Nichols v. Director of Revenue

• Citation: 116 S.W.3d 583
• Decision Date: 30 June 2003
• Docket Number: No. WD 61970.,WD 61970.
• Parties: Megan Elise NICHOLS, Appellant, v. DIRECTOR OF REVENUE, Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

116 S.W.3d 583

Megan Elise NICHOLS, Appellant, v. DIRECTOR OF REVENUE, Respondent.

No. WD 61970.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.

June 30, 2003.

Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer to Supreme Court Denied September 2, 2003.

Application for Transfer Denied October 28, 2003.

Bruce B. Brown, Kearney, MO, for Appellant.

Jennifer A. Kopp, Kansas City, MO, for Respondent.

Before HOWARD, P.J., LOWENSTEIN and HARDWICK, JJ.

HAROLD L. LOWENSTEIN, Judge.

Appellant Megan Nichols appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing Count I of her "Petition for Review and Petition for Trial De Novo." On appeal, Nichols claims that the trial court erred in dismissing Count I and ruling that section 302.311¹ was not available to her as a remedy of judicial review of the Director of Revenue's decision to suspend her license. She claims that both section 302.311 and section 302.535 provide for judicial review of administrative decisions to suspend a license. Because this court finds that section 302.311 does not provide an alternative means for judicial review, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Factual and Procedural History

On November 23, 2001, Megan Nichols was stopped by a Smithville police officer for a traffic violation. During the stop, the officer observed "indicia of consumption of an alcoholic beverage." A chemical test was administered and Nichols' blood alcohol content (BAC) was found to be .049% by weight. Because Nichols was under the age of twenty-one and had a BAC of.02% or greater, Nichols license was seized pursuant to section 302.505.1. Nichols timely filed a request for an administrative hearing. On March 11, 2002, a hearing was held before a hearing officer. On April 1, 2002, the hearing officer sustained the suspension of Nichols' license.

Nichols subsequently filed a "Petition for Review and Petition for Trial De Novo" in the Circuit Court of Clay County. Count I of the Petition requested "a hearing" under section 302.311. Count II requested a trial de novo under section 302.535 "as a concurrent or an alternative action to" Count I. Counsel for the Director filed an "Entry of Appearance and Answer" in which asked the court to dismiss Count I since Nichols "ha[d] an adequate statutory remedy" under section 302.535 and that remedy was requested under Count II. After "hearing arguments and reviewing the caselaw[,]" the court entered judgment on August 22, 2002, dismissing Count I. On September 17, 2002, Nichols filed a dismissal with prejudice of Count II, her request for review under section 302.535. This appeal follows.

Standard of Review

Both Nichols and Director state that the standard of review in this case is that outlined in Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976). This case, however, did not proceed to trial and was decided based upon the motion filed by the Director. While the trial court ruled on the motion to dismiss, a hearing was held on that motion and the issues were briefed.² Thus, the motion to dismiss would then be treated as one for summary judgment. See Deeken v. City of St. Louis, 27 S.W.3d 868, 870 (Mo.App.2000). Nonetheless, this case involves the issue of statutory construction, which is a question of law, and this court's review is de novo. Estate of Burford ex rel. Bruse v. Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P., 83 S.W.3d 589, 594 (Mo.App.2002).

Analysis

Nichols' sole point on appeal is that the trial court erred in sustaining the Director's motion to dismiss, ruling that section 302.311 was not available to Nichols as a remedy for judicial review of the Director's decision to suspend her license. She claims that section 302.535 is not the sole legal remedy and section 302.535 does not always provide an adequate remedy. She argues that review under section 302.311 should be allowed since it, and not section 302.535, provides for judicial scrutiny of the administrative hearing officer's decision.

The ultimate question before this court is whether section 302.311 and section 302.535 provide dual remedies for judicial review of the Director's decision to suspend an individual's driver's license. Section 302.535 is part of the Suspension and Revocation Administrative Procedure Act, sections 302.500-302.541, which sets forth "an orderly process for review of the suspension or revocation of a driver's license in which an administrative hearing is conducted by the department prior to a trial de novo before the circuit court." Jenkins v. Dir. of Revenue, 858 S.W.2d 257, 260 (Mo.App.1993). This Act specifically relates to suspension and revocation of drivers' license due to excessive blood alcohol content. Section 302.535.1 provides for trial de novo before the circuit court after a person's license has been suspended or revoked. It reads, in part, as follows:

Any person aggrieved by a decision of the department may file a petition for trial de novo by the circuit court. The burden of proof shall be on the state to adduce the evidence. Such trial shall be conducted pursuant to the Missouri rules of civil procedure and not as an appeal of an administrative decision pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo. The petition shall be filed in the circuit court of the county where the arrest occurred....

