Opinion ID: 2095030
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Doctrine of Primary Jurisdiction and Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

Text: The United States Supreme Court in United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Company, 352 U.S. 59, 77 S.Ct. 161, 1 L.Ed.2d 126 (1956), described the interplay between the doctrine of exhaustion and the doctrine of primary jurisdiction: The doctrine of primary jurisdiction, like the rule requiring exhaustion of administrative remedies, is concerned with promoting proper relationships between the courts and administrative agencies charged with particular regulatory duties. `Exhaustion' applies where a claim is cognizable in the first instance by an administrative agency alone; judicial interference is withheld until the administrative process has run its course. `Primary jurisdiction,' on the other hand, applies where a claim is originally cognizable in the courts, and comes into play whenever enforcement of the claim requires the resolution of issues which, under a regulatory scheme, have been placed within the special competence of an administrative body; in such a case the judicial process is suspended pending referral of such issues to the administrative body for its views. No fixed formula exists for applying the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. In every case the question is whether the reasons for the existence of the doctrine are present and whether the purposes it serves will be aided by its application in the particular litigation. Id. at 63-64, 77 S.Ct. at 165 (citation omitted). We have also discussed, in Board of Education for Dorchester County v. Hubbard, 305 Md. 774, 506 A.2d 625 (1986), the interplay of exhaustion principles and primary jurisdiction at some length, but, however, left open whether independent suits can be filed while administrative actions are in process where the agency has primary jurisdiction. In that opinion, we examined whether the courts [should] defer to the State Board of Education under principles of primary jurisdiction, at least until the State Board authoritatively decides whether the classification of teacher's certificates and class size are subject to collective bargaining and arbitration. Id. at 785, 506 A.2d at 630 (alteration added). We explained that: `Primary jurisdiction is a judicially created rule designed to coordinate the allocation of functions between courts and administrative bodies. The doctrine comes into play when a court and agency have concurrent jurisdiction over the same matter ... and there is no statutory provision to coordinate the work of the court with that of the agency.`