DeBry v. Salt Lake County Bd. of Appeals

• Decision Date: 08 November 1988
• Docket Number: No. 870004-CA,870004-CA
• Citation: 764 P.2d 627
• Parties: Robert J. DeBRY, Plaintiff, v. SALT LAKE COUNTY BOARD OF APPEALS, Defendant.
• Court: Utah Court of Appeals

Page 627

764 P.2d 627

Robert J. DeBRY, Plaintiff, v.SALT LAKE COUNTY BOARD OF APPEALS, Defendant.

No. 870004-CA.

Court of Appeals of Utah.

Nov. 8, 1988.

William F. Bannon(argued), Robert J. DeBry, Robert J. DeBry & Associates, Salt Lake City, for plaintiff.

David E. Yocom, Paul Maughan(argued), Salt Lake Co. Atty.'s Office, Salt Lake City, for defendant.

Before DAVIDSON, BENCH and JACKSON, JJ.

MEMORANDUM DECISION

JACKSON, Judge:

Robert J. DeBry("DeBry") filed a petition in this court seeking direct appellate review of a final order of the Salt Lake County Board of Appeals("Board").We dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.

DeBry proceeds from the premise that a direct "appeal" to some court of this state from a final order of a local governmental agency is an inherent right.However, the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals and the district court's appellate jurisdiction must be provided by statute.Utah Const. art. VIII, § 5.Because there is no constitutional or other statutory provision creating a right to judicial review--in either court--of final orders of local administratove agencies such as the Board, ¹ DeBry contends our general jurisdictional statute must be interpreted as the statutory grant of a right of direct "appeal" to this court.We do not agree.

At the time DeBry's petition was filed, that statute provided: "The Court of Appeals has appellate jurisdiction ... over: (a) the final orders and decrees of state and local agencies or appeals from the district court review of them...."Utah Code Ann. § 78-2a-3(2)(a)(1987).²This general statute defines the outermost limits of our appellate jurisdiction, allowing us to review agency decisions only when the legislature expressly authorizes a right of review.SeeState ex rel. Dep't of Human Servs. v. Manfre, 102 N.M. 241, 693 P.2d 1273, 1275(Ct.App.1984).It is not a catchall provision authorizing us to review the orders of every administrative agency for which there is no statute specifically creating a right to judicial review.In the absence of such a specific statute, we have no jurisdiction.³

DeBry's petition is therefore dismissed.

DAVIDSON and BENCH, JJ., concur.

1Cf.Utah Const. art. VIII, § 5("Except for matters filed originally with the supreme court, there shall be in all cases an appeal of right from the court of original jurisdiction to a court with appellate jurisdiction over the cause.").

2The statute was recently amended by 1988 Utah Laws, ch. 73, § 1(effective April 25, 1988).It now reads, in pertinent part:

(2)The Court of Appeals has appellate jurisdiction ... over:

(a) the final orders and decrees resulting from formal adjudicative proceedings of state agencies or appeals from the district court review of informal adjudicative proceedings of the agencies ...;

(b) appeals from the district court review of adjudicative proceedings of agencies of political subdivisions of the state or other local agencies[.]

Utah Code Ann. § 78-2a-3(2)(1988).

3Our determination that this court has no jurisdiction in this case does not leave parties without a remedy for arbitrary or unlawful local agency action where there is no statute specifically authorizing judicial review.See, e.g., ...