Trachy v. LaFramboise

770 A.2d 1097, 146 N.H. 178, 2001 N.H. LEXIS 51
CourtSupreme Court of New Hampshire
DecidedMarch 26, 2001
DocketNo. 97-631
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 770 A.2d 1097 (Trachy v. LaFramboise) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trachy v. LaFramboise, 770 A.2d 1097, 146 N.H. 178, 2001 N.H. LEXIS 51 (N.H. 2001).

Opinions

DALIANIS, J.

The plaintiffs, the commissioners and sheriff of Merrimack County, appeal from rulings by the Superior Court {Coffey, J.) on their declaratory judgment petition. We reverse and remand.

The following facts are not disputed. The defendant, Richard LaFramboise, has been a Merrimack County deputy sheriff since 1981. In January 1996, the Merrimack County Sheriff (sheriff) suspended him for one day and assigned him to the night shift for violating various department policies. The defendant formally requested the sheriff to reconsider his decision, which the sheriff declined to do. The defendant then formally requested the Merrimack County Board of Commissioners (commissioners) to review the sheriff’s decision. The commissioners declined, stating that the sheriff’s disciplinary decisions were not subject to their review.

The plaintiffs petitioned the trial court for a declaration that the commissioners had neither the duty nor authority to review the sheriff’s discipline of his deputies and that RSA 28:10-a (2000) did not entitle the defendant to such a review. Both the plaintiffs and the defendant sought summary judgment. The court granted the defendant’s motion, ruling that the sheriff’s internal policies gave the defendant a right to appeal disciplinary decisions to the commissioners. The court declined to decide whether RSA 28:10-a applied. The plaintiffs appealed.

We remanded the case “for the limited purpose of holding an evidentiary hearing ... on the issue of whether a deputy sheriff is an ‘employee’ as that term is used in RSA 28:10-a, I.”

Upon remand, the trial court ruled that RSA 28:10-a applies to “any and all employees of Merrimack County and its various institutions.” The court found that the defendant was both a Merrimack County employee and an employee of a county institution (the sheriff’s office), and thus, under RSA 28:10-a, was entitled to administrative review of the sheriff’s disciplinary action.

On appeal, the plaintiffs assert that the trial court erroneously interpreted RSA 28:10-a and the sheriff’s internal policies. We agree.

In reviewing the grant of summary judgment, we consider the affidavits and pleadings in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and if there is no genuine issue of material fact, and if the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, we will affirm. See Weaver v. Royal Ins. Co. of America, 140 N.H. 780, 781 (1996).

[180]*180This court is the final arbiter of the intent of the legislature as expressed in the words of a statute. When construing its meaning[,] we first examine the language found in the statute, and where possible, we ascribe the plain and ordinary meanings to words used. Furthermore, when examining statutory language, we construe all parts of a statute together to effectuate its overall purpose and to avoid an absurd or unjust result.

Appeal of Van Lunen, 145 N.H. 82, 86 (2000) (quotation, brackets and citation omitted).

RSA 28:10-a is part of a statutory scheme governing county commissioners. RSA 28:10 (2000) authorizes the commissioners to employ clerks and agents, and RSA 28:11 (2000) authorizes them to appoint superintendents, officers and employees of the county farm, county nursing home and county department of corrections.

RSA 28:10-a, I, states that “[bjefore any county may discharge, remove, or suspend an employee as provided in paragraphs II-IV, the county commissioners” must adopt rules and procedures for the “discharge, removal, or suspension of its employees.” (Emphasis added.) RSA 28:10-a, II sets forth the permissible grounds for discharge, removal or suspension of an “employee of a county institution,” and RSA 28:10-a, III sets forth the procedures relative thereto. RSA 28:10-a, III grants these employees the right to review of the commissioners’ actions by the county personnel committee. Thus, read in context, RSA 28:10-a applies only to individuals for whom the commissioners are either the hiring or appointing authority, see RSA 28:10, :11; RSA 30-B:5 (2000), and to disciplinary actions initiated or approved by the commissioners, see RSA 28:10-a, I, 11(a), III.

In this case, the commissioners neither appointed nor disciplined the defendant. The only role that they appear to have had in the defendant’s discipline was to be notified of it after the fact. RSA 28:10-a therefore does not pertain.

The defendant argues that he is covered by RSA 28:10-a because he is an employee of a “county institution.” We disagree. Within the context of RSA chaptet 28, a “county institution” is a county department “under the jurisdiction of the county commissioners,” RSA 28:12 (2000), such as the county department of corrections, county farm, county nursing home and county welfare office. See id.; see also RSA 28:11. The sheriff’s office is not “under the jurisdiction” of the commissioners. See Daniels v. Hanson, 115 [181]*181N.H. 445, 451 (1975). In Daniels, we recognized that while the county convention, which includes the commissioners, id. at 446, sets the budget for the sheriff’s department, “[t]he county convention . . . has no other authority over the actual operation of the sheriff’s department.” Id. at 451. With respect to deputy sheriff positions in particular, we held that “the sheriff by virtue of his office has the sole authority to determine who will occupy the deputy sheriff positions . . . and what their functions will be.” Id. at 452; see also RSA 104:27 (1990).

Alternatively, the defendant contends that the sheriff’s internal policies granted him a right to review by the commissioners. We disagree.

The defendant first asserts that the sheriff’s policies were akin to administrative regulations and that the sheriff was thus bound to follow them. The sheriff is an elected official, not an administrative agency. We decline the defendant’s invitation to view the sheriff’s policies as administrative regulations.

The defendant next asserts that the sheriff’s policies equitably estopped him from denying the defendant a right to appeal to the commissioners. There can be no “estoppel” here because the record contains no evidence of detrimental reliance. See Appeal of Kulacz, 145 N.H. 113, 116 (2000).

The defendant argues next that due process requires us to interpret the sheriff’s policies to afford him a right to appeal to the commissioners. See N.H. CONST, pt. I, arts. 2, 15; U.S. CONST, amend. XIV. The defendant does not articulate the nature of his constitutionally protected interest, however. To the extent that the defendant argues that he has a constitutionally protected interest in the appeal process itself, this argument is without merit and warrants no further discussion. See Vogel v. Vogel, 137 N.H. 321, 322 (1993). To the extent that the defendant argues that he has either a liberty or property interest in continued employment, this argument is not developed and we decline to devote appellate resources to it. See State v. Laurent, 144 N.H. 517, 521 (1999).

In support of his position, the defendant relies upon policy no. 32, which sets forth procedures for administering discipline within the sheriff’s office. Policy no.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In re R.H.
Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2021
Thomas J. Loeffler v. Paul Bernier
Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2020
Town of Dunbarton v. Michael Guiney
Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2020
Sutton v. Town of Gilford
992 A.2d 709 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2010)
In Re Kotey M.
965 A.2d 1146 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2009)
ACG Credit Co. v. Gill
876 A.2d 188 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2005)
Franklin v. Town of Newport
861 A.2d 777 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2004)
Linehan v. Rockingham County Commissioners
855 A.2d 1271 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
770 A.2d 1097, 146 N.H. 178, 2001 N.H. LEXIS 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trachy-v-laframboise-nh-2001.