Opinion ID: 1938906
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Refusal to Permit Claimant to Rebut Dr. Hanson's Testimony with Depositions of New Witnesses.

Text: At the hearing on September 22, 1977, claimant requested that he be granted additional time to arrange for a deposition in rebuttal to Dr. Hanson's deposition. The deputy commissioner ruled that claimant was to be allowed to take depositions within thirty days of the hearing but that he was to be limited to taking depositions only from the physicians from whom he had submitted reports. We are satisfied that this ruling was not arbitrary, as claimant asserts, in view of the language of 500 I.A.C. § 4.31. As previously indicated, section 4.31 requires that, to qualify to present evidence based on an examination or evaluation made after the hearing, a party must show that he exercised due diligence to obtain the evidence earlier, but that, because of circumstances beyond his control, he was unable to do so. Claimant's only conceivable showing in this regard was his statement that Dr. Hanson's testimony was completely unknown to him and thus he could not have prepared for rebuttal prior to the hearing. In his ruling at the hearing, the deputy implicitly found to the contrary by concluding from the record before him that claimant's counsel was previously aware of the examination by Dr. Hanson and of defendants' desire to introduce Dr. Hanson's testimony into the record. Substantial evidence, our standard of review for factual findings of an administrative agency, e. g., Temple v. Vermeer Manufacturing Co., 285 N.W.2d 157, 160 (Iowa 1979), supports the deputy's finding. First, as of August 11, 1977, claimant's attorney was advised that claimant was to be examined by Dr. Hanson. Secondly, on September 2, claimant's attorney learned that defendants also intended to depose Dr. Hanson and agreed to make himself available for that deposition on short notice. Thirdly, Dr. Hanson's written report, based on his examination of claimant, was made available to claimant's counsel at some time before September 15, when he notified defendants' counsel by written memorandum that he had received the report. Finally, according to his memorandum, claimant's counsel stated that he intended to cross-examine Dr. Hanson at the hearing on September 22. After the deputy's arbitration decision was filed, claimant filed a notice of intent to offer additional evidence in conjunction with his petition for review by the industrial commissioner. Later, in response to a ruling by the industrial commissioner, claimant filed an expanded request, including his reason for not presenting the additional evidence to the deputy presiding over his hearing. His stated reason was that the testimony of Dr. Hanson was not known and could not have been anticipated at the hearing. The commissioner ruled that he was not satisfied that there was good reason, under 500 I.A.C. § 4.28(4), for failure to present additional evidence to the deputy. Claimant argues that his reason did satisfy section 4.28 and that the commissioner's ruling denied him due process. In reviewing the commissioner's determination for compliance with 500 I.A.C. § 4.28, we search only for an abuse of discretion. See Temple, 285 N.W.2d at 160. We are convinced there was no abuse of discretion here, for largely the same reasons why we found no abuse of discretion by the deputy in complying with 500 I.A.C. § 4.31. There was substantial evidence in the record to show that claimant could have anticipated before the hearing the likely submission and even content of Dr. Hanson's testimony. In support of his denial of due process contention, claimant cites authority for the proposition that rules of procedure may not preclude a party from presenting the facts supporting his theory of the case. Claimant has not indicated either in his brief or in any of the previous proceedings that he has any actual evidence which he was prevented from adducing because of the commissioner's ruling. This alone may obviate review of his complaint. See Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. Finn, 235 U.S. 601, 609-10, 35 S.Ct. 146, 150, 59 L.Ed. 379, 384 (1915). In any event, we do not believe that rules of evidence confining the time for submitting evidence to a hearing established for that purpose deny due process of law. See generally Danner v. Hass, 257 Iowa 654, 667-68, 134 N.W.2d 534, 543 (1965). Thus, in accord with the foregoing, trial court's judgment is affirmed in part, reversed in part and this case is remanded to the industrial commissioner with instructions. AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED TO THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER.