Lombardino v. Firemen's & Policemen's Civil Service Commission

310 S.W.2d 651, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1806
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 5, 1958
Docket13271
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 310 S.W.2d 651 (Lombardino v. Firemen's & Policemen's Civil Service Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lombardino v. Firemen's & Policemen's Civil Service Commission, 310 S.W.2d 651, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1806 (Tex. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

*652 BARROW, Justice.

This appeal is from a judgment of the District Court affirming an order of the Firemen’s and Policemen’s Civil Service Commission of the City of San Antonio, dismissing Frank J. Lombardino from the San Antonio Police Department.

It appears that on the 26th day of May, 1956, S. J. Matthews and George W. Bichsel, City Manager and Chief of Police, respectively, of the City of San Antonio, issued and caused to* be delivered to appellant, Lombardino, a city detective, a notice and order indefinitely suspending, him from the San Antonio Police Department as of said date. Appellant duly perfected his appeal to the Fire and Police Civil Service Commission of the City of San Antonio. Said notice and order contained four specific charges against appellant. The first charge was found by the Commission to be false and need not be further noticed. The second, third and fourth charges are as follows:

“Rule XX, Section 120 provides that the following constitute grounds for dismissal:
“Acts of insubordination, and failure or refusal to carry out instructions. You are charged with owning, operating or working for, or participating in owning and operating a collection agency, doing business under the name of ‘San Antonio Creditors’ Association,’ during the last six months while you were a detective in the San Antonio Police Department after express instructions from your superior officers to discontinue such activity. Such activity constituted insubordination, and willful refusal to carry out instructions.
“Rule XX, Section 120, makes violations of the following rule a ground for dismissal:
“ ‘No person- shall, after the adoption of these rules, be employed in any gainful employment outside of his City job without the written approval of his department head.’ Violation of the rules and regulations of the department, is also a ground for dismissal. Rule 89 of the department rules provides in part: ‘No police officer shall engage in any outside business or employment without the written permission of the Chief of Police * * *. No police officer shall own, operate or have any interest in any business of any kind without written permission from the Chief of Police.’
“You are charged with owning, operating, or having an interest in the San Antonio Creditor’s Association, a collection agency engaged in collection of delinquent accounts in .the City of San Antonio, during the past six months without the written consent of the Chief of Police. This action violates the rules quoted above.
“Rule 48 of the rules and regulations of the police department provides : ‘All officers shall obey all the laws of the United States, State of Texas, and Ordinances of the City of San Antonio.’ Penal Code Article 380a prohibits the collection of debts by any peace officer for compensation. You are charged with operating a collection agency for compensation in violation of the above provision and rule.”

On the 31st day of July, 1956, the said Commission signed and entered an order nunc pro tunc as of June 18, 1956. Said order found appellant, Lombardino, guilty of the second, third and fourth charges, and ordered that he be dismissed from the San Antonio Police Department, effective May 26, 1956. The specific findings of the Commission are as follows:

“The Commission finds that Mr. Lombardino was insubordinate and wilfully failed to carry out instructions by- owning, operating, working and participating in the San Antonio Creditors Association after having *653 been ordered by his superior officers to discontinue from such activity.
“The Commission finds that Mr. Lombardino violated rule 89 of the Rules and Regulations of the Fire and Police Department in that he engaged in an outside business without the written permission of the Chief of Police.
“The Commission finds that Mr. Lombardino did in fact violate Article 380a of the penal code in that he collected debts as a peace officer for compensation.”

The appellant appealed from said order to the District Court, and a full transcript of the evidence heard by the Commission was filed in the District Court and is before this Court. Both appellant and appellees presented motions for summary judgment, whereupon the court, after considering the same, overruled appellant’s motion and sustained appellees’ motion, and accordingly entered judgment that appellant take nothing.

Appellant contends that the Commission had not promulgated nor published the rules under which he had been discharged, and that therefore his motion for summary judgment should have been granted. It appears that appellant caused to be filed, among the papers in this cause, a certified copy of a pleading in Cause No. F-103,115, pending in another district court, in which appellees alleged that the Firemen’s and Policemen’s Civil Service Commission had never promulgated nor published any rules pursuant to the terms of Article 1269m, Revised Civil Statutes. This paper was not attached as an exhibit to the motion for summary judgment, it was not attached as an exhibit to any affidavit, nor is it made to appear that it was even called to the attention of the trial court. Appellant did not raise any such issue in his pleading, in his motion for judgment, nor in opposing appellees’ motion. In fact, appellant presented an affidavit to the effect that the Commission had promulgated and published rules provided for under the statute. We think this pleading would have been admissible had it been' introduced, just the same as any declaration against interest, but it is not conclusive and binding on appellees. We overrule this contention.

By appellant’s second point he complains that the finding of the Commission that he did in fact violate Article 380a of the Penal Code of the State of Texas is not supported by substantial evidence. Article 380a of the Penal Code prohibits the collection of debts by any peace officer for compensation. It appears from the record that appellant and his wife, during his tenure as a police officer, had operated and did operate up to the time of the hearing, a collection agency and collected debts for merchants for compensation. The business was operated under the trade name of “San Antonio Creditor’s Association.” The evidence shows that they had a number of employees working under them, but that appellant during his spare hours was actually engaged in the conduct of this business. Notwithstanding the fact that appellant caused to be filed an assumed name certificate showing his wife as owner, we think the finding of the Commission is supported by substantial evidence.

By appellant’s third point he complains that the Commission’s finding that he engaged in an outside business without a written permit from the Chief of Police is without support in the evidence. By his fourth point appellant complains that the Commission’s finding that he was “insubordinate” and “willfully failed to carry out instructions by owning, operating, working and participating in the San Antonio Creditors Association after having been ordered by his superior officers to discontinue such activity,” because he contends that he had been given no such order by his superiors.

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Bluebook (online)
310 S.W.2d 651, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1806, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lombardino-v-firemens-policemens-civil-service-commission-texapp-1958.