Opinion ID: 1938906
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Allowance of Deposition of Dr. Hanson to Be Taken After Hearing.

Text: In the prehearing order filed August 25, 1977, it was directed that medical depositions be taken by September 19, 1977. However, on September 16, defendants filed a motion, requesting that they be granted an additional thirty days beyond September 19 for the purpose of taking Dr. Hanson's deposition. The motion included a sworn statement, giving the reasons why the completed report by Dr. Hanson was not yet available and why a deposition could not have been previously scheduled. At the hearing on September 22, defendants' motion was granted, and defendants' counsel offered two dates during the first week of October for taking the deposition. Claimant's counsel protested the ruling at the hearing and again in a subsequently filed motion to quash and suppress notice and medical deposition. [7] In response, defendants filed a resistance to the motion on October 6 which restated and expanded upon the reasons justifying their request for the delayed deposition. The deposition was taken October 4, 1977; claimant's attorney cross-examined Dr. Hanson at length at that time; and the deposition was admitted into evidence and considered by the deputy commissioner in his arbitration decision. Claimant complains that 500 I.A.C. § 4.31 was violated by the granting of defendants' motion. That section provides: When notice of assignment of hearing is received by the parties or attorneys of record at least sixty days prior to the date of hearing, no evidence shall be taken after the thirtieth day following the hearing. Each party shall indicate by written statement filed at the hearing the dates of taking of any depositions or other evidence to be taken within the thirty days following the hearing. In no event shall any examination or evaluation for evidential purposes in a contested case proceeding be permitted following a hearing, except upon presentation of a sworn statement by counsel or party, if not represented, that due diligence was exercised to arrange for the examination or evaluation and that due to circumstances beyond the control of the party seeking to obtain the evaluation or examination, the evaluation or examination could not be obtained by the date of the hearing. Such a sworn statement shall include a full explanation of the facts on which the required grounds are based. Claimant argues that defendants filed the sworn statement late because it was not filed until fourteen days after the hearing. Assuming arguendo that the deposition of Dr. Hanson constituted an evaluation within the contemplation of 500 I.A.C. § 4.31 and that a sworn statement was thus required, we conclude that section 4.31 was properly followed here. Initially, we observe that defendants' first sworn statement was included in the motion filed September 16, six days before the hearing. Only the second sworn statement, which was included in the resistance filed on October 6, was not presented until fourteen days after the hearing. Secondly, we note that claimant misreads the statute. It is the statement of dates of taking future depositions which must be filed at the hearing; the statement of reasons for the request for a delayed examination or evaluation presumably could be filed either before or during the hearing. Claimant also argues that defendants' statement failed to reveal that due diligence was exercised to arrange to obtain the full evaluation by Dr. Hanson prior to the hearing date and that circumstances beyond defendants' control were responsible for defendants' inability to obtain his report or deposition earlier. When reviewing the interpretation of an administrative agency of regulations which it has issued, we examine its factual findings to see if they are supported by substantial evidence and its measurement of those findings against the regulatory standard to see if there was an abuse of discretion. See Temple v. Vermeer Manufacturing Co., 285 N.W.2d 157, 160 (Iowa 1979); cf. 4 K. Davis, Administrative Law Treatise § 30.12 (1958) (noting great weight generally given by federal courts to agency interpretations of their own regulations). We find that there was substantial evidence in the record to support the factual reasons given in the sworn statement contained in defendants' motion for extending time, which was approved by the deputy. Also, we believe there was no abuse of discretion here. Initially, we cannot say that the reasons included in defendants' sworn statement, which were further explained at the hearing, were inconsistent with a finding of due diligence by defendants in attempting to obtain Dr. Hanson's report or deposition prior to the hearing. It was revealed that by August 11, 1977, defendants had scheduled