(Emphasis supplied).

Judicial review under section 302.311 is located in a part of the general provisions relating to drivers' licenses. See e.g., Marsala v. Dir. of Revenue, 793 S.W.2d 492, 494 (Mo.App.1990). The relevant portion of section 302.311 reads as follows:

In the event an application for a license is denied or withheld, or in the event that a license is suspended or revoked by the director, the applicant or licensee so aggrieved may appeal to the circuit court of the county of his residence in the manner provided by chapter 536, RSMo, for the review of administrative decisions at any time within thirty days after notice that a license is denied or withheld or that a license is suspended or revoked....

(Emphasis supplied).

In construing statutes, "courts must `ascertain the intent of the legislature from the language used, to give effect to that intent if possible, and to consider words used in the statute in their plain and ordinary meaning.'" Andresen v. Bd. of Regents of Mo. W. State Coll., 58 S.W.3d 581, 587 (Mo.App.2001) (quoting Farmers' & Laborers' Co-op. Ins. Ass'n v. Dir. of Revenue, 742 S.W.2d 141, 145 (Mo. banc 1987)). Where the language of the statute is ambiguous or where "its plain meaning would lead to an illogical result," then this court will "look past the plain and ordinary meaning of a statute." Id. Generally, statutes relating to the same subject are considered in pari materia, even if those statutes were enacted at different times. Id. "Where two statutes concerning the same subject matter, when read individually, are unambiguous, but conflict when read together, [this court] will attempt to reconcile them and give effect to both." Habjan v. Earnest, 2 S.W.3d 875, 881 (Mo.App. 1999). If, however, the two statutes cannot be reconciled, then the more specific statute will prevail over the general statute. Andresen, 58 S.W.3d at 587; See also Habjan, 2 S.W.3d at 881.

Although reading the two statutes separately does not present any ambiguity or conflict, when read together certain questions arise. While Nichols argues that reading the two statutes together "reveals no repugnancies," this court does not agree. By Nichols' own argument, the two statutes conflict with respect to the scope of judicial review. In section 302.535, the legislature provided for a trial de novo in an appeal of a license suspension or revocation due to excessive blood alcohol content. Further, it specifically indicated that the trial should not proceed "as an appeal of an administrative decision pursuant to chapter 536." To allow an appeal to proceed under section 302.311, which is conducted pursuant to Chapter 536, would be contrary to the intent of legislature. The legislature chose to provide a broader scope of judicial review under section 302.535, relating to alcohol-related suspensions or revocations, than under section 302.311. This court in Dove v. Director of Revenue, 704 S.W.2d 713, 715 (Mo.App.1986), noted that "Section 302.535.1 expressly withholds from circuit judges the power to review the administrative decision made as to driver's license suspensions after hearings are conducted pursuant to section 302.530." The scope of judicial review under section 302.535 "is an exercise of an original and not a review jurisdiction." Id. For this court to automatically allow review of the Director's decision under section 302.311, would be contrary to the intent of the legislature for these types of proceedings. Nichols has provided no showing, that the legislature intended to permit a dual means of judicial review.

Although not addressing the specific question before this court, the Southern District in Hollis v. Director of Revenue, 792 S.W.2d 44, 45-46 (Mo.App.1990) also determined that conflicts existed between section 302.311 and section 302.535. There the court determined that the venue provisions contained in the two statutes conflicted since section 302.311 provided for venue in the county of residence, while venue was proper under section 302.535 in the county of arrest. Id. The court noted that "[t]he reasons for placing venue of a de novo hearing which invariably will involve an arresting officer in the county of arrest are obvious." Id. at 45. Because section 302.535 was the more specific statute and it was enacted later, it would prevail over section 302.311.³ Id. at 46.

The Supreme Court of Missouri has noted that the purpose of the Suspension and Revocation Administrative Procedure Statute, sections 302.500-302.541, is "to expeditiously remove from Missouri roadways the intoxicated driver[,]" State ex rel. King v. Kinder, 690 S.W.2d 408, 409 (Mo. banc 1985), and "to provide an efficient procedure to combat the problem of drunk driving[...