Court Opinion

ID: 9659907
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 21:58:11.000593+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:12.851070
License: Public Domain

*84PETERSON, Judge
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. Although I agree with the majority that there has been some confusion regarding the district court’s standard of review in proceedings under Minn. Stat. § 171:19 (1996), this court has long held that in a driver’s license reinstatement case, the district court must employ the “arbitrary and capricious” standard when reviewing the decision of the Commissioner of Public Safety. Mechtel v. Commissioner of Pub. Safety, 373 N.W.2d 832, 834 (Minn.App.1985).
Although the Commissioner’s decision is subject to review, the district court does not have de novo review. The fact that the trial court would have decided the case differently, does not mean the trial court can substitute its judgment for that of the Commissioner.
Schultz v. Commissioner of Pub. Safety, 365 N.W.2d 304, 307 (Minn.App.1985)
This narrow standard of judicial review applies in a license reinstatement proceeding under Minn.Stat. § 171.19 because the proceeding is part of a statutory administrative licensing system. In this system, the legislature has given the Commissioner of Public Safety the authority to
cancel the driver’s license of any person who, at the time of the cancellation, would not have been entitled to receive a license under the provisions of section 171.04.
Minn.Stat. § 171.14 (1996).
Under Minn.Stat. § 171.04, subd. 1(9) (1996), a person is not entitled to receive a license
when the commissioner has good cause to believe that the operation of a motor vehicle on the highways by such person would be inimical to public safety or welfare.
Under this statute, a driver’s license may be cancelled without proving beyond a reasonable doubt or even by a preponderance of the evidence, that operation of a motor vehicle by the driver would be mimical to public safety or welfare. All that is required is that the commissioner have good cause to believe that operation of a motor vehicle on the highways by the driver would be inimical to public safety. See Plaster v. Commissioner of Pub. Safety, 490 N.W.2d 904, 906 (Minn.App.1992) (commissioner must present evidence showing good cause to believe driver violated total abstinence requirement); see also Minn. R. 7503.1300, subpt. 3 (1995) (commissioner shall cancel driver’s license of person whose license has been reinstated after completing rehabilitation when commissioner has sufficient cause to believe person consumed alcohol since documented date of abstinence).
There is a presumption of regularity and correctness when courts review license matters. Thorson v. Commissioner of Pub. Safety, 519 N.W.2d 490, 493 (Minn.App.1994). This presumption, together with a narrow standard of judicial review, ensures that courts do not exercise the licensing authority given by the legislature to the Commissioner of Public Safety. And the limited judicial review available to drivers ensures that the commissioner’s licensing authority is not exercised in a fraudulent, arbitrary, or unreasonable manner.
Amdahl v. County of Fillmore, 258 N.W.2d 869 (Minn.1977), explains what the district court is to do in a proceeding where it reviews an administrative decision but may consider evidence that was not part of the record before the administrative decision maker. In Amdahl, the Fillmore County Board of Commissioners voted to raise the salaries of the county sheriff, auditor, treasurer, and recorder. Id. at 872. These county officers then instituted statutory appeals to the district court on the grounds that the raises approved by the county board were arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, and made without sufficient regard to the officers’ duties and responsibilities. Id.
The statute that permitted an appeal to the district court from the county board’s decision setting the sheriffs salary provided for de novo review. Id. at 873. The statutes that permitted appeals to the district court from the county board decisions setting the salaries of the other officers provided that “the court shall review the decision or resolution of the board * * * as though reviewed by certiorari, except new or additional evidence may be taken.” Minn.Stat. §§ 384.151, subd. 7; 385.373, subd. 7; 386.015, subd. 7 (1974).
*85The district court ordered the county to increase the county officer’s salaries in specified amounts, and the county appealed all four cases. Id. at 872. The supreme court affirmed the district court decision with respect to the sheriffs salary but reversed as to the other officers. Id. at 875-76.
