Court Opinion

ID: 9791329
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:08:59.524652+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:35.548115
License: Public Domain

ON PETITION FOR REHEARING
On petition for rehearing the court supplements its opinion as follows:
- The respondents point out in their petition for rehearing that the International Beauty Academy in its complaint prayed for declaratory relief and that we failed to consider the issue in our opinion and should have remanded the cause to the trial court for consideration of the claim; that we overlooked the Colorado cases which have recognized the jurisdiction of the district court to grant declaratory relief prior to final agency action, citing State *180Board v. Dixon, 165 Colo. 488, 440 P.2d 287 (1968) and Moore v. District Court, 184 Colo. 63, 518 P.2d 948 (1974) in support of their argument.
The complaint filed by the International Beauty Academy did, in fact, pray for both injunctive and declaratory relief and the trial court having granted the injunctive relief, did not reach the issue of declaratory relief. We reversed and ordered the Academy’s complaint dismissed.
In Dixon this court granted declaratory relief because it terminated the uncertainty, holding that “final action” had been taken by the Board and that the threatened enforcement of the regulation would result in irreparable injury to the plaintiff. This action was consistent with C.R.C.P. 57(e).
In Moore we remanded the controversy to the trial court for trial on the merits of the petitioner’s complaint for declaratory judgment. We there held that the trial court had not made any findings that the conduct of the Board was “clearly beyond the constitutional or statutory jurisdiction or authority” of the Board and that there was no evidence in the record to support such finding. However, agency action was final — it had adopted a regulation and the petitioner was challenging its constitutionality. The relief sought to be declared by the trial court would resolve the controversy.
Here, the actions of the Board have been annoying, but there has been no order issued, no sanction imposed, no license suspended, nor any right revoked or denied by the failure of the Board to act. The resolution of the controversy does not involve the constitutionality of a statute or a rule or regulation. Consequently, the true controversy between the Academy and the Board as to whether the Academy has violated any of the statutes or regulations governing beauty schools would not be resolved by a declaratory judgment at this stage of the proceedings.
C.R.C.P. 57(f) provides that the court may refuse to render a declaratory judgment where such judgment, if entered, would not terminate the uncertainty or controversy giving rise to the proceeding. Our view is that this case, under such a test, is not ripe for declaratory relief.