claimant for a physical examination by Dr. Hanson. Subsequently, defendants' counsel sought and obtained the agreement by claimant's counsel to make himself available on short notice for a deposition of Dr. Hanson. From September 14 until filing his motion, defendants' counsel unsuccessfully attempted to reach claimant's counsel by telephone to try to arrange the taking of Dr. Hanson's deposition before the hearing date. Secondly, we cannot say that the reasons included in defendants' sworn statement were inconsistent with a finding that circumstances beyond their control prevented them from obtaining Dr. Hanson's full report or deposition earlier. Although Dr. Hanson's report, based on his examination of claimant, was received by claimant's counsel on September 14, certain understandable delays in providing Dr. Hanson with earlier x-rays of claimant detained the receipt of his brief supplementary report to cover those x-rays by claimant's counsel until the day of the hearing. Consequently, the deputy commissioner presiding over the arbitration proceeding ruled that Dr. Hanson's written report could not be admitted into evidence. Moreover, the apparent immediate reason why defendants' counsel was unable to arrange a deposition prior to the hearing was the fact that claimant's counsel failed to be available for a deposition of Dr. Hanson on short notice, as he previously indicated he would. Finally, claimant apparently argues that 500 I.A.C. § 4.31 was promulgated in excess of the commissioner's statutory authority because it conflicts with Iowa R.Civ.P. 144(c). He also contends that depriving him of the live presentation of Dr. Hanson's testimony before the trier of fact denied him a fair hearing. We conclude that 500 I.A.C. § 4.31 was enacted well within the agency's statutory authority. As stated in Temple, 285 N.W.2d at 159, A rule, to be valid, cannot be inconsistent with either statutory language or legislative intent. In Temple, we discerned legislative intent by examining the statutory authority for the rule in question. Section 86.18(2) of The Code provides: The deposition of any witness may be taken and used as evidence in any pending proceeding or appeal within the agency. [8] A proceeding is pending until the rendition of final judgment. Black's Law Dictionary 1291 (4th ed. 1968); cf. In re Estate of Lee, 240 Iowa 691, 694-96, 37 N.W.2d 296, 298-99 (1949) (action is still pending until appeal is disposed of). Other statutory authority for the admission of depositions in administrative proceedings may be found in section 17A.14(1), The Code, which provides that, subject to certain requirements, when a hearing will be expedited and the interests of the parties will not be prejudiced substantially, any part of the evidence may be required to be submitted in verified written form. Section 86.8(1) confers upon the commissioner the duty [t]o establish and enforce all necessary rules not in conflict with the provisions of this chapter and chapters 85, 85A and 87 for carrying out the purposes thereof, and section 17A.3(1)(b) requires that all agencies adopt rules governing procedures available to the public. We believe that the Code sections described here plainly authorized the establishing of section 4.31 to regulate the acceptance of depositions after a hearing before a deputy commissioner. The fact that section 4.31 conflicts with Iowa R.Civ.P. 144(c) is of no consequence. Section 17A.14(1) of The Code indicates that rules of evidence governing jury trials do not necessarily apply to contested case proceedings before administrative agencies. Furthermore, as previously indicated, both sections 86.18(2) and 17A.14(1) endorse the admission of depositions in proceedings of this kind, with none of the limitations given in Iowa R.Civ.P. 144(c). We can but conclude from these statutory provisions that the legislature intended that rule 144(c) should have no application here. See also 500 I.A.C. § 4.35 (The rules of civil procedure shall govern the contested case proceedings before the industrial commissioner unless the provisions are in conflict with these rules and chapters 85, 85A, 86, 87 and 17A, or obviously inapplicable to the industrial commissioner. (Emphasis added.)). We also find no basis for holding that claimant was denied a fair trial because of the procedure followed here. Absent evidence of prejudice, we have held that the concept of a fair hearing does not require that the officer who actually determines the result of the hearing be present during the taking of testimony. Anderson v. Oscar Mayer & Co., 217 N.W.2d 531, 533 (Iowa 1974); see § 17A.15(2), The Code. Certainly in cases in which the deponent is a disinterested medical expert, we have no reason to presume prejudice from the decision-maker's inability to observe the deponent's demeanor.