Opinion ID: 2106663
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: was the petition for review fatally defective?

Text: The circuit court's dismissal of the petition for review was also based on a second ground. The petition for review of the PSC order was served on the PSC before the PSC's order had been served on WED. Sec. 227.16 (1) (a), Stats., provides that a petition for review shall be served . . . within 30 days after the service of the decision of the agency upon all parties. . . . The circuit court considered the instant petition to have been fatally premature. [5] For the purposes of this review, we consider there was substantial compliance with the requirements of sec. 227.16, Stats. WED states that it was represented at the November 9, 1976, meeting at which the order was approved; that it was intimately familiar with the draft orders which preceded the order, and with the contents of the final order; and that it had obtained an advance, unsigned copy of the order. In view of these statements, the fact that the petition was served before the order was actually mailed to WED does not appear contravene the requirements of sec. 227.16, to the extent that the trial court lacked jurisdiction. A statute must be construed in light of its purpose. The primary purpose of the service requirements of sec. 227.16, Stats., is to provide notice. Hamilton v. ILHR Dept., supra, at 686, 687. That function had here been fulfilled. The purpose of the requirement that the petition be served within 30 days after the service of the decision is twofold: First, it makes clear that a petitioner is afforded a full thirty days in which to seek review, and that any delay between the making of a decision and the time of service thereof is not counted in the calculation of this period; second, the provision fixes a strict cutoff date for the filing of a petition for review. Neither of these purposes is implicated here. The PSC argues that there are sound policy reasons why a petition for review ought not precede service of the order sought to be reviewed, and we agree with this as a general proposition. Where the terms of the order are not known to the petitioner, a premature petition could prove to be needless or inappropriate when the order was subsequently received. A petition for review ought not to be based on speculation about the contents of an order. However, there was no such speculation here. It appears that WED was fully apprised of the contents of the order. The cases cited by the PSC, in which it was held that an appeal could not be filed after rendition of an oral decision from the bench, but before entry of judgment ( see, e.g., State ex rel. Hildebrand v. Kegu, 59 Wis.2d 215, 207 N.W.2d 658 (1973)) are not apposite. In such a case, the advisability or grounds of appeal may turn on the precise language of the judgment. In contrast, an order of the PSC, once approved, may not be altered without a new hearing. See: Mid-Plains Telephone v. Public Serv. Comm., 56 Wis.2d 780, 202 N.W.2d 907 (1973); see: sec. 196.20, Stats. Further, the construction urged by the PSC could have a pernicious effect where an order threatens immediate harm to a petitioner. The PSC's orders may be made effective at the time they are ordered. Sec. 196.40, Stats. Under the PSC's view of sec. 227.16, however, a party would be unable to seek judicial review of the order, although it was in full effect, until a copy of the order was served on the party. In the instant case, copies of the order were not mailed to various parties, including WED, until several days after the order was entered. Where, as here, the petitioner seeks a temporary injunction, such a gap could well be prejudicial. [6] Therefore, on the facts presented, and in view of WED's familiarity with the terms of the order, the petition was not fatally premature.