McCallister v. State (In re Worker's Comp. Claim Of)

440 P.3d 1078
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMay 7, 2019
DocketS-18-0142
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 440 P.3d 1078 (McCallister v. State (In re Worker's Comp. Claim Of)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCallister v. State (In re Worker's Comp. Claim Of), 440 P.3d 1078 (Wyo. 2019).

Opinions

KAUTZ, Justice.

*1079[¶1] Appellant Blaine M. McCallister's physicians requested Appellee Wyoming Workers' Compensation Division (the Division) to preauthorize the purchase of several unique items to treat Mr. McCallister's work-related injury. The Division denied the requests, and after a contested case hearing, the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) upheld the Division's determinations. Mr. McCallister filed his petition for review in the district court of the county where he was injured (Campbell County, Wyoming). We conclude the statute which provides for judicial review of the OAH decision, Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(a) (LexisNexis 2017), placed jurisdiction in the district court of the county where the administrative action was taken (Laramie County, Wyoming) or the district court of the county where Mr. McCallister resided (Albany County, Wyoming).

[¶2] Since Mr. McCallister filed his petition for review in a district court that did not have jurisdiction, we, likewise, lack jurisdiction. Consequently, we must dismiss this case and vacate the district court's order.

ISSUE

[¶3] The dispositive issue in this case is:

Whether, under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(a), the district court for Campbell County had jurisdiction over Mr. McCallister's petition for review?

FACTS

[¶4] Mr. McCallister injured his cervical and thoracic spine in 2012 while working for Robinson Grinding & Profiling, LLC in Campbell County. In 2016, Mr. McCallister's physicians requested that the Division preauthorize the purchase of several non-typical items to help him manage his condition at his home in rural Albany County. The Division refused to pay for the items, and Mr. McCallister objected and requested a hearing. An "in-person contested case hearing" was held before an OAH hearing examiner in Laramie County on May 4, 2017. On June 5, 2017, the hearing examiner issued her "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order" upholding the Division's determinations.1 The signature line indicated the hearing examiner's office was located in Laramie County.

[¶ 5] The Division's notices of referral of the claims to the OAH for a contested case hearing did not specify any county in a heading. The OAH, however, responded with a document which did include such a heading. Thereafter in the administrative proceedings, the Division's pleadings and the OAH orders, including its final decision, were captioned as follows:

*1080IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

STATE OF WYOMING COUNTY OF CAMPBELL IN THE MATTER OF THE WORKER'S COMPENSATION CLAIM OF BLAINE M. McCALLISTER, AN EMPLOYEE OF ROBINSON GRINDING & PROFILING, LLC: BLAINE M. McCALLISTER, Claimant, vs. WC CASE NUMBER 2012-12075 C101, C102, C103 ROBINSON GRINDING & PROFILING, LLC, and STATE OF WYOMING ex rel. DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE SERVICES, WORKERS' COMPENSATION DIVISION, Respondents.

[¶6] Mr. McCallister filed a petition for judicial review of the OAH decision in the Campbell County district court on June 30, 2017. In his petition for review, Mr. McCallister stated:

This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to Wyoming Statutes §§ 16-3-114(a), 27-14-602, and 27-16-612 (sic) and Wyo. R. App. P. 12. All administrative remedies have been exhausted prior to the filing of this petition. Venue is proper in this Court as the Petitioner was employed by Robinson Profiling & Grinding, LLC ... in Campbell County, Wyoming at the time of the injury.

[¶7] On July 31, 2017, the Division filed a motion to dismiss Mr. McCallister's petition for review, asserting he should not have filed in the Campbell County district court. Mr. McCallister responded to the motion to dismiss, stating: "From the onset of this multi-year administrative proceeding, the Division has consistently and routinely captioned (and venued) this workers' compensation claim in Campbell County, Wyoming, despite the Petitioner residing in Albany County, Wyoming, and the Division being located in Laramie County, Wyoming". He continued, "the administrative action, by the Division's choosing, occurred in Campbell County, Wyoming, despite the location of the hearing(s) associated with this workers' compensation claim." In the alternative, Mr. McCallister requested that his case be transferred to one of the counties where venue was proper because a dismissal would result in his appeal being "time-barred."

[¶8] The district court denied the Division's motion to dismiss and affirmed the OAH

*1081decision on the merits. Mr. McCallister appealed to this Court.

DISCUSSION

[¶9] The Division asserts the district court in Campbell County did not have subject matter jurisdiction over Mr. McCallister's appeal. It claims that he was required by § 16-3-114(a) to file his petition for judicial review in either the district court for the county in which the administrative action was taken or the district court in the county where he resided. Mr. McCallister counters that, while he may have filed his petition for review in the wrong venue, the Campbell County district court had jurisdiction to hear and decide his case. He further argues that the Division waived the right to challenge venue because it did not appeal the district court's order denying its motion to dismiss.

A. Standard of Review and General Rules of Jurisdiction and Venue

[¶10] The determination of whether a court has subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law subject to de novo review. Vance v. City of Laramie, 2016 WY 106, ¶ 10, 382 P.3d 1104, 1106 (Wyo. 2016). Subject matter jurisdiction is defined as "the power to hear and determine cases of the general class to which the proceedings in question belong." Granite Springs Retreat Ass'n, Inc. v. Manning, 2006 WY 60, ¶ 5, 133 P.3d 1005, 1009 (Wyo. 2006) (quoting Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co. v. Blury-Losolla, 952 P.2d 1117, 1119-20 (Wyo. 1998) ). A challenge to the Court's subject matter jurisdiction can be raised at any time by any party or by the Court sua sponte. TC v. Dep't of Family Servs. (Matter of Adoption of L-MHB), 2018 WY 140

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
440 P.3d 1078, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccallister-v-state-in-re-workers-comp-claim-of-wyo-2019.