The supreme court explained that fixing rates of compensation for county officers “is essentially a legislative or an administrative act, not a judicial one.” Id. at 873. Therefore, judicial review was limited to determining “whether the salary was set in an arbitrary or unreasonable fashion.” Id. With regard to the officers other than the sheriff, the supreme court explained that
Certiorari is, by its nature, a review based solely on the record. Review by certiorari allows the district court to review the record before it, but only to ascertain whether that record furnishes a reasonable or substantial basis for the decision. The fact that these statutes allow the district court to take new or additional testimony does not conflict with this limited scope of review * * * [W]e discern it to be the intention of the legislature, in allowing the district court to take new or additional testimony, to provide an opportunity for aggrieved county officers to show factors dehors the record which they believe affected the board’s decision, revealing as arbitrary or capricious the board’s action which might otherwise appear reasonable.
Id. at 874.
The supreme court concluded that:
Under the statutes governing the [auditor’s, treasurer’s and recorder’s] appeals, it is not the function of the district court in the first instance, or this court on subsequent appeal, to substitute its discretion for that of the county board. Our examination of the record is limited to an inquiry as to whether the county board has acted unreasonably or arbitrarily. While we may reach a conclusion different from the county board based upon the evidence considered, we cannot substitute our judgment for that of the county board absent a determination of arbitrariness or failure to sufficiently consider the duties and responsibilities of the office in question.
Id. at 876.
While I recognize that Minn.Stat. § 171.19 does not direct the district court to review the commissioner’s decision as though reviewed by certiorari, I find persuasive the supreme court’s conclusion in Amdahl that the fact that the statutes allowed the district court to take new or additional evidence did not change the district court’s standard of review. Minn.Stat. § 171.19 does not explicitly provide for de novo review. The majority’s conclusion that common sense dictates that when the statute calls for the district court to consider new evidence, the trial is de novo by definition, is contrary to Amdahl and more significantly, is inconsistent with this court’s statements that the district court does not have de novo review.
Canceling Madison’s driver’s license when there was evidence that he had consumed alcohol since his documented date of abstinence was an administrative act. Here, as in Amdahl, the fact that Minn.Stat. § 171.19 allows the district court to take new evidence does not change the fact that the district court employs an arbitrary and capricious standard in its review of the commissioner’s administrative act. Even if the district court believes that the commissioner’s decision is incorrect, it may reverse the decision only if it determines that the decision is fraudulent, arbitrary, unreasonable, or outside the commissioner’s jurisdiction. See Schultz, 365 N.W.2d at 306 (reviewing court in driver’s license reinstatement case cannot reverse agency decision unless decision is fraudulent, arbitrary, unreasonable, or outside its jurisdiction). The evidence presented for the first time in the district court may be used by the court to determine whether the commissioner’s decision is fraudulent, arbitrary, unreasonable, or outside the commissioner’s jurisdiction. It may not be used as a basis for the district court to substitute its judgment for the judgment of the commissioner.
I also find persuasive the supreme court’s conclusion in Amdahl that it is not the function of this court, on a subsequent appeal of the commissioner’s decision, to substitute its judgment for the judgment of the commis*86sioner. As in the district court, our review is limited to an inquiry as to whether the commissioner’s decision is fraudulent, arbitrary, unreasonable, or outside the commissioner’s jurisdiction. But the record before this court includes the record of the district court proceedings.
Where the trial court reviewing an agency decision makes independent factual determinations and otherwise acts as a court of first impression, this court applies the “clearly erroneous” standard of review. Where, on the other hand, the trial court is itself acting as an appellate tribunal with respect to the agency decision, this court will independently review the agency’s record.
In re Hutchinson, 440 N.W.2d 171, 175 (Minn.App.1989) (citations omitted), review denied (Minn. Aug. 9,1989).
