Motor Vehicle Admin. v. Geppert
| Decision Date | 27 July 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 61, September Term, 2019,61, September Term, 2019 |
| Citation | 233 A.3d 102,470 Md. 28 |
| Parties | MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION, et al. v. Karl GEPPERT |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Argued by Neil I. Jacobs and Leight D. Collins, Assistant Attorneys General (Brian E. Frosh, Attorney General of Maryland of Glen Burnie, MD), on brief, for Petitioners.
Argued by Stuart A. Schadt (Law Offices of Stuart A. Schadt, LLC of Baltimore, MD), on brief, for Respondents.
Argued before: Barbera, C.J., McDonald, Hotten, Getty, Booth, Biran, Lynne A. Battaglia (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.
This appeal poses the question whether a court must enforce a final administrative decision of an executive branch agency when the losing party previously failed to seek judicial review of that decision, even if the relief granted by that decision violates a statute that specifically prohibits the agency from taking the action required by the administrative decision.
A State statute requires, as a condition for obtaining a Maryland driver's license, that an applicant provide the Motor Vehicle Administration ("MVA") with the applicant's social security number, or proof that the applicant is ineligible for a social security number. A second statute explicitly bars the MVA from issuing a license to an applicant who fails to satisfy that requirement.
This case began when Respondent Karl Geppert, who does not have a social security number but is eligible for one, applied for a learner's permit (an initial step toward a driver's license). Petitioner MVA denied Mr. Geppert's application because he failed to satisfy the statutory requirement related to providing a social security number. However, the MVA's computer application form, which reflected an earlier, repealed regulation that preceded the applicable statutes, effectively inquired only whether an applicant had a social security number, but not whether the applicant was eligible for one. Mr. Geppert had accurately responded only that he did not have a social security number, without certifying anything as to his eligibility for obtaining one. Mr. Geppert requested a hearing to contest the MVA's denial of his application.
The MVA has delegated the conduct of hearings and the authority to render a final administrative decision on its behalf to administrative law judges ("ALJ's") in the Office of Administrative Hearings. At the hearing in Mr. Geppert's case, the ALJ concluded that Mr. Geppert had not complied with the statutory requirement to provide a social security number. However, the ALJ ordered that a learner's permit be issued to him, apparently based on the ALJ's belief that the repealed regulation, on which the computer application was based, was still in effect and trumped the statutes. The MVA did not seek judicial review of the ALJ's final administrative decision.
Mr. Geppert brought a judicial enforcement action under the State Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") and requested a writ of mandamus to enforce the ALJ's ruling. The Circuit Court concluded that the ALJ's decision was based on an incorrect legal premise and held that Mr. Geppert did not have a "clear legal right" to the relief he requested. On appeal, the Court of Special Appeals reversed, holding that the Circuit Court was barred from considering the legal soundness of the ALJ's decision.
In our view, a circuit court asked to enforce an administrative order based on a final administrative decision under the APA is not precluded from considering whether the relief ordered would violate the law on which the administrative decision is based. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the Court of Special Appeals.
The Maryland Vehicle Law is part of the Transportation Article ("TR") of the Maryland Code and is administered by the MVA.1 Pertinent to this case, the General Assembly has directed the MVA, in administering that law, to "examine and determine the legality of each application made to it under the Maryland Vehicle Law" and to reject an application, if not satisfied as to its legality. TR § 12-106. The MVA is authorized to adopt regulations and create necessary forms to carry out that law. TR §§ 12-104(b), 12-105. The regulations that the agency has adopted for implementing the Maryland Vehicle Law are codified in Subtitles 11 through 23 of Title 11 of the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR).
The authority to operate a motor vehicle on a public road in Maryland is governed by Title 16 of the Maryland Vehicle Law. To do so legally, an individual must either (1) have a Maryland driver's license issued pursuant to Title 16; (2) be expressly exempted in Title 16 from the licensing requirement;2 or (3) be otherwise specifically authorized by Title 16 to drive a specific class of vehicle.3 TR § 16-101(a). This case concerns one of the requirements for satisfying the first of these alternatives under Title 16 – obtaining a Maryland driver's license.
