Court Opinion

ID: 9747728
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 15:29:14.490886+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:26.014416
License: Public Domain

*150Biles, J.,
concurring: I agree Davenport’s due process rights were violated. I also agree with the court’s analysis that inevitably leads to this conclusion. I write separately only to emphasize that under these facts and the statute directing these proceedings, this was not a close case.
From the outset, it must be recognized that K.S.A. 68-102a necessarily creates an inherent conflict of interest for county commissioners. On the one hand, the statute charges commissioners with determining the monetary damages owed by their county to a private citizen whose land abuts a public roadway now abandoned by the county. On the other, the commissioners have statutory authority over county budgets and taxing policies, which may be significantly impacted by such a dispute. See K.S.A. 19-212 (authorizing county commissioners to examine and settle all accounts, apportion and levy taxes, and manage a county’s business concerns).
These statutes undoubtedly put commissioners in the near impossible position of trying to be good stewards of their county’s finances, while at the same time ensuring the private landowner receives what basic due process rights demand — a fair trial in a fair tribunal. See In re Murchison, 349 U.S. 133, 136, 99 L. Ed. 942, 75 S. Ct. 623 (1955) (“A fair trial in a fair tribunal is a basic requirement of due process. . . .[Ojur system of law has always endeavored to prevent even the probability of unfairness.”); McPherson Landfill, Inc. v. Board of Shawnee County Comm’rs, 274 Kan. 303, 305, 49 P.3d 522 (2002) (“[T]he proceedings must be fair, open, and impartial.”); In re Care & Treatment of Hay, 263 Kan. 822, Syl. ¶ 4, 953 P.2d 666 (1998) (“The fundamental requirement of due process is a fair trial in a fair tribunal.”); Davenport Pastures v. Board of Morris County Comm’rs, 40 Kan. App. 2d 648, 653, 194 P.3d 1201 (2008) (“Simply put, due process requires the proceedings to be fair, open, and impartial. A denial of due process renders the resulting decision void.”) (citing McPherson Landfill, 274 Kan. at 305).
The statute assigning county commissions the task of deciding these claims was, and is, an invitation for abuse. Due process con*151cems immediately pique when confronted with such provisions. The fact that this private landowner has had to persevere through two successful appeals to reverse yet again the Board’s handling of Davenport’s claim strongly supports the statute’s condemnation and a call for its revision. See Davenport Pasture, LP v. Board of Morris County Comm’rs, 31 Kan. App. 2d 217, 223-24, 62 P.3d 699, rev. denied 276 Kan. 967 (2003) (Board’s finding was contrary to well-recognized Kansas common law that owner of property abutting a public road has a private property right in access to that road.). This is why the Board’s performance under this statute necessarily invites due process scrutiny and requires its commissioners to be highly diligent when conducting such proceedings.
The Board must establish a process that exhibits characteristics fair-minded people can believe are appropriate to objectively hear the evidence and fairly determine what monetary damages the aggrieved private landowner is due from the county treasury. This may not be impossible under this statute, but it is far more difficult than it would be if the law provided for this decision to be made by a more detached factfinder, such as is required in eminent domain proceedings. See K.S.A. 2009 Supp. 26-501 (proceedings shall be brought in district court of county where land is situated); K.S.A. 2009 Supp. 26-504 (vesting district court with power to appoint appraisers after entertaining suggestions from any party). While the court’s opinion today does not describe the minimum requirements for a Board’s fair handling of claims arising under K.S.A. 68-102a, it is clear that to ensure fairness a Board must do significantly more than was done in this case to date.
As explained in our court’s opinion, the Board’s decision to have its attorney play such a significant and multifaceted role in the hearing process violated its responsibilities to provide fair dealing and offends any reasonable definition of fair play for an adjudicative process. Indeed, our Kansas Administrative Procedures Act, K.S.A. 77-501 et seq., long ago prohibited the very practice employed here, i.e., having the same attorney advising a board while advocating a position in the same matter before that board. See K.S.A. 77-514(h) (person shall not provide legal advice to presiding officer if person served in investigatory or prosecutorial capacity).
*152On remand, the Board would be well advised to figure out a structured decision-making process that will exhibit neutrality and detachment toward both sides of this dispute. This is especially necessary to overcome the inherent conflict of interest the statute creates. Due process requires no less.