Dietz v. Dubuque Human Rights Commission, 66197
| Decision Date | 17 March 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 66197,66197 |
| Citation | 316 N.W.2d 859 |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
| Parties | James L. DIETZ, Appellant, v. DUBUQUE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION and Dubuque Yacht Basin, Inc., a/k/a Leisure World Corporation, Appellees. |
John Lansing Brown, Legal Services Corp. of Iowa, Dubuque, for appellant.
James A. O'Brien of Conzett, Norman, Lindahl, O'Brien & Bauer, Dubuque, for appellee Dubuque Yacht Basin, Inc.
Considered by REYNOLDSON, C. J., and LeGRAND, HARRIS, McGIVERIN, and SCHULTZ, JJ.
In this appeal James L. Dietz asserts he had a right to judicial review of a Dubuque Human Rights Commission finding there was no probable cause to support his complaint that Dubuque Yacht Basin, Inc., illegally discriminated against him because of his physical disability. District court held it was without jurisdiction to undertake the review and by separate order sustained the special appearance of Dubuque Yacht Basin, Inc. We reverse and remand.
I. The commission's no-probable-cause determination was issued December 21, 1979, and reaffirmed May 2, 1980, following Dietz's motion to reconsider, which for these purposes we will view as a motion for rehearing. May 30, 1980, Dietz filed his "Petition for Judicial Review of Agency Action" in district court.
District court grounded its determination it had no review jurisdiction on section 601A.19, The Code 1979, a part of the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965. See § 601A.1, The Code. The first paragraph of section 601A.19 was former section 601A.17, The Code 1977, which provided:
Nothing contained in any provision of this chapter shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of the general assembly to occupy the field in which this chapter operates to the exclusion of local laws not inconsistent with this chapter that deal with the same subject matter.
Effective January 1, 1979, the legislature added several unnumbered paragraphs to the above provision. 1978 Iowa Acts ch. 1179, § 21. Our research into the legislative history of this amendment casts no illumination on the legislative intent in expanding what is now section 601A.19. See IPALCO Employees Credit Union v. Culver, 309 N.W.2d 484, 487 (Iowa 1981). The first additional paragraph added by the legislature provided:
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as indicating an intent to prohibit an agency of local government having as its purpose the investigation and resolution of violations of this chapter from developing procedures and remedies necessary to insure the protection of rights secured by the Iowa civil rights Act. An agency of local government and the Iowa civil rights commission shall cooperate in the sharing of data and research, and coordinating investigations and conciliations in order to eliminate needless duplication.
The remaining unnumbered paragraphs added by the 1978 amendment authorized the Iowa Civil Rights Commission to designate an agency of local government as a "referral agency," established qualifications for such agency, and provided for interaction between the two agencies. This appeal centers on the added paragraph that provides:
A final decision by a referral agency shall be subject to judicial review as provided in section 601A.15 in the same manner and to the same extent as a final decision of the commission.
The reference to section 601A.15 in the above-added paragraph was editorially changed to 601A.17 by the Code Editor in the 1979 Code when former section 601A.17 was changed to 601A.19 and former section 601A.15 was renumbered 601A.17.
Section 601A.17, The Code 1979, is entitled "Judicial review--enforcement." Subsection (1) states in part that "[j]udicial review of the actions of the commission may be sought in accordance with the terms of the Iowa administrative procedure Act."
II. District court held that it had no jurisdiction to review the Dubuque Human Rights Commission decision because it was not a designated "referral agency." The court relied on the above-quoted section 601A.19 unnumbered paragraph providing that "[a] final decision by a referral agency shall be subject to judicial review as provided in section 601A.17." The court reasoned that jurisdiction to review could only be conferred by constitution or statute and that municipalities have no power to expand, create, or contract the jurisdiction of district courts.
The parties assume the district court's jurisdiction to review administrative agency actions must be conferred by statute. See generally § 602.2, The Code. Petitioner concedes that the Dubuque agency is not a designated "referral agency." Nonetheless, he argues that the provisions of section 601A.19, read in light of our decisions in Cedar Rapids Human Rights Commission v. Cedar Rapids Community School District, 222 N.W.2d 391 (Iowa 1974), and City of Iowa City v. Westinghouse Learning Corp., 264 N.W.2d 771 (Iowa 1978), provide the necessary statutory authority to confer jurisdiction.
Both of these decisions were filed before the amendment was adopted that added the above unnumbered paragraphs to what is now section 601A.19. Cedar Rapids Human Rights Commission was filed before adoption of the Iowa Administrative Procedure Act. Nonetheless, the two opinions provide a backdrop for interpreting section 601A.19 provisions.
In Cedar Rapids Human Rights Commission, 222 N.W.2d at 398, we examined section 601A.12, The Code 1973, now the first paragraph of section 601A.19, The Code. We determined this statute, coupled with the Iowa Constitution article III section 38A (municipal home rule) and statutes implementing home rule, permitted the creation of the Cedar Rapids agency. We cited authority in concluding that quasi-judicial functions could be conferred and exercised by an administrative agency, provided, inter alia, that the administrative actions are subject to judicial review. Cedar Rapids Human Rights Commission, 222 N.W.2d at 400. After noting that section 601A.10, The Code 1973, provided for review of commission orders through de novo district court hearings, 1 id. at 401, and further observing that the Cedar Rapids ordinance made no provision for appeal and was therefore "inconsistent" wi...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Botsko v. Davenport Civil Rights Com'n
...not authorized). Iowa Code section 216.19 authorizes a city to adopt its own civil rights ordinance. Dietz v. Dubuque Human Rights Comm'n, 316 N.W.2d 859, 861 (Iowa 1982) (discussing the municipal authority to establish civil rights commissions under 601A.19 now section 216.19). The relevan......
-
Petro v. Palmer Coll. of Chiropractic
...364.1. We find nothing in section 216.19 to overcome that.C. Other Considerations. We acknowledge that in Dietz v. Dubuque Human Rights Commission , 316 N.W.2d 859, 861–62 (Iowa 1982), we held that judicial review was available under Iowa Code section 17A.19 over a local civil rights agency......
-
Molitor v. City of Cedar Rapids, 84-71
...Id. at 773. In contrast, a local human rights ordinance provision for judicial review was upheld in Dietz v. Dubuque Human Rights Commission, 316 N.W.2d 859, 861 (Iowa 1982), because the provision was derived from and required in the statutory grant. No such statutory authority or mandate a......
-
Consolidated Freightways, Inc. v. Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Com'n, 84-125
...commission like the one in Cedar Rapids is deemed a "referral agency" for purposes of this provision. See Dietz v. Dubuque Human Rights Commission, 316 N.W.2d 859, 860-61 (Iowa 1982). Therefore the district court acquired jurisdiction of the case upon the employer's petition for judicial re......