Huelsman v. Kansas Dept. of Revenue

• Decision Date: 04 June 1999
• Docket Number: No. 80,545,80,545
• Citation: 267 Kan. 456,980 P.2d 1022
• Parties: Darin Lee HUELSMAN, Appellee, v. KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, Appellant.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

Page 1022

980 P.2d 1022

267 Kan. 456

Darin Lee HUELSMAN, Appellee, v. KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, Appellant.

No. 80,545.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

June 4, 1999.

Syllabus by the Court

1. Under Kansas law, collateral estoppel may be invoked where the following is shown: (1) a prior judgment on the merits which determined the rights and liabilities of the parties on the issue based upon ultimate facts as disclosed by the pleadings and judgment, (2) the parties must be the same or in privity, and (3) the issue litigated must have been determined and necessary to support the judgment.

2. While reasonable grounds is synonymous in meaning with probable cause, one may have reasonable grounds to believe that a person was operating a vehicle under the influence but not have the probable cause required to arrest under K.S.A.1996 Supp. 8-1001(b)(1). An arresting officer may formulate reasonable grounds sufficient to request a test under the statute before or after arrest and, under K.S.A.1996 Supp. 8-1001(b)(2), without any arrest whatsoever.

James G. Keller, of the Kansas Department of Revenue, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellant.

Wm. Rex Lorson, of Salina, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellee.

ABBOTT, J.:

This is an appeal by the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDR) from the Saline County District Court's ruling that collateral estoppel barred the KDR from suspending Darin Lee Huelsman's driver's license under the Kansas Implied Consent Law.

Huelsman was arrested in Salina, Kansas, and charged in Salina Municipal Court with operating or attempting to operate a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration of .08 or greater or, in the alternative, with operating or attempting to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. When arrested, Huelsman failed a breath test, which was certified to the KDR pursuant to K.S.A.1996 Supp. 8-1002.

On February 20, 1997, the administrative hearing officer determined that the law enforcement officer had reasonable grounds to believe that Huelsman had been operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and properly requested that Huelsman submit to an evidentiary breath test. The hearing officer entered an order suspending Huelsman's driving privileges for 1 year pursuant to K.S.A.1996 Supp. 8-1014(b)(2).

On February 28, 1997, the Salina Municipal Court suppressed the evidence because Huelsman was arrested without probable cause. That same day, Huelsman filed a petition for review that is the subject of this appeal. The petition for review was subsequently amended to claim collateral estoppel as a result of the Salina Municipal Court's holding that Huelsman was arrested without probable cause. Then, on March 25, 1997, the Salina Municipal Court, at the request of the City of Salina, entered an order dismissing the criminal charge without prejudice.

At no time while the criminal matter was pending before the Salina Municipal Court did the city prosecutor for the City of Salina contact the KDR and its attorneys regarding the case. The KDR and its attorneys were provided no notice of any of the proceedings in the criminal matter, including the motion to suppress. The city prosecutor did not inform or consult with the KDR or its attorneys regarding the outcome of the suppression hearing or the decision not to appeal the order issued by the Salina Municipal Court. The city prosecutor was not aware of the existence of an appeal by Huelsman from the administrative hearing order.

The district court determined that the City of Salina, in the criminal DUI case, and the KDR, in the appeal from the administrative hearing, were in privity for the purposes of collateral estoppel. The district court further determined that collateral estoppel should be applied to prevent redetermination of the reasonable grounds issue in the appeal from the administrative hearing, based upon the Salina Municipal Court's determination of the probable cause issue in the criminal matter. KDR appealed.

Kansas Implied Consent Law

K.S.A.1996 Supp. 8-1001 is the implied consent law. K.S.A.1996 Supp. 8-1001(a) provides in pertinent part:

"Any person who operates or attempts to operate a vehicle within this state is deemed to have given consent, subject to the provisions of this act, to submit to one or more tests of the person's blood, breath, urine or other bodily substance to determine the presence of alcohol or drugs."

K.S.A.1996 Supp. 8-1001(b) contains the "reasonable grounds" language and states:

"A law enforcement officer shall request a person to submit to a test or tests deemed consented to under subsection (a) if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person was operating or attempting to operate a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both, ... and one of the following conditions exists: (1) The person has been arrested or otherwise taken into custody for any offense involving operation or attempted operation of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both...."

