Boarman v. Jaynes

• Decision Date: 19 June 2003
• Citation: 109 S.W.3d 286
• Parties: Dianna BOARMAN v. George JAYNES.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

109 S.W.3d 286

Dianna BOARMAN v. George JAYNES.

Supreme Court of Tennessee, at Knoxville.

May 7, 2003 Session.

June 19, 2003.

Arthur M. Fowler, Johnson City, Tennessee, for the appellant, Dianna Boarman.

K. Erickson Herrin, Johnson City, Tennessee, for the appellee, George Jaynes.

WILLIAM M. BARKER, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which FRANK F. DROWOTA, III, C.J., and E. RILEY ANDERSON, ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, Jr., and JANICE M. HOLDER, JJ., joined.

OPINION

Dianna Boarman, the Clerk and Master for the Washington County Chancery Court, filed a complaint on September 30, 1998, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-20-101, et. seq., seeking a pay increase for the three chief deputy clerks working in her office. Boarman later filed a second and third complaint for fiscal years 1999-2000 and 2000-01. Defendant George Jaynes, the Washington County Executive, answered denying that salary increases were necessary to enable Boarman to properly and efficiently conduct the business of her office. Jaynes also filed a counterclaim seeking the elimination of one deputy clerk position in Boarman's office. Boarman's complaints were consolidated, and a hearing was conducted before Chancellor Thomas R. Frierson, II, sitting by interchange. The trial court approved salary increases for the three chief deputy clerks. It denied the defendant's counterclaim. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's denial of the county executive's counterclaim, but reversed the trial court's judgment increasing the salaries of Boarman's three chief deputy clerks. For the reasons stated herein, we reverse that part of the decision of the Court of Appeals which reverses the trial court's judgment approving the position of deputy clerk and increase in compensation. We affirm the Court of Appeals' dismissal of defendant Jaynes counterclaim.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

The appellant, Dianna Boarman, has served as Clerk and Master for the Chancery Court for Washington County, First Judicial District, since 1974. On September 30, 1998, the appellant filed a complaint pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-20-101, et. seq., seeking an increase in wages for certain deputy clerks above the salary increases budgeted and approved for fiscal year 1998-99 by the Board of County Commissioners. The authorized annual salary for each of the three chief deputy clerks was 825,688, and Boarman asked that the salaries of the three chief deputies be increased to $30,460 for fiscal year 1998-99. George Jaynes, the county executive for Washington County was named as defendant in the complaint.

In her sworn complaint, Boarman averred that she maintains an office in Jonesborough, Tennessee, where she employs two deputies. Plaintiff also maintains an office in Johnson City, Tennessee, where she employs five deputies. Boarman's petition further set forth in detail the duties of the personnel in both offices. In addition, Boarman stated, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-20-101(a), that she "cannot properly and efficiently conduct the affairs and transact the business of her office as clerk & master by devoting her entire working time thereto," and consequently needed deputies and assistants necessary to the proper maintenance of her office. In response, the defendant, George Jaynes, did not deny the need for the chief deputy clerks, but disagreed as to the increased level of compensation sought by Boarman. Eleven months later, prior to a hearing on the complaint, Boarman filed a second and third complaint also seeking increased salaries over and above the commission-approved salary adjustments for fiscal year 1999-2000 and 2000-01. In answer to the third complaint, the county executive not only denied that salary increases were necessary, but filed a counterclaim seeking the elimination of one of the previously-budgeted and funded deputy clerk positions in Boarman's office. The three complaints were consolidated, and an evidentiary hearing was conducted before Chancellor Thomas R. Frierson, II, sitting by interchange.¹

After hearing extensive testimony regarding the appropriate level of funding for the positions of chief deputy clerk in the office, and proof of salaries of jobs comparable to that of chief deputy clerk, the trial court held that:

The three chief deputy clerks who form the focus of the present action are skilled, experienced and competent county employees. Their varied job responsibilities provide valuable service to and benefit for Washington County. Their combined service to the county is 69 years. Considering the requisite statutory factors, as well as comparable salaries of other government employees doing similar duties, this Court determines that the annual salaries appropriated and budgeted for the chief deputy clerks of the Clerk and Master's office of Washington County during fiscal year 1998-99 were below that then prevailing for the nature and type of services required and performed and less than reasonably necessary to retain competent personnel against the enticements of the public sector.

