of evidence and procedure, see Lucas, 949 P.2d at 755, absent any contrary direction, certain rules, including the rules governing discovery, are clearly applicable to such proceedings.

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Bluebook (online)
2002 UT App 254, 53 P.3d 11, 452 Utah Adv. Rep. 43, 2002 Utah App. LEXIS 72, 2002 WL 1726898, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/joseph-v-salt-lake-city-civil-service-commission-utahctapp-2002.