LIMESTONE COUNTY WATER AND SEWER v. City of Athens

• Decision Date: 11 June 2004
• Citation: 896 So.2d 531
• Parties: LIMESTONE COUNTY WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY v. CITY OF ATHENS.
• Court: Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

896 So.2d 531

LIMESTONE COUNTY WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY v. CITY OF ATHENS.

2020966.

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama.

June 11, 2004.

Certiorari Denied September 24, 2004.

Winston V. Legge, Jr., of Wilmer & Lee, PA, Athens, for appellant.

J. Jeffery Rich and William R. Lunsford of Sirote & Permutt, P.C., Huntsville, for appellee.

Alabama Supreme Court 1031474.

MURDOCK, Judge.

Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority ("the Authority") appeals from an adverse judgment entered by the Limestone Circuit Court on a complaint filed by the City of Athens ("the City") for reimbursement of funds allegedly expended by the City to train a water-treatment operator. We reverse and remand.

The Authority is a public corporation incorporated in 1980 pursuant to § 11-88-1, Ala.Code 1975, to provide water service for those portions of Limestone County not receiving such service from certain municipalities or other providers. The City has provided water for its residents since 1903, and it operates a water-treatment facility for that purpose. The City hired Tim Mitchell to be a water-treatment operator and, on January 16, 1998, he began working at the City's facility. Before Mitchell was hired he had no experience as a water-treatment operator.

Training to be a water-treatment operator entails certification at ascending grades of expertise. An employee is required to take certain classes, to spend a certain number of hours working at a water-treatment facility, and to take an exam before he or she is certified at a particular grade level. The State of Alabama requires that a "Grade IV" water-treatment facility be operated by a "Grade IV" water-treatment operator when the facility is filtering more than two gallons of water per minute; when the facility is filtering two or less gallons of water per minute, then a "Grade III" operator may operate the facility without supervision. Ala. Admin. Code (ADEM), r. 335-10-1-.04.

In October 1998, while working for the City, Mitchell became certified as a "Grade III" water-treatment operator after having attended required classes, receiving on-the-job training and experience, and passing a required State exam. After reaching this grade level, Mitchell operated the City's facility without supervision on several occasions. Before reaching "Grade III" status, Mitchell had been designated as a water operator "trainee" by the City. Mitchell then continued to receive training and experience necessary toward achieving "Grade IV" status. However, on November 13, 1998, Mitchell began working for the Authority. Almost two years later, in October 2000, Mitchell obtained his "Grade IV" certification while employed by the Authority.

The City filed a complaint against the Authority on June 29, 2000, claiming that the Authority owed it, pursuant to § 22-25-16, Ala.Code 1975, for the "total expenses" incurred by the City for providing the training necessary for Mitchell to receive certification as a "Grade III" and "Grade IV" water-treatment operator. The Authority answered the complaint and denied that it was obliged to pay the City under § 22-25-16. The Authority filed a motion for a summary judgment on September 4, 2002; the City responded to the Authority's motion and it filed its own motion for a summary judgment. Following a hearing, the trial court entered an order on December 11, 2002, denying the Authority's motion for a summary judgment and setting a hearing to determine the appropriate amount of reimbursement to be awarded to the City. Both parties agree that the trial court implicitly entered a summary judgment in favor of the City on the question whether the Authority is liable under § 22-25-16. The trial court did not provide any reasons for its decision.

The trial court received both written and oral evidence at the March 19, 2003, hearing concerning the appropriate amount of reimbursement to be awarded to the City for its training of Mitchell. The City contended that all of the expenses associated with keeping Mitchell as an employee, including his salary, life insurance matching, and retirement matching, were reimbursable; the Authority contended that only those expenses directly related to training, such as classes and travel to and from those classes, were reimbursable. The trial court entered a judgment on May 12, 2003, awarding the City the total amount of expenses it had incurred as a result of Mitchell's employment: $28,854.77. The Authority filed a motion to alter, amend, or vacate the judgment, which the trial court denied on June 13, 2003. The Authority appealed to our Supreme Court, which transferred the case to this court as one properly within the jurisdiction of this court because of the amount in controversy. See § 12-3-10, Ala.Code 1975. The Authority's first argument on appeal is that it is not an entity subject to the reimbursement requirements of § 22-25-16, Ala.Code 1975.

