Opinion ID: 1963826
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Construing the Term Hardship.

Text: The board determined the term hardship, as used by the legislature in section 16.91(5), did not require a hardship of an extraordinary magnitude or type. Consequently, it found a financial hardship alone can constitute hardship. The association claims something more than a financial hardship is required. Neither the Iowa Code nor the Administrative Code in place at the time of the board's decision defined the term hardship as used in section 16.91(5). [1] When the legislature used the term hardship in section 16.91(5), it did not qualify the term. The legislature knows how to modify the word, hardship, and has done so in many instances. See, e.g., Iowa Code §§ 2C.18 (referring to a needless hardship), 13.15 (referring to a financial hardship), 17A.9A(2)( a ) (referring to an undue hardship), 138.12(2) (referring to an unnecessary hardship), 232.69(3)( e ) (referring to a significant hardship), 425.37 (referring to an unreasonable hardship), 554.3513(2) (referring to an economic hardship), 607A.6 (referring to an extreme hardship), 815.9(1)( b ) (referring to a substantial hardship), 904.902 (referring to a physical hardship). Without any modification of the word hardship by the legislature, we must assume the legislative intent in section 16.91(5) was to allow the board to grant a waiver if the applicant can show a hardship in the sense that the word is ordinarily used and understood. Hardship as defined in the dictionary means privation or suffering. Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1033 (unabr. ed. 2002). Black's Law Dictionary defines hardship as privation, suffering, or adversity. Black's Law Dictionary 734 (8th ed. 2004). Therefore, hardship as contained in this section means suffering, privation, or adversity. A financial hardship alone can create privation, suffering, or adversity. Thus, we agree with the board's construction of section 16.91(5) that a financial hardship is a hardship sufficient to justify a waiver under the statute.