Brightman v. Civil Service Commission of City of Des Moines

• Decision Date: 14 October 1969
• Docket Number: No. 53495,53495
• Citation: 171 N.W.2d 612
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court
• Parties: Hubert R. BRIGHTMAN et al., Appellants, v. The CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION OF the CITY OF DES MOINES, Iowa, and Leo Danzinger, Chairman, Wilton Seymour and Richard L. Hankinson, Members of said Commission, Appellees.

Page 612

171 N.W.2d 612

Hubert R. BRIGHTMAN et al., Appellants, v. The CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION OF the CITY OF DES MOINES, Iowa, and Leo Danzinger, Chairman, Wilton Seymour and Richard L. Hankinson, Members of said Commission, Appellees.

No. 53495.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Oct. 14, 1969.

Stewart, Wimer, Brennan & Joyce, by Joseph B. Joyce, Des Moines, for appellants.

Lucier, Wensel, McAllister, Swanson & Judkins, by Gary H. Swanson, Des Moines, for appellees.

GARFIELD, Chief Justice.

Plaintiffs are 33 detectives on the Des Moines police force who appealed to the Civil Service Commission, herein called 'commission,' of the city from what they claimed was an illegal demotion by the city. The commission by action of two of its three members sustained the city council's motion to dismiss plaintiffs' appeal on the ground it was without jurisdiction to hear it.

The district court issued a writ of certiorari to determine whether the commission's action exceeded its proper jurisdiction or it otherwise acted illegally. (See Rule 306, Rules of Civil Procedure). The matter was submitted to the court on the return to the writ made by the secretary of the commission and briefs and arguments for the detectives and the commission. The court held the commission did not exceed its jurisdiction or otherwise act illegally in dismissing plaintiffs' appeal to it on motion of the city council and so denied relief to the detectives. They have appealed to us from the adverse judgment.

(For convenience we disregard the fact the members of the commission are made defendants along with the commission itself.)

The return to the writ on which the certiorari action was submitted to the court consists mainly of plaintiffs' notice of appeal to the commission from the claimed illegal action of the city council in enacting ordinance No. 7427, effective December 26, 1966; the city council's motion to dismiss the appeal on the ground the commission was without jurisdiction to hear it, and plaintiffs' resistance thereto; ordinance 7427; a transcript of oral arguments to the commission by attorneys for the city and the detectives; a few documentary matters and a transcript of some informal discussion among members of the commission, attorneys for the parties and a few others who attended the meeting.

The petition for the writ of certiorari alleges and the commission's answer thereto admits that without proceeding with an ordinary hearing on the merits the commission, by two votes, held it was without jurisdiction to hear the appeal plaintiffs filed with it.

I. The errors plaintiffs have assigned here may be combined into the single claim the trial court erred in holding the commission properly decided it was without jurisdiction to entertain plaintiffs' appeal.

There is little, if any factual dispute. For more than 50 years prior to June 8, 1959 there was no civil service classification of 'detective' in Des Moines. During that period, however, certain 'patrolmen' were assigned specialized duties as detectives and were paid at a rate at least equal to that of police 'sergeants.' By ordinance 6054 on the above date the city established the civil service classification of detective with slightly lower pay than that of sergeants. This difference in pay continued until August 26, 1963, when the city council by ordinance 6956 equalized the pay of detectives with that of sergeants.

By ordinance 7160 effective March 8, 1965 the city increased the pay of sergeants more than it did that of detectives. Twenty-nine detectives undertook to appeal to the commission from this action of the city, claiming it resulted in an illegal demotion. All but five of the 29 are appellants here along with nine additional detectives--33 in all. The commission held it was without jurisdiction to entertain the former appeal and this was upheld by the district court on review by certiorari. We affirmed the judgment of the district court on grounds hereinafter explained. Antrim v. Civil Service Comm. of City of Des Moines, Iowa, 154 N.W.2d 711.

As before stated, the claimed illegal action of the city from which the 33 detectives appealed to the commission was in the passage of ordinance 7427 effective December 26, 1966. It increased the pay of detectives five percent and of sergeants 10 percent. The detectives contend this resulted in another illegal demotion, like that resulting from ordinance 7160 effective March 8, 1965, in violation of their civil service rights, under chapter 365 Code 1966 and of soldiers' preference rights, under chapter 70, of the many detectives who are ex-service men.

