Opinion ID: 2178000
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Timeliness of YATA's Petition for Review

Text: GWU contends that this court lacks jurisdiction to consider the merits of YATA's claims because YATA's petition for review was untimely. According to GWU, the time in which YATA had to file a petition for review started to run on August 16, 2002, the date on which the order was published in the D.C. Register and thereby became final and effective. [3] Based on the date the order was published, YATA's petition for review was due no later than September 16. [4] GWU maintains that the later filing date of September 24 for the parties to the Zoning Commission proceeding, based on the date the order was served on them by mail, [5] does not apply to YATA's appeal because YATA was not a party in those proceedings. We disagree. In Askin v. District of Columbia Rental Hous. Comm'n, we said [i]n situations where ambiguity exists regarding the date of an order or decision, this court has resolved the ambiguity in favor of the party seeking review. 521 A.2d 669, 675 (D.C.1987); see also In re D.R., 541 A.2d 1260, 1264 (D.C.1988) (In [] areas of administrative law, we have emphasized the importance of eliminating ambiguity, and, where we have found ambiguity, we have construed it against the government agency that drafted the language.) (footnote with citing references omitted). Similar to the circumstances in Askin, the Zoning Commission's order of publication in the present case created ambiguity as to when the time for filing a petition for review of Order No. 746-C started to run, because contrary to its rules, the Zoning Commission published the order in the D.C. Register prior to serving it on the parties. See 11 DCMR § 3028.8 (In a contested case... [t]he order shall be published in the D.C. Register. Prior to publication in the D.C. Register, copies of the order shall be served on any party who appeared and participated in the hearing in person or by authorized representative.). This ambiguity no doubt led YATA to rely on the later notice as the date from which to appeal. Indeed, YATA could have concluded reasonably that the Zoning Commission would not establish two different rules governing the timeliness of a petition for review  one for a party, and the other for an aggrieved person. Accordingly, we resolve this ambiguity in favor of YATA and hold that YATA's petition for review was timely because the time for filing started to run on August 20, the date on which the Zoning Commission served the order on the parties, not August 16, the date of publication. The fact that a sentence in the order itself stated that Order No. 746-C was to become final and effective upon publication in the D.C. Register; that is, on August 16, 2002 does not control whether YATA's petition for review was timely. As we have repeatedly held, [w]hat matters here [ ] is not when the order became `final' under the Board's rules, but when it became reviewable. Jackson v. District of Columbia Employees' Comp. Appeals Bd., 537 A.2d 576, 577 (D.C.1988) (holding that the time for filing a petition for review starts to run when the order is served on the parties, not thirty days later when the order became final under the Board's rules); accord, North Cleveland Park Citizens Ass'n v. District of Columbia Bd. of Zoning Adjustment, 541 A.2d 912 (D.C. 1988) (per curiam) (holding that the time for filing a petition for review starts to run when the order is served on the parties, not when the order becomes effective, which according to the Board's rules occurs ten days after the order is issued); Glenwood Cemetery v. District of Columbia Zoning Comm'n, 448 A.2d 241 (D.C.1982) ( per curiam ) (holding that the time for filing a petition for review starts to run when the order is served on the parties, not when the order is published in the D.C. Register and thereby becomes final and effective pursuant to the Zoning Commission's rules). Thus, we hold that the time within which a petition for review must be filed commences upon service of the order on the parties and notice thereof to non-parties through the Secretary's filing of the certification form, not publication in the D.C. Register, which is an entirely ministerial act. See Glenwood Cemetery, supra, 448 A.2d at 242. We also agree with YATA that having a uniform filing deadline for all petitioners, both parties and non-parties alike, is preferable to the two-tiered filing timetable that would result if we adopted GWU's argument. Accordingly, we conclude that YATA's petition for review was timely, and we have jurisdiction to consider the case.