Opinion ID: 2569582
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: amount of the penalty

Text: ¶ 24 After finding that her actions warranted punishment, the trial court imposed a fine of $23,000 on Ms. Jensen. While conceding that $23,000 was a lot of money, the trial court imposed this amount because it concluded that Ms. Jensen's conduct in dealing with asbestos in the apartment building warranted it. Ms. Jensen challenges the amount of this fine on the grounds that the trial court erred in its application of the rules governing civil penalties and that the fine is impermissibly excessive under both the Utah and United States Constitutions.
¶ 25 Rules XXX-XXX-X, -2, and -3 of the Utah Administrative Code outline both the procedures for implementing fines for violating the asbestos laws and the extent of such fines. These rules are patterned after the national standards set by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. The purpose of the rules is to establish reasonable and appropriate penalties for violations of the asbestos laws based on the nature and extent of the violations, the economic benefit of noncompliance, and adjustments for specific circumstances. According to rule 307-130-2 of the Utah Administrative Code, each alleged regulatory violation is classified by DAQ as either type A, B, C, or D, types A and B being the most egregious and carrying the greatest fines, while types C and D are the least serious and usually carry no fines. See Utah Admin. Code R307-130-2(1) to (4). Here, Ms. Jensen was cited for five specific violations, two of which were considered type A, and the other three type B. ¶ 26 Ms. Jensen asserts that the cited violations should have been characterized as no more serious than type C violations, but gives no reasons to support this conclusion. There was no evidence in the record that DAQ or its inspectors wrongly or mistakenly classified the asbestos situation at the Truman apartments. In addition, considering the proven danger and carcinogenic effects of asbestos, we agree with the trial court that conduct that results in asbestos dust so concentrated that it is visible in the air and piled several inches high on the floor of an occupied apartment building is serious and egregious behavior worthy of stiff environmental sanctions. ¶ 27 Ms. Jensen also argues that the trial court failed to consider mitigating factors listed in rule 307-130-3 that would reduce or suspend the penalty. Specifically, she asserts that the trial court failed to credit her for good faith efforts to comply with the regulations, or give her some leeway because of her mental disability. See Utah Admin. Code R307-130-3(1). Yet, according to Inspector Call's testimony at the penalty hearing, the asbestos had never been properly cleaned up and removed from the building. There can be no credit for good faith efforts to comply if there is no evidence that Ms. Jensen ever took steps to remedy the situation. ¶ 28 Ms. Jensen asserted before the trial court that her mental disability (on which no information appears in the record beyond the fact that she is 100% disabled for Social Security purposes) should be a factor in mitigation. Although her condition may warrant sympathy, it cannot in this case serve as a defense to the imposition of sanctions. We agree with the trial court's assessment: Anyone that has the sophistication to buy and sell two $300,000 apartment buildings has to have enough savvy to know who they are dealing with and when they are dealing with it and what its all about. . . . It is obvious . . . that she's been involved in this Truman Mortensen Family Trust as a trustee. Certainly, she must have some competent ability to manage properties. Maybe it's something that she's doing on her own and keeping it out of her own personal ownership. . . . I don't know anything about this trust, but it just seems. . . that you don't buy and sell and manage apartment buildings without some ability to deal with people that understand what's going on and making sure that you have the right licenses and whatever else. Also, the public policy implications of protecting tenants from the dangers of asbestos-filled units, no matter what the limitations of their landlords may be, require us to hold Ms. Jensen accountable for her actions. Landlords have serious responsibilities to their tenants, including the duty to ensure that the housing rented is reasonably safe and suitable for the intended use. See Stephenson v. Warner, 581 P.2d 567, 568 (Utah 1978) (holding that [i]t is not to be doubted that a landlord is bound by the usual standard of exercising ordinary prudence and care to see that premises he leases are reasonably safe and suitable for intended uses). If Ms. Jensen's disability prevents her from adequately performing her role as a landlord, she should perhaps discontinue her activities in that enterprise. She may not, however, be excused from the legal requirements necessary to protect the health and safety of her tenants, or from the sanctions imposed for her failure to do so. ¶ 29 Finally, Ms. Jensen asserts that the trial court failed to consider the mitigating factor of her lack of financial resources. However, Ms. Jensen has not provided the necessary tax records and financial documentation to demonstrate any such lack. The State has consistently shown a willingness to work with Ms. Jensen, and in fact has already reduced the fine from $41,000 to $23,000. The State has also declared it is willing to reduce the fine further if Ms. Jensen's financial records demonstrate an inability to pay. ¶ 30 The record shows that Ms. Jensen was given several opportunities to produce the relevant documents. For example, the State requested the documents before the penalty hearing. (Inspector Call told the court that the request didn't seem like it was received very well.) At the hearing, the trial judge instructed Ms. Jensen that if she was attempting to argue that she could not pay the fine, she had to disclose her financial information. Even as late as March 1999, nearly six months after the hearing, the State requested information concerning the Truman-Mortensen [sic] Family Trust, the Mortensen-Jensen [sic] Family Trust, the 1031 Exchanges, the Malad, Idaho property and other information. We acknowledge that Ms. Jensen was not required to disclose such information. However, because she withheld it, she is now estopped from arguing that her lack of financial resources should have been considered when setting the amount of the penalty.
