Opinion ID: 1233193
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Ill Dec.laratory Judgment

Text: We first address the claim by Christenson that the City was barred from challenging the decision of the board of adjustment by means of a declaratory judgment after the City filed a writ of certiorari from the board decision. He argues that the identity of the issues precludes two separate actions and requires the City to pursue relief only by way of writ of certiorari. Under Iowa Code section 414.15, a person claiming a decision by the board of adjustment is illegal may seek relief from that decision by filing a writ of certiorari. Iowa Code § 414.15 (2001). As a general rule of law, a party [who] has a statutory right of appeal from a decision of an administrative agency, . . . may not, instead of appealing, bring an independent action to test the very issue which the appeal was designed to test. 22A Am. Jur.2d Declaratory Judgment § 76, at 667 (2003); accord 26 C.J.S. Declaratory Judgment § 21, at 64 (2001) (An action for a declaratory judgment may not be utilized for the purpose of retrying matters previously adjudicated or as a substitute for an appeal.). We follow this general rule of exclusive remedies, but recognize an exception. We will permit a declaratory judgment as a claim for relief from an action of an administrative board as a companion or alternative claim to a statutory certiorari action if: (1) the statutory remedy of certiorari will not afford complete relief, and (2) the legislature did not intend certiorari to be the exclusive remedy. Fox v. Polk County Bd. of Supervisors, 569 N.W.2d 503, 508 (Iowa 1997) (allowing simultaneous declaratory-judgment and writ-of-certiorari actions because the declaratory-judgment action raised an additional issue, not addressed in the certiorari action, of whether rezoning violated the Takings Clause, and because certiorari was not intended to be exclusive). [2] Thus, if the declaratory-judgment action tests the constitutionality of a zoning ordinance, or some other issue outside the action of a board of adjustment, both the petition for writ of certiorari and declaratory judgment petition may be pursued as remedies from a decision of the board of adjustment. Id. Otherwise, a declaratory judgment may not be used as a remedy from a decision by the board of adjustment. See 101A C.J.S. Zoning and Land Planning § 353, at 483-84 (2005) (While a declaratory judgment action may be properly brought to test the validity or constitutionality of a zoning authority which is legislative in nature, such an action ordinarily is not an appropriate method for judicial review of administrative decisions. Accordingly, although a denial of an application for a permit may be reviewed in an action for declaratory relief where the constitutionality of the zoning ordinance is being tested, a declaratory judgment generally may not be sought to review the decision of an administrative agent, refusing to issue a permit, where the validity of a zoning ordinance is not being attacked.  (Emphasis added.)); Rich Mfg. Co. v. Petty, 241 Iowa 840, 847, 42 N.W.2d 80, 84 (1950) (While the existence of another remedy does not preclude a court from granting declaratory relief, the relief must be denied in a case where there is a complete remedy otherwise provided by law and intended to be exclusive. (Citations omitted.)). We observe that the grounds ultimately presented by the City to the board of adjustment at the reconsideration hearing to support denial of Christenson's application for an exception and variance are essentially the same grounds advanced by the City to justify the denial of Christenson's site plan in the declaratory-judgment action. Thus, this identity of grounds reveals that complete relief will be available to the City in the certiorari action. Of course, under the exclusivity-of-remedies rule, a declaratory judgment can only be brought when the certiorari action will not afford complete relief. However, the exclusivity-of-remedies doctrine does not apply to the declaratory-judgment action in this case because the City was not pursuing declaratory relief as a remedy from the action taken by the board of adjustment, but as a means to determine its separate obligation to exercise its site-plan authority in response to Christenson's request for approval. Thus, the issues in the two actions may be identical, but the one seeks to remedy an alleged wrong, and the other seeks guidance in performing a separate function. We therefore proceed to determine if another legal doctrine, issue preclusion, precludes declaratory relief.