Opinion ID: 2555287
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Procedural Context and Standard of Review

Text: In support of his petition for review, Castro filed not only a pro se brief but also a purported Appendix. The Appendix consists primarily of 1. an unverified copy of a portion of an AT & T cellular telephone bill apparently showing Castro's incoming and outgoing calls for the period October 25 through October 30, 2008; the document appears to show eight outgoing calls from Castro to Security's office, and six telephone calls from Castro to Martinez, but no incoming calls from either of these numbers; and 2. an unverified earnings statement for Castro from Security dated November 4, 2008, which reflects total earnings of $1323.18 for the period ending October 26, 2008. Neither of these documents was introduced into evidence at the hearing before the ALJ, although Castro did testify, as we have seen, that the telephone records would confirm his claim that, notwithstanding his numerous telephone calls to Security after he had completed two weeks [12] at the Saudi Embassy, no representative of Security returned his calls or offered him work. He now contends that the AT & T statement in his Appendix, which reflects late-October calls from him to Security's office and to Martinez, but none from any representative of Security to him, conclusively refutes the testimony of Martinez and Rudolph, as well as the ALJ's findings based on that testimony, with respect to how Castro's employment with Security ended. Appellate review of an administrative decision is limited to matters appearing in the [administrative] record. Cooper v. District of Columbia Dep't of Employment Servs., 588 A.2d 1172, 1176 (D.C.1991) (citation omitted). In Prime v. District of Columbia Dep't of Public Works, 955 A.2d 178 (D.C.2008), we stated under similar circumstances: Petitioner urges us to consider new evidence included in an Appendix to his brief, which he argues . . . evidence presented at the hearing was unreliable. But because petitioner . . . failed otherwise to present it to OAH, we will not consider it in our review. Id. at 182-83. That would ordinarily be that; indeed, the court holds, that is that, and I find it hard to disagree. Nevertheless, there are circumstances in this case that arguably raise a non-frivolous issue as to the applicability of this very fundamental rule. Notwithstanding the irregularity of Castro's pro se Appendix, Security has not objected to its filing. Indeed, Security has not filed a brief in this court, nor has it participated in any way in the proceedings relating to Castro's petition for review. While this court has agreed with the Supreme Court of Illinois that, in spite of the failure of an appellee or respondent to file a brief, the considered judgment of the [ALJ] should not be set aside without some consideration of the merits of the appeal, First Capitol Mortgage Corp. v. Talandis Constr. Corp., 63 Ill.2d 128, 345 N.E.2d 493, 494 (1976) (quoted in Kidd Int'l Home Care, Inc. v. Prince, 917 A.2d 1083, 1087 (D.C.2007)), the employer's non-participation is a factor that we may appropriately consider in our calculus. Rhea, 942 A.2d at 655. [13] In the present case, Security's inaction has resulted in the odd reality that Castro's filing of an Appendix which is not a part of the administrative record was nevertheless unopposed. This makes the issue somewhat tantalizing. Security's response to Castro's impermissible filing was not an objection, but rather a total failure on the part of Security to protect its rights. If, instead, of presenting us with pro se Appendix which contains material not in the administrative record, Castro had filed with the OAH a timely motion to reopen or supplement the record, and if such a motion had been unopposed, there would arguably have been good reason for the OAH to grant the motion, at least with respect to the telephone records. As I have noted, Castro referred to these records in his testimony and, assuming he could prove that the records are genuine, they tend to corroborate his account (and contradict that of Security's witnesses) as to what occurred in the wake of Arnewt's return to work. Indeed, fourteen calls from Castro to Security in the days after Castro completed his stint at the Saudi Embassy, with no calls from Security to Castro during the same brief period, strongly suggest, in the absence of some reasonable explanation from Security, that Castro wanted something (presumably work) from his erstwhile employer, but that his former supervisors, at least one of whom admitted his irritation with Castro, were not responsive. The apparent corroboration [14] by the telephone log of Castro's account of what took place raises the disagreeable possibility perhaps even a probability that the ALJ's findings were based on incorrect testimony which the ALJ nevertheless believed. Unfortunately, however, Castro, who had counsel at the hearing, but who represented himself both before and after it, was obviously unfamiliar with legal esoterica such as motions to reopen or supplement the record. Although our precedents reflect efforts by this court to minimize technical problems encountered by legally unsophisticated litigants who are seeking to vindicate their rights under remedial statutes, see ante, notes 8 and 9 and associated text, there must necessarily be some limit. In this case, the employer never had the opportunity, at the evidentiary hearing stage, to confront or rebut the evidence on which Castro now seeks to rely. These are fundamental rights under our adversarial system, and we cannot base a decision on evidence first presented to the reviewing court without transgressing these rights. To be sure, Security did nothing at all to protect its rights once the case reached this court, and one might argue that it waived its objection to the supplementation of the record. Orderly procedure, however, requires separation of proceedings at the trial or hearing level from those on appeal or review. Security had the right to rely (whether or not it in fact relied) on a basic norm of our system, namely, that this court's review of the OAH decision would be based on the administrative record alone, and that this would remain true regardless of what Security elected to do or not to do thereafter. It is unfortunate that someone did not inform Castro that if he proposed to rely on the telephone records, he would have to introduce them into evidence or, failing that, to file a timely motion with the OAH to reopen or supplement the record. But evidently nobody did tell him, and disposition of the case by this court on the basis of an unverified document which the trier of fact never saw is impermissible and unwarranted. Accordingly, I concur in the judgment of the court.