Opinion ID: 1931324
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: b ) Absence of basic findings of fact.

Text: Nor does the Board's Findings contain sufficient factual data for us to determine whether the Board's conclusions are predicated upon facts or speculation, and if upon facts, what facts. The requirement of findings is far from a technicality and is a matter of substance. It has been said that it is a fundamental of fair play that an administrative judgment express a reasoned conclusion. Federal C.C. v. Pollsville Broadcasting Co., 309 U.S. 134, 84 L.Ed. 656 (1940). A conclusion requires evidence to support it and findings of appropriate definiteness to express it. A leading case on the subject is Saginaw Broadcasting Co. v. Federal C. Com'n., 96 F. 2d 554 ( U.S.Ct. App. D.C. 1938); cert. denied, sub. nom. Gross v. Saginaw Broadcasting Company, 305 U.S. 613, 83 L.Ed. 391 (1938), wherein the court details the requirements of findings of fact by quasi -judicial authorities. On page 559 of the opinion, it is said: The requirement that courts, and commissions acting in a quasi -judicial capacity, shall make findings of fact, is a means provided by Congress for guaranteeing that cases shall be decided according to the evidence and the law, rather than arbitrarily or from extralegal considerations; and findings of fact serve the additional purpose, where provisions for review are made, of apprising the parties and the reviewing tribunal of the factual basis of the action of the court or commission so that the parties and the reviewing tribunal may determine whether the case has been decided upon the evidence and the law or, on the contrary, upon arbitrary or extralegal considerations. When a decision is accompanied by findings of fact, the reviewing court can decide whether the decision reached by the court or commission follows as a matter of law from the facts stated as its basis, and also whether the facts so stated have any substantial support in the evidence. In the absence of findings of fact the reviewing tribunal can determine neither of these things. The requirement of findings is thus far from a technicality. On the contrary, it is to insure against Star Chamber methods, to make certain that justice shall be administered according to the facts and law. This is fully as important in respect of commissions as it is in respect of courts. In discussing the necessary content of findings of fact, it will be helpful to spell out the process which a commission properly follows in reaching a decision. The process necessarily includes at least four parts: (1) evidence must be taken and weighed both as to its accuracy and credibility; (2) from attentive consideration of this evidence a determination of facts of a basic or underlying nature must be reached; (3) from these basic facts the ultimate facts, usually in the language of the statute, are to be inferred, or not, as the case may be; (4) from this finding the decision will follow by the application of the statutory criterion. In one of the oft-quoted cases, Florida v. United States, 282 U.S. 194, 75 L.Ed. 291 (1931), it was said that in the absence of basic or essential findings to support an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the evidence would not be examined in order to resolve opposing contention. That philosophy was followed in Atchison T. & S.F.R. Co. v. United States, 295 U.S. 193, 79 L.Ed. 1382 (1935), wherein the court said, at page 201 of the U.S. report: This court will not search the record to ascertain whether, by use of what there may be found, general and ambiguous statements in the report intended to serve as findings may by construction be given a meaning sufficiently definite and certain to constitute a valid basis for the order. In the absence of a finding of essential basic facts, the order cannot be sustained. Florida v. United States, 282 U.S. 194, 215, 75 L.Ed. 291, 305, 51 S.Ct. 119. Recently this court has repelled the suggestion that lack of express finding by an administrative agency may be supplied by implication. Panama Ref. Co. v. Ryan, 293 U.S. 388, 433, ante 446, 465, 55 S.Ct. 241. See Beaumont, S.L. & W.R. Co. v. United States, 282 U.S. 74, 86, 75 L.Ed. 221, 229, 51 S.Ct. 1; Interstate Commerce Commission v. Chicago, B. & Q.R. Co., 186 U.S. 320, 341, 46 L.Ed. 1182, 1193, 22 S.Ct. 824. See also, to similar effect, National Labor Rel. Bd. v. Fansteel Metal Corp., 306 U.S. 240, 83 L.Ed. 627 (1939); National Labor Rel. Bd. v. Virginia E. & P. Co., 314 U.S. 469, 86 L.Ed. 348 (1941); Securities and Exchange Com. v. Chenery Corp., 318 U.S. 80, 87 L.Ed. 626 (1943); Colorado-Wyoming Gas Co. v. Federal P. Com., 324 U.S. 626, 89 L.Ed. 1235 (1945); and Interstate Commerce Commission v. Parker, 326 U.S. 60, 89 L.Ed. 2051 (1945). The courts of this State have not been silent with respect to the necessity of specific findings and determination of facts by administrative agencies. See Penna. R.R. Co. v. N.J. State Aviation Com.. 2 N.J. 64 (1949); Gianfrancisco v. Public Service, etc., Transport, 11 N.J. Misc. 219 ( Sup. Ct. 1933); Rojeski v. Pennington Dairy Farms, Inc., 118 N.J.L. 335 ( Sup. Ct. 1937); and Hughes v. N.J. State Highway Dept., 129 N.J.L. 273 ( Sup. Ct. 1942). Clearly it is the function of the administrative authority and not the courts to find the facts. Findings must be free from ambiguity