Section 22-25-16 provides:

"In those instances in which a water or wastewater operator of any municipality, municipal utility board, county, or the state is employed by the State of Alabama, any county, municipality, or another municipal utility board, within 24 months after completing the certification requirements mandated by this chapter, the total expense paid by the water or wastewater operator's governmental employer to enable the operator to become certified, including, but not limited to, salary paid during training, transportation costs paid to the trainee for travel to and from the training facility, room, board, tuition, overtime paid to other employees who fill in for the trainee during his or her absence, and any other related training expenses, shall be reimbursed to the municipality, municipal utility board, county, or the state which paid for the training. The municipality, municipal utility board, county, or the state which paid for the training shall submit an itemized sworn statement to the new employer of the water or wastewater operator, as the case may be, shall demand payment thereof, and may enforce collection of the obligation through civil remedies and procedures. The terms `water operator' and `wastewater operator' shall have the same meanings as in Section 22-25-1."

The Authority concedes that Mitchell was employed by the Authority as a water-treatment operator within 24 months after receiving his Grade III certification and that Mitchell worked for the City until being hired by the Authority. However, the Authority contends that it is not an entity to which the reimbursement provisions of § 22-25-16 apply. The Authority contends that it is a public corporation, not "the State of Alabama, any county, municipality, or another municipal utility board," and, therefore, that it is not subject to the reimbursement requirement of § 22-25-16. The City counters that the Authority must be considered part of "the State" when other provisions of the Code are considered and in order to ensure adherence to the clear legislative intent of § 22-25-16.

The Authority is a "water authority"; it is undisputed that such entities are created pursuant to § 11-88-1 et seq., Ala.Code 1975. Section 11-88-1(2) defines an "authority" as "[a] public corporation organized pursuant to the provisions of this article." Thus, there is no question that the Authority is a "public corporation." "It is well established by the decisions of this Court that a public corporation is a separate entity from the State and from any local political subdivision thereof, including a city or county...." Knight v. West Alabama Envtl. Improvement Auth., 287 Ala. 15, 19, 246 So.2d 903, 905 (1971). This principle has been reaffirmed by our Supreme Court on numerous occasions. See, e.g., Stallings & Sons, Inc. v. Alabama Bldg. Renovation Fin. Auth., 689 So.2d 790, 792-93 (Ala.1996)

("`A public corporation is a separate entity from the state and from any local political subdivision.'" (quoting Coxe v. Water Works Bd., 288 Ala. 332, 337, 261 So.2d 12, 15 (1972))); Smith v. Industrial Dev. Bd. of Andalusia, 455 So.2d 839, 840 (Ala.1984) ("[A] public corporation ... is a separate entity from a county, city, or town. It is not the alter ego or agent of the municipality in which it is organized. It is also not a subdivision of the state."); Coxe v. Water Works Bd., 288 Ala. at 337, 261 So.2d at 15; Opinion of the Justices No. 120, 254 Ala. 506, 511, 49 So.2d 175, 180 (1950); and Opinion of the Justices No. 169, 270 Ala. 147, 148, 116 So.2d 588, 589-90 (1959) ("It has been repeatedly held that a public corporation is an entity separate and distinct from the State....").

The City attempts to counter this authority by citing to § 11-88-2, Ala.Code 1975, which states that "[t]his article is intended to aid the state in the execution of its duties by providing appropriate and independent instrumentalities of the state with full and adequate powers to fulfill their functions." (Emphasis added.) The City argues that § 22-25-16 should be construed in conjunction with § 11-88-2 and that, because the Authority is contemplated to be an "instrumentality" of the State by § 11-88-2, it must be considered as part of "the State" as referenced in § 22-25-16. The City also cites to dictionaries¹ that define the term "instrumentality" as "a subsidiary branch" or an "agency," and contends that § 11-88-2 therefore dictates that water authorities are agencies of the State.

As the City itself observes, this court should not simply look at "isolated phrases or clauses" in ascertaining the meaning and application of a statute. E.g., Darks Dairy, Inc. v. Alabama Dairy Comm'n, 367 So.2d 1378, 1380 (Ala.1979)

(citing Opinion of the Justices No. 153, 264 Ala. 176, 85 So.2d 391 (1956)).

"In interpreting a statute, this Court must ascertain and effectuate the intent of the Legislature as expressed by the statute. When determining legislative intent from the language used in a statute, a court may explain the language, but it may not

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