¶ 31 The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that [e]xcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. A nearly identical provision is found in Article 1, section 9 of the Utah Constitution: Excessive bail shall not be required; excessive fines shall not be imposed; nor cruel and unusual punishments be inflicted. The purpose of such provisions is to prevent the government from abusing its power to punish by the imposition of harsh and unfair payments. See Browning-Ferris Indus. of Vermont, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc., 492 U.S. 257, 266-67, 109 S.Ct. 2909, 106 L.Ed.2d 219 (1989). Ms. Jensen asserts that the imposed fine is clearly excessive in violation of these protections. ¶ 32 Although asserting that the fine is excessive under both state and federal law, Ms. Jensen failed to adequately brief or discuss the issue under the Utah Constitution. Accordingly, we will address the constitutional excessiveness of the fine under federal law. ¶ 33 We conclude that the proper analysis as to whether a fine violates the Excessive Fines Clause is outlined in United States v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321, 118 S.Ct. 2028, 141 L.Ed.2d 314 (1998). [4] After establishing the principles governing the Excessive Fines Clause, the Bajakajian court ruled that forfeiture of $357,144 for violating a statute prohibiting transportation of more than $10,000 out of the country was unconstitutional. See id. at 324-26, 334, 118 S.Ct. 2028. The fact that this case deals with civil forfeitures rather than fines is not relevant for our purposes because forfeitures and fines differ only in that a forfeiture is a payment in kind. See id. at 328, 118 S.Ct. 2028. ¶ 34 According to the Court, [t]he touchstone of the constitutional inquiry under the Excessive Fines Clause is the principle of proportionality: The amount . . . must bear some relationship to the gravity of the offense . . . . [A] punitive forfeiture violates the Excessive Fines Clause if it is grossly disproportional to the gravity of a defendant's offense. Id. at 334, 118 S.Ct. 2028. Bajakajian enunciates two guiding principles that courts should consider in determining whether a fine is grossly disproportional: The first is that judgments about the appropriate punishments for an offense belong in the first instance in the legislature. The second is that any judicial determination regarding the gravity of a particular criminal offense will be inherently imprecise. Id. at 336, 118 S.Ct. 2028. Since both of these factors counsel against requiring strict proportionality between the amount of a punitive forfeiture and the gravity of an offense, it seems clear that courts should declare the amount of a fine unconstitutional only if it is grossly disproportional to the gravity of the offense. Id. at 336-37, 118 S.Ct. 2028. ¶ 35 In applying this standard to the present case, we cannot say that the proposed fine is grossly disproportional to Ms. Jensen's conduct. [5] Through an administrative agency, the legislature has set the bounds for appropriate penalties for asbestos violations by giving recommended penalties for different classes of violations and mitigating factors to be considered in special circumstances. These administrative rules have the same effect as if they were passed by the legislature. See Utah Code Ann. § 63-46a-2(16) (1997). ¶ 36 The rules recommend a fine of up to $41,000 for Ms. Jensen's conduct. We believe that since the applicable rules recommend a punishment of up to $41,000, a fine of $23,000 is not excessive. While we agree with the trial court's concession that $23,000 is a lot of money, especially considering that Ms. Jensen has little equity in the apartment house, we note that it is not appropriate to compare the fine to the value of Ms. Jensen's equity in the building, but rather to the nature of her conduct in dealing with asbestos in her apartment building. That conduct has exposed tenants and other persons to significant amounts of a dangerous and carcinogenic substance. We cannot conclude that the amount of the fine is grossly disproportionate to such behavior. ¶ 37 Thus, we conclude that the fine is not grossly disproportional to the gravity of the offense and does not violate the Excessive Fines Clause. The fine is within the limits set by the legislature, and is reasonable considering the seriousness of Ms. Jensen's actions.