Maple Leaf Investors, Inc. v. Department of Ecology

521 P.2d 742, 10 Wash. App. 586, 1974 Wash. App. LEXIS 1473
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedFebruary 8, 1974
DocketNo. 990-2
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 521 P.2d 742 (Maple Leaf Investors, Inc. v. Department of Ecology) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maple Leaf Investors, Inc. v. Department of Ecology, 521 P.2d 742, 10 Wash. App. 586, 1974 Wash. App. LEXIS 1473 (Wash. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

Petrie, J.

Acting pursuant to provisions of RCW 43.21B.200,1 Maple Leaf Investors, Inc., has filed a notice of [587]*587appeal to this court from a document entitled “Findings of Fact, Conclusions and Order” dated December 5, 1972, and signed by the three members of the Pollution Control Hearings Board. Neither party to this action disputes the alleged jurisdiction of this court to hear such appeals. Upon our own motion to dismiss, however, the following question is presented: Does the Court of Appeals have jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals made directly from a decision of the Pollution Control Hearings Board to this court? We hold that the legislature has not clothed the Court of Appeals with jurisdiction to entertain such appeals.

This court was authorized by and derives its power from Const, art. 4, § 30 (amendment 50) to the Washington State Constitution, and implementing legislation found in RCW 2.06. Article 4, section 30 provides in pertinent part:

(1) Authorization. In addition to the courts authorized in section 1 of this article, judicial power is vested in a court of appeals, which shall be established by statute.
(2) Jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the court of appeals shall be as provided by statute or by rules authorized by statute.
(3) Review of Superior Court. Superior court actions may be reviewed by the court of appeals or by the supreme court as provided by statute or by rule authorized by statute.
[588]*588(6) Conflicts. The provisions of this section shall supersede any conflicting provisions in prior sections of this article.

(Italics ours.)

As is readily seen from the language of subsection (2) of article 4, section 30, the jurisdiction of this court, except insofar as it is constitutionally mandated by subsection (3), is to be “provided by statute or by rules authorized by statute.” We know of no statute which grants to any forum authority to confer or confine the jurisdiction of this court through rule-making power. Accordingly, our search for jurisdiction is limited to statutes enacted by the legislature. The only statute which purports directly to define the jurisdiction of this court is RCW 2.06.030. That statute, after granting to the Supreme Court authority to promulgate rules governing administration and procedure in this court, vested jurisdiction in this court in the following manner:

Subject to the provisions of this section, the court shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction in all cases except . . . [five classifications] all of which shall be ap.-pealed directly to the supreme court . . .

If, then, this court is to' have jurisdiction through this statute to hear direct appeals from an administrative agency, it must be because the words emphasized in RCW 2.06.030, supra, namely “in all cases” include, within their meaning, “appeals” from an administrative agency, specifically the Pollution Control Hearings Board. We do not believe such an interpretation can be placed on RCW 2.06.030.

In North Bend Stage Line, Inc. v. Department of Pub. Works, 170 Wash. 217, 16 P.2d 206 (1932), the Supreme Court interpreted a statute purporting to confer upon that court jurisdiction to hear, directly, appeals from an administrative agency. The statute was found to be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court interpreted the constitutional [589]*589definition of its appellate jurisdiction (article 4, section 4 of the Washington State Constitution) in the following manner:

Now, recurring to the constitutional appeal jurisdiction of this court, we have seen that such jurisdiction is prescribed to be “in all actions and proceedings,” with certain limited exceptions. This, we are of the opinion, means appellate jurisdiction in “actions and proceedings” of a purely judicial nature, which have been determined in some judicial court established by the constitution or in pursuance thereof.

(Italics ours.) North Bend Stage Line, Inc. v. Department of Pub. Works, supra at 222. Although the court in North Bend was construing a constitutional provision, and this court, in the instant case, a statutory provision — we are of the opinion the words “the court shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction in all cases . . .” means in all cases of a purely judicial nature. Such an interpretation precludes, of course, an initial judicial review by this court of an order of an administrative agency.

This is not to say the legislature cannot, by a proper statutory grant, provide this court with jurisdiction to hear appeals made directly from an administrative agency. Both parties hereto suggest that RCW 43.21B.200 is at least an indirect grant of jurisdiction to this court to entertain an initial judicial review of a decision of the Pollution Control Hearings Board. Indeed, a recent decision of the Supreme Court appears to accept, as a basic premise, the proposition that the jurisdictional limits of this court may be altered by means other than by direct amendment to RCW 2.06.030. Department of Highways v. King County Chapter, Wash. Environmental Council, 82 Wn.2d 280, 510 P.2d 216 (1973). Accordingly, for purposes of this opinion only, and without deciding the issue in any manner, we accept the proposition that the statute upon which the parties rely does not run afoul of Const, art. 2, § 37 of the state constitution, which provides: “No act shall ever be revised or amended by mere reference to its title, but the act revised or the section amended shall be set forth at full [590]*590length.” See, however, Bellingham v. Hite, 37 Wn.2d 652, 225 P.2d 895 (1950); Swedish Hosp. v. Department of Labor & Indus., 26 Wn.2d 819, 176 P.2d 429 (1947).

Additionally, we also assume, without deciding, that RCW 43.21B.200

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Related

State v. Pascal
736 P.2d 1065 (Washington Supreme Court, 1987)
Maple Leaf Investors, Inc. v. Department of Ecology
565 P.2d 1162 (Washington Supreme Court, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
521 P.2d 742, 10 Wash. App. 586, 1974 Wash. App. LEXIS 1473, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maple-leaf-investors-inc-v-department-of-ecology-washctapp-1974.