which raises a doubt as to whether the administrative authority proceeded upon a correct legal theory. The most reasonable and practical standard is to require that findings of fact be sufficiently specific under the circumstances of the particular case to enable the reviewing court to intelligently review an administrative decision and ascertain if the facts upon which the order is based afford a reasonable basis for such order. This is a necessary rule where, as here, the findings of fact are conclusive upon review, if supported by evidence. See 146 A.L.R. 209 et seq. The statute as amended L. 1947, c. 47 and c. 75 ( N.J.S.A. 34:13B-23) provides for judicial review of the Board's findings, decision and order, but also provides that In any such appeal the findings of the Board of Arbitration upon the facts, if supported by any evidence, shall be conclusive. Obviously the words any evidence means more than a scintilla of evidence and the meaning to be attributed thereto must be in accord with accepted judicial construction. The Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947, uses the words substantial evidence but its predecessor statute used only the word evidence and yet the cases decided under the National Labor Relations Act construed evidence to mean substantial evidence. In National Labor Rel. Bd. v. Columbian E. & S. Co., 306 U.S. 292, 83 L.Ed. 660 (1939), the court said, at page 299 of the U.S. report: Section 10(e) of the Act provides: `   The findings of the Board as to the facts, if supported by evidence, shall be conclusive.' But as has often been pointed out, this, as in the case of other findings by administrative bodies, means evidence which is substantial, that is, affording a substantial basis of fact from which the fact in issue can be reasonably inferred. (Citing cases.) Substantial evidence is more than a scintilla, and must do more than create a suspicion of the existence of the fact to be established. `It means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion,' Consolidated Edison Co. v. National Labor Relations Bd., 305 U.S. 197,   . In Foster v. Goodpaster, 290 Ky. 410, 161 S.W. 2d 626, 140 A.L.R. 1044 ( Ct. App. 1942), the court expressed the rule in the following manner at page 1046 of 140 A.L.R.:    an express provision that an administrative body's finding of fact shall be conclusive is subject to the qualification that it must be supported by relevant evidence such as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. National Labor Relations Board v. Columbia Enameling & Stamping Co., Inc., 306 U.S. 292, 59 S.Ct. 501, 83 L.Ed. 660; Kentucky Utilities Co. v. Hammons, 284 Ky. 437, 145 S.W. 2d 67. Although the Board is not bound by the strict rules of evidence it is still necessary that the evidence supporting an award be competent. This court has followed the rule, long established in this State, that an award in workmen's compensation cases must be supported by competent evidence, see Andricsak v. National Fireproofing Corp., 3 N.J. 466 (1950), citing Helminsky v. Ford Motor Co., 111 N.J.L. 369 ( E. & A. 1933). The same rule has been held applicable to rate cases. See Public Service Coordinated Transport v. State, 5 N.J. 196, 223 (1950). The Board in the present case recognized the general rule that a preponderance of evidence is necessary to sustain the burden of proof, for, in considering one of the issues before it, the Board said: There is no satisfactory preponderance of evidence   . The statute is interpreted to mean that the Board's findings upon the facts shall be conclusive if supported by substantial evidence; the additional requisites to support an award, of course, are that the evidence be competent and relevant. It follows that if the findings of the administrative authority are supported by substantial, competent, relevant evidence the findings of fact shall be conclusive on judicial review and the courts will not substitute their judgment for that of the administrative authority. The difficulty in the present case, as previously stated, is that the Board has not made adequate basic or essential findings to support its conclusions, and it is not appropriate for us to make independent findings of fact under Rule 1:2-20(a) because the Legislature contemplated that facts in the specialized field of employer-employee relations should be found by those of experienced judgment in a highly complex area. That this was the intention of the Legislature is clearly expressed by the conclusive nature of the findings of the Board, subject only to the limitation that they be supported by substantial, competent and relevant evidence. An application of the law leads to the inevitable conclusion that the Board's Findings of Fact and Decision do not contain the essential or basic facts necessary to support its conclusion with reference to the wage increase and hence, are insufficient to enable us to properly perform our function. It may well be that the evidence submitted to and considered by the Board would justify the conclusion, but the Board's findings are inadequate to sustain the conclusion. We find the same situation to exist with respect to the Board's findings on the issue of the wage zone. Our determination that the question of union security was not a proper one for compulsory arbitration eliminates the necessity of any further discussion of that item.