Opinion ID: 2101470
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Determining Timeliness of the Complaint Against the Association.

Text: A. Scope of Review. Our review under Iowa Code section 17A.20 is limited to determining whether the district court correctly applied the law in exercising its judicial review function under section 17A.19(8). In order to make that determination, we apply the section 17A.19(8) standards to the agency action to determine whether our conclusions are the same as those of the district judge. Jackson County Public Hospital v. PERB, 280 N.W.2d 426, 429-30 (Iowa 1979). Like the district court, we will set aside an agency decision when we cannot conscientiously find that the evidence supporting that decision is substantial, when viewed in the light that the record in its entirety furnishes.... Universal Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474, 488, 71 S.Ct. 456, 464-65, 95 L.Ed. 456, 467-68 (1951), quoted in Mount Pleasant Community School District v. PERB, 343 N.W.2d 472, 477 (Iowa 1984), and City of Davenport v. PERB, 264 N.W.2d 307, 312 (Iowa 1978). B. The Need for a Reasoned Agency Decision. On the timeliness issue we are not yet able to perform our judicial review function. The PER Board did not disclose the findings of fact and principles of law on which it appears to have concluded that Brown's complaint against the association was not time barred. Although we might infer from its decision for Brown on the merits of the complaint that the PER Board found the complaint had been timely filed, the parties, the district court, and we are entitled to a reasoned opinion on that issue. Iowa Code section 17A.16 (1979) provided in pertinent part: A proposed or final decision shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately stated.... Each conclusion of law shall be supported by cited authority or by a reasoned opinion. We have consistently required such findings as a necessary prerequisite to judicial review. Johnston v. Iowa Real Estate Commission, 344 N.W.2d 236, 238 (Iowa 1984); Catalfo v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 213 N.W.2d 506, 509-10 (Iowa 1973). The reasons for such a statutory requirement are concisely stated in 2 K. Davis, Administrative Law Treatise § 16.05 (1958): The practical reasons for requiring administrative findings are so powerful that the requirement has been imposed with remarkable uniformity by virtually all federal and state courts, irrespective of a statutory requirement. The reasons have to do with facilitating judicial review, avoiding judicial usurpation of administrative functions, assuring more careful administrative consideration, helping parties plan their cases for rehearings and judicial review, and keeping agencies within their jurisdiction. To facilitate the further proceedings which will follow our remand of this case to the PER Board, we first will emphasize that section 20.11 is mandatory and the complainant Brown has the burden to establish that she has satisfied that jurisdictional requirement. We will then identify some of the specific factual and legal questions which have yet to be answered by the PER Board. C. The Statutory Ninety-Day Limit is Mandatory. We have not previously decided the precise issue of timeliness under Iowa Code section 20.11 that is presented by the association's cross appeal. In a case arising under a very similar statute, however, we have clearly held that this type of statute limiting the time for filing a complaint with an administrative agency is mandatory and not merely directory. In Iowa Civil Rights Commission v. Massey-Ferguson, Inc., 207 N.W.2d 5 (Iowa 1973), we construed Iowa Code section 105A.9(15) (1966) which provided: Any complaint filed under this chapter shall be so filed within ninety days after the alleged discriminatory or unfair practice occurred. We there affirmed dismissal of a complaint which was based on events that had occurred more than ninety days before the complaint was filed, characterizing the statutory language as a clear and unambiguous statute specifically limiting the number of days within which the complaint shall be filed. 207 N.W.2d at 7 (emphasis in original). We also there noted that statutes often regulate the time within which administrative proceedings may be brought. An administrative agency may not enlarge its powers by waiving a time requirement which is jurisdictional or a prerequisite to the action taken. Id. at 10. The PER Board itself has recognized and cited the Massey-Ferguson case as authoritative in applying Iowa Code section 20.11. In City of Davenport, PERB Case No. 981 (1977), the Board dismissed a complaint as untimely, stating: The record is clear that the act complained of occurred on November 29, 1976, yet the complaint was not filed until March 21, 1977. As we have noted in earlier decisions, the statute and rules of limitations are jurisdictional in nature.... Inasmuch as the hearing officer was without jurisdiction to entertain this complaint then we are likewise lacking jurisdiction. Id. at 4 (citations of authority omitted). The PER Board's own administrative rule complementing Iowa Code section 20.11 is as plain on its face as the statute: A complaint shall be deemed untimely and shall be dismissed if filed with the director more than 90 days following the alleged violation. Iowa Admin.Code Rule 660-3.1 (1981). Because the PER Board has in earlier decisions correctly recognized that section 20.11 is both mandatory and jurisdictional in nature, it shall on remand first determine whether Brown filed her complaint within ninety days of the actual occurrence of the prohibited practice. If she did not, the PER Board shall then decide whether Brown has established a sound factual and legal basis for being excepted from the requirement that the complaint be filed ninety days from the occurrence of the prohibited practice. D. Burden of Proof. The complainant Brown must bear the burden of proof on the timeliness issue which is jurisdictional in nature. See City of Davenport, PERB Case No. 981, at 4 (1977); Kurt Kluesner, PERB Case No. 1022, at 2 (1977). As with the statutory notice requirement in Iowa Code section 613A.5 (1983) (tort liability of governmental subdivisions), the proof of timeliness of filing is a part of the claimant's case. See Franks v. Kohl, 286 N.W.2d 663, 665 (Iowa 1979); Lattimer v. Frese, 246 N.W.2d 255, 257 (Iowa 1976). To the extent that Brown attempts to establish a factual and legal basis for being excused from timely filing, she likewise must shoulder the burden to establish the exception. We have consistently held that the party relying on exceptional circumstances to avoid a statute of limitations must bear the burden of proving the facts which the exception requires. See, e.g., Jacobson v. Union Story Trust & Savings Bank, 338 N.W.2d 161, 164 (Iowa 1983); Franzen v. Deere & Co., 334 N.W.2d 730, 732 (Iowa 1983).