The trial court determined that the three chief deputy clerks were each entitled to annual compensation of $27,700 for fiscal year 1998-99. The trial court denied the counterclaim brought by the county executive and held, based upon the evidence presented, that the chief deputy clerk position Jaynes sought to eliminate was "essential for the proper and efficient operation" of Boarman's office.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of defendant Jayne's counterclaim, but reversed that part of the trial court's decision which approved raises to the three chief deputy clerks. Addressing the construction of Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-20-101, the court held that "our courts have consistently required an office holder seeking relief under this scheme to make a threshold showing of his or her inability to properly and efficiently conduct the affairs of his or her office." The court then concluded that "[t]he evidence presented by Boarman does not meet the required showing, i.e., that she was unable to properly and efficiently conduct the affairs of her office by utilizing the efforts of her staff as constituted and compensated at the time of the filing of her complaint." Moreover, the court stated that "Boarman's suit, from its inception, has revolved around the question of the fairness of the salaries of her chief deputy clerks, rather than whether Boarman was able to conduct the affairs and business of her office."² The Court of Appeals stated that issues of fairness are "much more appropriately directed to the county legislative body responsible for the budgeting and appropriating of county funds." The court then concluded that "the evidence preponderates against the trial court's factual findings supporting its judgment fixing the salaries of Boarman's chief deputy clerks."

Before this Court, the appellant argues that the Court of Appeals misconstrued Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-20-101 et. seq., by requiring her to show that she cannot effectively operate her office "by utilizing the efforts of her staff as constituted and compensated at the time of the filing of her complaint." The appellant maintains that the statutory scheme contained in Chapter 20 of Title 8 does not require a clerk and master to prove that she cannot operate her office at the compensation level offered by the county. She argues that the threshold requirement is only that an office holder demonstrate that he or she cannot operate the office "by devoting such person's entire working time thereto." Once that showing has been made, the trial court may exercise "unfettered discretion" setting the salaries of the deputies and assistants. We granted review in this case to address the proper construction of Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-20-101, et. seq., and to determine whether the evidence preponderates against the factual findings of the trial court.

STANDARD OF APPELLATE REVIEW

In this case we are asked to decide questions involving the proper construction of Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-20-101, et. seq., addressing the application for authority to employ deputies and assistants in the office of the clerks and masters of the chancery courts. Issues of statutory construction are pure questions of law. See Lipscomb v. Doe, 32 S.W.3d 840, 843-44 (Tenn.2000) (citing Wakefield v. Crawley, 6 S.W.3d 442, 445 (Tenn.1999); Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hosp., 984 S.W.2d 593, 599 (Tenn. 1999)). Thus, our review of the lower court's construction of Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-20-101 et. seq., is de novo without any presumption of correctness. See id. (citing Lavin v. Jordon, 16 S.W.3d 362, 364 (Tenn.2000), Wells v. Tenn. Bd. of Regents, 9 S.W.3d 779, 783 (Tenn.1999); Nelson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 8 S.W.3d 625, 628 (Tenn.1999)). However, in reviewing the trial court's findings of fact, we accord those factual findings a "presumption of correctness, which is overcome only when the preponderance of the evidence is contrary to the trial court's findings of fact." Fields v. State, 40 S.W.3d 450, 456 (Tenn.2001).

ANALYSIS

Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-20-101(a) provides in part that:

Where any one (1) of the clerks and masters of the chancery courts ... cannot properly and efficiently conduct the affairs and transact the business of such person's office by devoting such person's entire working time thereto, such person may employ such deputies and assistants as may be actually necessary to the proper conducting of such person's office ....

The statute then sets forth the proper procedure to be followed when the employment of deputies and assistants is requested by an office holder. The statutory language relevant to clerks and masters provides that:

(3) The clerks and masters of the chancery courts, county trustees, county clerks and clerks of the probate courts, and registers of deeds may make application to...