In a license reinstatement proceeding, the district court acts as an appellate tribunal with respect to the agency decision. But in performing its role as an appellate tribunal, the district court may take evidence and make factual determinations regarding whether the agency decision is fraudulent, arbitrary, unreasonable, or outside the commissioner’s jurisdiction. Because the district court’s review is not limited to a review of the agency’s record, this court’s review cannot be limited to an independent review of the agency’s record. Accordingly, this court reviews the record of the proceedings in the district court and applies the “clearly erroneous” standard of review to the independent factual determinations of the district court. This court conducts a de novo review of legal issues and “is not bound by the legal conclusions of the trial court or of the agency itself.” Id.
Madison argues that the evidence presented at the reinstatement hearing, considered in its entirety, proved facts that made the commissioner’s decision arbitrary or unreasonable. Madison concedes that Weinzetl’s March 25, 1997, letter, when viewed in isolation, provided the commissioner with sufficient cause to believe that he had consumed alcohol but contends that the district court refused to consider the contrary evidence presented at the reinstatement hearing and instead based its decision on Weinzetl’s letter. I see no basis for concluding that the district court refused to consider any of the evidence presented at the reinstatement hearing.
The commissioner’s decision to cancel Madison’s license was .based on Weinzetl’s letter, which stated that Madison admitted he had consumed two beers and that Wein-zetl detected the slight odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Madison. At the reinstatement hearing, Madison presented evidence that he did not consume alcohol on December 7, 1996. This evidence contradicted Weinzetl’s observations, but it did not demonstrate that the commissioner’s decision was arbitrary or unreasonable.
A decision will be deemed arbitrary and capricious if the agency relied on factors which the legislature had not intended it to consider, if it entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem, if it offered an explanation for the decision that runs counter to the evidence, or if the decision is so implausible that it could not be ascribed to a difference in view or the product of agency expertise.
Trout Unlimited, Inc. v. Minnesota Dep’t of Agric., 528 N.W.2d 903, 907 (Minn.App.1995).
Under Minn.Stat. §§ 171.04, subd. 1(9), 171.14 and Minn. R. 7503.1300, subpt. 3, the commissioner had to decide whether to cancel Madison’s driver’s license because there was good cause or sufficient cause to believe that Madison consumed alcohol since his documented date of abstinence. There is no reason to conclude that the legislature did not intend that the commissioner could consider and rely on a letter from a police officer when determining whether there was good cause to believe that Madison consumed alcohol. Weinzetl’s letter described his basis for believing that Madison consumed alcohol. While it is possible that Weinzetl’s perceptions were incorrect or that he did not accurately report his perceptions to the commissioner, the evidence presented at the reinstatement hearing did not demonstrate that there was any reason for the commissioner to doubt the accuracy of Wein-zetl’s statements.
*87Madison contends that the commissioner had reason to question the accuracy of Wein-zetl’s letter because the letter was written three months after the accident occurred and was inconsistent with the accident report that Weinzetl completed at the time of the accident. Though it may have been a poor practice for Weinzetl to delay notifying the commissioner, the delay alone does not call into question the accuracy of the letter. And the letter was not inconsistent with the accident report.
Madison argues that the letter was inconsistent with the report because nothing in the report in any way remotely suggested that Weinzetl observed, heard, or smelled anything that reasonably indicated Madison had consumed alcohol. But there was no reason for Weinzetl to indicate in the accident report that Madison had consumed alcohol. There has never been any dispute that the cause of the accident was a diabetic reaction. Madison did not appear to be intoxicated and there was no reason for Weinzetl to believe that alcohol consumption caused the accident. In the accident report, Weinzetl indicated that the primary factor contributing to the accident was “physical impairment.” He also indicated that the apparent physical condition of the driver was that he was “ill.” These observations are not inconsistent with alcohol consumption.
The commissioner’s decision does not run counter to the evidence presented to the commissioner and the decision is not implau'sible. The district court’s factual determination that the commissioner’s cancellation of Madison’s license was not arbitrary and capricious was not clearly erroneous. I would affirm.