II. Plaintiffs rely upon sections 365.27 and 365.20 in chapter 365 dealing with civil service. So far as pertinent here 365.27 provides:

'The civil service commission shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine all matters involving the rights of civil service employees, and may affirm, modify, or reverse any case on its merits.

'* * *

'If the appeal is taken by a suspended, demoted, or discharged employee and reversed, he shall be reinstated as of the date of his suspension, demotion, or discharge, and shall be entitled to such compensation as the body having jurisdiction may determine.'

Before quoting section 365.20, it is well to refer to 365.18 and 365.19. The former reads: 'No person holding civil service rights as provided in this chapter shall be removed, demoted, or suspended arbitrarily, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, but may be removed, demoted, or suspended after a hearing by a majority vote of the civil service commission, for neglect of duty, disobedience, misconduct, or failure to properly perform his duties.'

Section 365.19 is too long to quote. In pertinent part it provides the person having the appointing power under chapter 365 may peremptorily suspend, demote or discharge any subordinate under his direction for neglect of duty, disobedience of orders, misconduct or failure to properly perform his duties. A report of such action shall be made to the city manager or, if the action is by him, to the city council who shall affirm or revoke it according to the facts and merits of the case.

It is our duty to construe these statutes liberally with a view to promote their objects and assist the parties in obtaining justice. Code section 4.2.

So far as applicable here, section 365.20 states: 'If there is an affirmance of the suspension, demotion, or discharge of any person holding civil service rights, he may, within twenty days thereafter, appeal therefrom to the civil service commission. * * *'

Plaintiffs have not challenged the procedure of the city council in enacting ordinance 7427. They have not alleged the ordinance was not legally enacted and published. Their claim before the commission was that it resulted in an arbitrary demotion upon a ground not set out in section 365.18, supra, in violation of their rights under the civil service chapter. As stated, the commission decided it was without jurisdiction to hear the matter and dismissed the detectives' appeal on that ground.

The return to the writ on which the certiorari action was submitted to the district court shows the commission heard or decided no other question. The last thing attorneys for the city told the commission was that its jurisdiction to hear the appeal was the matter submitted to it. Earlier in the hearing counsel for the city admitted the commission had jurisdiction in matters of alleged suspensions, demotions or discharges of civil service employees but argued plaintiffs had not alleged any demotion.

III. As stated in Division I hereof, most of these plaintiffs were also plaintiffs in Antrim v. Civil Service Comm. of City of Des Moines, supra, Iowa, 154 N.W.2d 711, in which they claimed ordinance 7160 effective March 8, 1965 resulted in their illegal demotion. Like ordinance 7427 effective December 26, 1966, it increased the pay of other police more than it did that of detectives. Antrim and 28 other detectives undertook to appeal to the commission from their claimed illegal demotion; the commission sustained the city's special appearance on the ground it was without jurisdiction to hear the appeal because notice thereof was not given within the 20 days provided by section 365.20, supra; the district court upheld the commission in certiorari and we affirmed the holding.

We think it is implicit from our opinion in Antrim that if timely notice of appeal to the commission were given it would have had jurisdiction to entertain it. In the present case plaintiffs gave such notice of their appeal to the commission.

The summary of the opinion, preceding the headnotes, states we held the 'statute providing that if there is a demotion of any person holding civil service rights he may within 20 days thereafter appeal to the Civil Service Commission was applicable in regard to right of municipal employees to appeal to Commission on basis that their reclassification by city had constituted a demotion, and therefore Commission lacked jurisdiction where notice of appeal from municipal action was not given by employees until more than six months after challenged municipal action had been taken.'

Excerpts from the opinion are: 'It is to us evident section 365.20 * * * is here applicable and controlling. * * *

'Since the premise upon which they sought administrative review is adoption of the alleged offending ordinance, the effective date of that municipal enactment is the commencement point of the statutory period within which their appeals could be lawfully taken.

'Under the circumstances we are satisfied, if there was an invasion of plaintiffs' rights, it occurred on the effective date of the ordinance. Their lawful right of appeal then accrued, and they manifestly failed to pursue the remedy provided within the twenty days prescribed by law.'

A concurring opinion in Antrim, after stating the writer concurs in the court's opinion, expresses the view that appeal...