Klebba v. Umstattd

388 S.W.3d 258, 2012 WL 6129886, 2012 Mo. App. LEXIS 1576
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 11, 2012
DocketNo. WD 74882
StatusPublished

This text of 388 S.W.3d 258 (Klebba v. Umstattd) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Klebba v. Umstattd, 388 S.W.3d 258, 2012 WL 6129886, 2012 Mo. App. LEXIS 1576 (Mo. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

JAMES EDWARD WELSH, Chief Judge.

Brenda Umstattd, Cole County Circuit Clerk, appeals the circuit court’s order making absolute a writ of prohibition forbidding her September 26, 2011 termination of Theresa Klebba’s employment. Umstattd asserts four points on appeal. First, she argues that the court erred in issuing and making absolute the writ of prohibition because Klebba failed to exhaust all administrative remedies prior to seeking the writ. Second, Umstattd asserts that the court erred in finding that collateral estoppel prohibited Umstattd from terminating Klebba on September 26, 2011, because the issue in Klebba’s September termination was not identical to the issue in her July 1, 2011 termination. [260]*260Third, Umstattd argues that the court erred in finding that res judicata prohibited her from terminating Klebba on September 26, 2011, because the September termination did not arise out of the same act or transaction as the July termination. Finally, Umstattd contends that the court’s judgment is overly broad and, therefore, the court erred in wording its judgment. We affirm.

On July 1, 2011, Umstattd, Cole County Circuit Clerk, terminated the employment of Klebba “due to office policies regarding receipts and an audit of [Klebba’s] receipts (missing $50.00 from receipt 241020) and other discrepancies regarding the courts [sic ] money.” Umstattd’s letter of dismissal stated that she found Klebba in violation of the Supreme Court Operating Rules that prohibit “ ‘documented inefficiency, incompetence, negligence, or exercise of physical force in the performance of duties,’ ” and “ ‘behavior that adversely affects the court.’ ” Umstattd noted that she had the authority to dismiss any regular employee for the “ ‘commission of any act(s) of criminal misconduct, moral turpitude, insubordination or other behavior that is of such severity or consequence as to no longer warrant the continued service of the employee.’ ”

Klebba appealed the dismissal pursuant to Supreme Court Operating Rule 7.B.11 and was granted a dismissal review committee hearing on September 9, 2011. After hearing evidence from both Klebba and Umstattd, the committee, consisting of Judge Gary Oxenhandler, Judge Cindy Su-ter, and Judge Kelly Broniec, overturned Klebba’s dismissal. The committee’s September 16, 2011 “Findings of Fact and Decision” concluded that:

Ms. Klebba adduced credible evidence that she was a longtime, quality employee (though she had received two or more minor disciplinary admonitions); that she followed office policies regarding cash deposits; that she did not take the $50.00 in question or any money, ever; that she did not know the money was missing (as it was there when she originally counted it); that approximately 20 other employees in the office had access to the cash deposits; and that another employee in the office, a supervisor who also had access to the cash deposits, had also been accused of taking money at the same time.

The committee determined that Um-stattd’s termination of Klebba was an “abuse of authority and/or unreasonable” and reinstated Klebba. Umstattd did not appeal the committee’s decision.

Klebba returned to work on September 26, 2011. At that time, Umstattd issued Klebba a second termination letter. The dismissal letter stated that “the reasons for the new dismissal are similar but distinctly separate from the reason for your previous dismissal.” The letter specified six receipts, allegedly linked to Klebba, for which funds were unaccounted. Each receipt was dated prior to Klebba’s first termination in July.

On October 3, 2011, Klebba petitioned the circuit court for a writ of prohibition. Klebba argued that her first termination was alleged to be, in part, due to “discrepancies involving the courts [sic] money.” She contended that Umstattd was given ample opportunity to present all of the evidence to support this contention at the September 9, 2011, dismissal review committee hearing and any subsequent proceedings. She argued that the dismissal review committee had considered the evidence and ordered Klebba reinstated. Klebba asked the court, by writ of prohibition, to rescind the dismissal and reinstate her employment pursuant to the previously issued order of the dismissal review committee.

[261]*261On October 5, 2011, the circuit court entered a preliminary order in prohibition and thereafter heard evidence on December 2, 2011. On January 9, 2012, the court entered a judgment prohibiting Um-stattd from pursuing the September 26, 2011 termination. The court found that the issues and causes of action present in the September termination had already been addressed in the July termination and, therefore, both collateral estoppel and res judicata barred Umstattd from firing Klebba a second time for the same issues. The court ordered that the preliminary writ of prohibition be made absolute. Umstattd appeals.

The disposition of a writ of prohibition is discretionary and is reviewed on appeal only to determine whether the circuit court abused its discretion in issuing the writ. State ex rel. Rosenberg v. Jarrett, 233 S.W.3d 757, 761 (Mo.App.2007). “Discretionary rulings are presumed correct, and an abuse of discretion occurs only if the ruling is ‘clearly against the logic of the circumstances and so arbitrary and unreasonable as to shock the sense of justice.’ ” Id. (quoting State ex rel. M.D.K v. Dolan, 968 S.W.2d 740, 745 (Mo.App.1998)). In determining whether the court’s ruling amounted to an abuse of discretion, the evidence will be viewed in the light most favorable to the court’s ruling. State ex rel. Wyeth v. Grady, 262 S.W.3d 216, 226 n. 11 (Mo. banc 2008).

In her first point on appeal, Um-stattd argues that the court erred in issuing, and making absolute, the writ of prohibition forbidding Klebba’s termination, because Klebba did not exhaust all available administrative remedies. She contends that Supreme Court Operating Rule 7.B.11.4(c)(4) required Klebba to request a pre-termination hearing to challenge her September 26, 2011 termination. She charges that, because Klebba did not request a pre-termination hearing, she failed to exhaust her administrative remedies which precluded her from asking the court for redress. She contends that the court had no authority to entertain her writ petition. We disagree.

After Klebba was fired on July 1, 2011 for “office policies regarding receipts,” $50.00 missing from receipt 241020, and other discrepancies regarding the court’s money, Klebba appealed her dismissal. Klebba was then given the opportunity to present evidence and testimony contesting the dismissal, and Umstattd was given the opportunity to present evidence and testimony supporting the dismissal. Pursuant to Supreme Court Operating Rule 7.B.11.4(c)(8), Klebba had the burden of proving that her dismissal was unwarranted. Based on Umstattd’s allegations, Klebba had to defend herself, among other things, against the allegation that she was responsible for discrepancies regarding the court’s money. While Umstattd was not required to submit evidence, if she desired to support the dismissal, she had the opportunity to put forth any evidence that would have warranted the dismissal. On September 9, 2011, Umstattd and Klebba both presented evidence at a hearing before the dismissal review committee.

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Related

State Ex Rel. M.D.K. v. Dolan
968 S.W.2d 740 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1998)
State Ex Rel. Rosenberg v. Jarrett
233 S.W.3d 757 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)
STATE EX REL. WYETH v. Grady
262 S.W.3d 216 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
388 S.W.3d 258, 2012 WL 6129886, 2012 Mo. App. LEXIS 1576, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/klebba-v-umstattd-moctapp-2012.