Collateral Estoppel

In Jackson Trak Group, Inc. v. Mid States Port Authority, 242 Kan. 683, 690, 751 P.2d 122 (1988), the court stated:

"Under Kansas law, collateral estoppel may be invoked where the following is shown: (1) a prior judgment on the merits which determined the rights and liabilities of the parties on the issue based upon ultimate facts as disclosed by the pleadings and judgment, (2) the parties must be the same or in privity, and (3) the issue litigated must have been determined and necessary to support the judgment. [Citation omitted.]"

Whether a party is in privity with another for purposes of collateral estoppel is a policy decision.

In its memorandum decision, the district court ruled that "reasonable grounds" in K.S.A 8-1001 et seq. has been equated with probable cause. The district court reasoned that in order to sustain the administrative finding that Huelsman's driver's license should be suspended, it must be shown that the arresting officer had probable cause to conclude that Huelsman was operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. The district court found that "[t]his issue has already been fully litigated in the Municipal Court of Salina, Kansas, and it has been determined that there was not probable cause. Under the doctrine of collateral estoppel, the [KDR] is precluded from relitigating this issue, and judgment should be issued in favor of [Huelsman]." The district court further ruled:

"[T]he prior judgment was entered on the merits which determined the rights and liabilities of the parties, that is, the Municipal Court Judge found that there was no probable cause to arrest the defendant.

"The second issue is whether or not the parties are in privity. It was determined in City of Manhattan v. Huncovsky [, 22 Kan.App.2d 189, 913 P.2d 227 (1996) ] that the [KDR] and the City of Manhattan were in privity. The court finds that the [KDR] and the City of Salina are in privity.

"The third point is that the issue litigated must have been determined and necessary to support the judgment. As stated in K.S.A. 8-1001, one of the requirements which must be met by the [KDR] to sustain the administrative order is that there was reasonable cause, that is probable cause, to arrest the defendant.

"The court finds that it has already been determined that there was not, and therefore there is no basis on which the order can be sustained."

The district court further reasoned:

"It is important for the court to note that the Huncovsky case set forth all the rules of collateral estoppel and stated that collateral estoppel would apply in situations where those elements are met. The court did decide, however, that it may not apply in the particular situation presented in Huncovsky because of the quality and extensiveness of the procedures at the administrative hearing. What the Huncovsky case determined was that the doctrine of collateral estoppel would not apply to bar relitigation of issues in the subsequent criminal proceeding when they have been [litigated] at a prior administrative hearing. This was simply because these administrative hearings were held without attorneys representing both sides, and further, that they were held in front of an administrative hearing officer rather than a judge."

"This is not the case here. The plaintiff seeks the application of the doctrine of collateral estoppel based upon the results of a hearing before a judge where both sides were represented by counsel and a full and extensive hearing was held.

"Collateral estoppel does apply. The issue of probable cause was fully litigated and determined adversely to the City of Salina. The City of Salina is in privity with the [KDR], and therefore, there is no need to relitigate the issue. It has already been resolved in the plaintiff's favor herein, and his appeal should be sustained and the order of the [KDR] set aside."

We believe the trial court was wrong because of the privity issue and also because the disparity between the quality and extensiveness of the criminal and administrative procedures justifies an exception to the rule of collateral estoppel.

The term "arms of the same governmental body" first appears in Pierce v. Board of County Commissioners, 200 Kan. 74, 85, 434 P.2d 858 (1967), and was used to describe two arms of Leavenworth County--the sheriff and the county treasurer.

In State v. Parson, 15 Kan.App.2d 374, 808 P.2d 444 (1991), defendant Richard Parsons was convicted in a state court for operating an unregistered vehicle. Parson's employer had previously obtained a judgment in a declaratory judgment action against the Kansas Motor Vehicle Department that the vehicle was not required to be registered. The Court of Appeals' panel held the State, as a prosecutor, and the Kansas Motor Vehicle Department were both arms of the same government--the State--and, thus, in privity under Pierce.

The Court...