Opinion ID: 890173
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Issue One: Did the District Court act within its discretion when it denied Arlington's Petition for Leave to Present Additional Evidence and upheld the evidentiary rulings made by the Hearing Officer?

Text: ¶ 21 As noted above, Arlington asked the District Court to receive additional evidence into the record, consisting of two job listings issued by Miller'sone issued in 2007 and the other in 2008. The court acknowledged that it could order the consideration of additional evidence, pursuant to § 2-4-703, MCA, which provides: If, before the date set for hearing, application is made to the court for leave to present additional evidence and it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the additional evidence is material and that there were good reasons for failure to present it in the proceeding before the agency, the court may order that the additional evidence be taken before the agency upon conditions determined by the court. The agency may modify its findings and decision by reason of the additional evidence and shall file that evidence and any modifications, new findings, or decisions with the reviewing court. ¶ 22 The District Court found that Arlington did not explain or analyze how the two job listings substantiated or were material to his wage claim. The court further observed that Arlington failed to file a motion to compel discovery and did not provide good reasons for failing to present the evidence during the proceeding before the agency. The District Court also found that the Hearing Officer effectively ruled that the two job listings were inadmissible, as the job listings were excluded from the exhibits listed with the Hearing Officer's Order. ¶ 23 On appeal, Arlington provides us with the two job listings and asks us to consider them in support of his argument that the District Court erred in refusing to receive this additional relevant evidence. In response, Miller's asks that we strike the tendered job listing exhibits, as they were not a part of the record below. We agree with Miller's. We have consistently refused to accept or consider on appeal materials that were not part of the district court record. Johnson v. Killingsworth, 271 Mont. 1, 2-3, 894 P.2d 272, 273 (1995). We therefore decline to consider the contents of the job listings in resolving this appeal. However, this does not end our inquiry. ¶ 24 As described above, prior to his contested case hearing, Arlington diligently sought formal discovery of job orders posted and advertised by Miller's, in support of his contention that he had been offered a salary in excess of $60,000. Miller's objected to his requests and did not produce them. Arlington then sought to subpoena the orders, but the Bureau chose to ignore his request. In his findings and conclusions, the Hearing Officer specifically faulted Arlington for submitting no corroborative evidence for his salary claim, but precluded Arlington from offering the evidence he claims would have provided such corroboration. ¶ 25 Given that Arlington made concerted efforts within the discovery rules to secure the documents to support his case, we conclude that refusing him relief because he failed to file a motion to compel constitutes an overly rigid application of the rules of discovery. Arlington's efforts were neither an abuse [of] the dignity of the courtroom nor a matter of prejudice to Miller's. State v. Colt, 255 Mont. 399, 408, 843 P.2d 747, 752 (1992) (quoting Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 834 n. 46, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 2541, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975)). We therefore conclude that in failing to require Miller's to produce the duly requested material and excluding the tendered job listings for Arlington's failure to file a motion to compel, the Hearing Officer acted arbitrarily and capriciously, prejudicing the substantial rights of Arlington. Section 2-4-704(2)(a)(vi), MCA. We further conclude that the District Court likewise abused its discretion in affirming the exclusion of evidence and in refusing to admit the tendered evidence pursuant to its authority under § 2-4-703, MCA. ¶ 26 Based on the foregoing, we reverse and remand this matter to the District Court for remand to the Department for production and consideration of additional evidence. As provided in § 2-4-703, MCA, the court may order that the additional evidence be taken before the agency on conditions determined by the court, following which the agency may modify its findings and decisions by reason of the additional evidence, and shall file any further findings or decisions with the reviewing court. We take no position on the question of whether the additional evidence should change the Bureau's determination. We simply conclude that Arlington should have the opportunity to formally obtain the requested evidence from Miller's for due consideration in support of his arguments concerning the wages he submits were offered to him by Miller's.