Court Opinion

ID: 9553621
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 19:32:53.856222+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:31:54.618498
License: Public Domain

COMPTON, Justice,
dissenting in part.
I disagree with the disposition of this case mandated in Section II of the opinion. The court concludes that “the most appropriate disposition of the refund issue is to remand the matter to the superior court to conduct such further proceedings as it deems necessary to resolve the following issues,” issues which I observe are not raised in either the briefs or the, arguments of the parties. In order to reach this result, the court interprets AS 43.15.010(a), a statute neither party cites, and then gratuitously overrules a portion of State v. Wakefield Fisheries, Inc., 495 P.2d 166 (Alaska 1972), a case neither party cites.
To the court’s credit, it does not attempt to justify the result under any particular judicial doctrine such as the “plain error doctrine,” but that does not make the result any more palatable. In my view the manner in which the court proceeds in resolving this case is just as flawed as it was in Clark v. Greater Anchorage, Inc., 780 P.2d 1031 (Alaska 1989) (Compton, Justice, dissenting). Surely it cannot be said that on this record “it appears an obvious mistake has been made which creates a high likelihood that injustice has resulted.” Clark, dissent at 1039,