Opinion ID: 2602014
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Petition for Judicial Review

Text: The determination of a district court's jurisdiction to consider a petition for judicial review of an agency's action is a question of law over which this court has unlimited review. Back-Wenzel v. Williams, 279 Kan. 346, 347, 109 P.3d 1194 (2005). Subject matter jurisdiction is vested by statute and establishes the court's authority to hear and decide a particular type of action. Pieren-Abbott v. Kansas Dept. of Revenue, 279 Kan. 83, 92, 106 P.3d 492 (2005). Accordingly, the interpretation of a statute is also subject to de novo review. Griffin v. Suzuki Motor Corp., 280 Kan. 447, 451, 124 P.3d 57 (2005). Parties cannot confer subject matter jurisdiction by consent, waiver, or estoppel; a failure to object to the court's jurisdiction does not invest the court with the requisite subject matter jurisdiction. See Kansas Bd. of Regents v. Skinner, 267 Kan. 808, Syl. ¶ 5, 987 P.2d 1096 (1999). Moreover, if the district court lacks jurisdiction to make a ruling, an appellate court does not acquire jurisdiction over the subject matter on appeal. State v. McCoin, 278 Kan. 465, 468, 101 P.3d 1204 (2004). The Board derives its authority to regulate the medical profession from the Kansas Healing Arts Act, K.S.A. 65-2801 et seq. That act specifically provides that [j]udicial review and civil enforcement of any agency action under [the Healing Arts Act] shall be in accordance with the KJRA. K.S.A. 65-2851a(b). Under the KJRA, a prerequisite to filing a petition for judicial review is the exhaustion of all administrative remedies available within the agency. K.S.A. 77-612; see K.S.A. 77-607(a). Friedman does not contend that he exhausted his administrative remedies, but rather he argues that a person may petition for review of jurisdictional questions at any time, i.e., that the KJRA exhaustion requirement does not apply to his claim. He relies in part on decisions rendered prior to the 1984 adoption of the KJRA, L.1984, ch. 338. See, e.g., Butler v. Rude, 162 Kan. 588, 178 P.2d 261 (1947); R.D. Andersen Constr. Co. v. Kansas Dept. of Human Resources, 7 Kan.App.2d 453, 643 P.2d 1142, rev. denied 231 Kan. 801 (1982). Similarly, Friedman's reliance on Zion Lutheran Church v. Kansas Comm'n on Civil Rights, 16 Kan.App.2d 237, 821 P.2d 334 (1991), aff'd 251 Kan. 206, 830 P.2d 536 (1992), is unpersuasive, given that opinion's failure to cite to or apply the explicit provisions of the KJRA. See Midwest Crane & Rigging, Inc. v. Kansas Corporation Comm'n, 38 Kan.App.2d 269, 272-73, 163 P.3d 1244 (2007) (attempting to explain Zion as an anomaly under the KJRA). The order containing the ALJ's ruling on the jurisdictional challenge also discusses future procedures, such as subpoenas and discovery timelines; it does not purport to make any substantive determination of the disciplinary complaint. The ALJ's ruling was not a final agency action, but rather it was intended to be preliminary, preparatory, procedural or intermediate with regard to subsequent agency action. K.S.A. 77-607(b)(2). In other words, it was a nonfinal agency action. Accordingly, under the plain statutory language of the KJRA, Friedman was entitled to interlocutory review of nonfinal agency action only if: (a) It appears likely that the person will qualify under K.S.A. 77-607 for judicial review of the related final agency action; and (b) postponement of judicial review would result in an inadequate remedy or irreparable harm disproportionate to the public benefit derived from postponement. K.S.A. 77-608. Obviously, Friedman would likely qualify for a review of the final agency action on the jurisdiction question. Therefore, Friedman's entitlement to interlocutory review hinges on the second prong, i.e., whether postponement would result in an inadequate remedy or irreparable harm. The exhaustion of administrative remedies requirement was part of our jurisprudence, prior to the adoption of the KJRA. In Jarvis v. Kansas Commission on Civil Rights, 215 Kan. 902, 904-05, 528 P.2d 1232 (1974), this court explained part of the public benefit in postponing judicial review: The doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies is well established in the jurisprudence of administrative law. A primary purpose of the doctrine is the avoidance of premature interruption of the administrative process. It is normally desirable to let the administrative agency develop the necessary factual background upon which its decisions are based. Since agency decisions are frequently of a discretionary nature, or frequently require expertise, the agency should be given the first chance to exercise that discretion or to apply that expertise. It is more efficient for the administrative process to go forward without interruption than it is to permit the parties to seek aid from the courts at various intermediate stages. The very same reasons lie behind judicial rules sharply limiting interlocutory appeals. Frequent and deliberate flouting of administrative processes could weaken the effectiveness of an agency by encouraging people to ignore its procedures. [Citations omitted.] The KJRA codified the exhaustion of remedies requirement and, arguably, reduced the court's discretion to circumvent its employment by setting forth very limited, statutorily defined exceptions. Nevertheless, the public benefit in postponing judicial review until administrative remedies have been exhausted survives the enactment of the KJRA. See Dean v. State, 250 Kan. 417, 421, 826 P.2d 1372, cert. denied 504 U.S. 973, 112 S.Ct. 2941, 119 L.Ed.2d 566 (1992) (interpretation of a statute is a necessary and inherent function of an agency in its administration or application of that statute). In his appellate brief, Friedman argues that postponement of judicial review would result in an inadequate remedy disproportionate to the public benefit because Friedman was not practicing in Kansas, nor had he applied for renewal of his Kansas license. He does not explain why the Board's ruling on the jurisdiction question would not be an adequate remedy. Indeed, if the Board were to have ruled that it did not have jurisdiction, Friedman would have obtained the exact remedy that he sought from the district court. Further, Friedman appears to misconstrue the public benefit that is being balanced against adequacy of remedy and degree of harm; K.S.A. 77-608 is referring to the public benefit in postponing judicial review and not the public benefit associated with supervising Kansas medical licenses. Moreover, the fact that Friedman was continuing to practice medicine in New Jersey during the pendency of these proceedings would refute any contention that a postponement of judicial review concerning the jurisdiction of the Board would effect an irreparable harm upon Friedman. Pointedly, Friedman describes no harm that he has suffered other than the normal and usual inconvenience associated with such proceedings. In other words, he fails to establish the prerequisite set forth in K.S.A. 77-608(b). Friedman also appears to suggest that the question of an agency's subject matter jurisdiction is best decided in the first instance by the courts, as a matter of judicial economy. However, we have specifically rejected the notion that a party may circumvent the KJRA's exhaustion requirement by claiming that an issue of statutory construction may be more authoritatively determined by the district court. Dean, 250 Kan. at 422-23, 826 P.2d 1372. To summarize, we find that Friedman attempted to obtain an interlocutory review of a nonfinal agency action without establishing his entitlement to do so under K.S.A. 77-608(b). Therefore, the district court correctly dismissed the attempted judicial review because of Friedman's failure to obtain a final order of the Board on the jurisdiction question, i.e., for a failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Because the district court did not have jurisdiction to consider the merits of the attempted judicial review, this court also lacks jurisdiction to do so. The dismissal of the petition is affirmed.