An individual can begin the process for obtaining a Maryland driver's license, upon reaching the age of 15 years and nine months, by applying for a learner's instructional permit as a precursor to a driver's license.4 TR §§ 16-103(c)(1), 16-105. To do so, the applicant must complete an application for a driver's license provided by the MVA that asks for information required by the relevant provisions of Title 16, pass a vision test, and pay the requisite fee. TR §§ 16-105(a), 16-106, 16-110. As a prerequisite to obtaining a learner's permit, the applicant must also take an exam administered at an MVA office. TR § 16-110; COMAR 11.17.05.09. Upon reaching the age of 16 years and six months and meeting certain criteria, a holder of a learner's permit may obtain a provisional license. TR §§ 16-103(c)(2), 16-111.
The information that an applicant must provide in an application for a driver's license – and for a learner's permit en route to a license – is specified in TR § 16-106 and related regulations. For example, the applicant must provide the applicant's full name and address, certain demographic information (race, sex, height, weight, general physical condition, date of birth), proof of age and identity, and information about prior licenses held or applied for. Pertinent to this case, an applicant must also provide:
TR § 16-106(c). We shall refer to this condition for obtaining a license as the "SSN requirement."5
In addition to requiring an applicant to take certain affirmative steps – such as satisfying the SSN requirement – to obtain a driver's license, the Maryland Vehicle Law expressly prohibits the MVA from issuing a driver's license, or a learner's permit en route to a license, if the applicant fails to qualify for the license for a number of enumerated reasons. TR § 16-103.1. Among those reasons is an applicant's failure to satisfy the SSN requirement. TR § 16-103.1(11). That provision states that the MVA "may not issue a driver's license to an individual ... who does not [satisfy the SSN requirement]," in language essentially identical to that of TR § 16-106(c) quoted above. In the Maryland Code, the verb phrase "may not" is defined to have "a mandatory negative effect and establishes a prohibition." Maryland Code, General Provisions Article, § 1-203. TR § 16-103.1(11) thus bars the agency from issuing a license to one who fails to satisfy the SSN requirement.
Title 16 of the Maryland Vehicle Law provides for an administrative hearing in certain circumstances where the MVA refuses to issue or renew a driver's license, suspends a license, or revokes a license. TR § 16-206. The MVA is to provide such a hearing pursuant to the hearing provisions of the Maryland Vehicle Law. See TR § 12-201 et seq .6 That statute generally requires the MVA to provide notice and a prompt hearing following a request for one. TR § 12-203. The hearings are to be conducted in accordance with the contested case procedures set forth in the APA, Maryland Code, State Government Article ("SG"), § 10-201 et seq . With respect to hearings concerning driver's licenses, the MVA is to render a decision within 30 days of the hearing. TR § 12-203(b)(3).
As permitted by statute, the MVA has, by regulation, delegated to the Office of Administrative Hearings the authority to conduct hearings on the MVA's behalf under the Maryland Vehicle Law, including hearings concerning driver's licenses. See TR § 12-104(e); COMAR 11.11.02.07. That delegation authorizes the ALJ who conducts the hearing to issue a final decision and order on behalf of the MVA. COMAR 11.11.02.07A.
Once an ALJ has issued a final decision on behalf of the MVA, judicial review of that decision is available in a circuit court pursuant to the judicial review provision of the APA and the Maryland Rules. TR § 12-209(b); SG § 10-222 ; Maryland Rule 7-201 et seq . A party may also seek enforcement of an administrative order under the APA by filing an action in the circuit court in which the party requests declaratory or injunctive relief, or a writ of mandamus. SG § 10-222.1.
For most actions brought under the APA, an appeal from a circuit court decision ordinarily takes the usual route to the Court of Special Appeals. SG § 10-223. However, there is an exception for cases arising under Title 16 of the Maryland Vehicle Law. SG § 10-223(a)(1). In cases subject to that exception, any further review is not in the Court of Special Appeals, but rather by a ...
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