Wakeland v. New Mexico Dep't of Workforce Solutions, Opinion Number: 2012-NMCA-021
| Decision Date | 27 September 2011 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 31,031,Opinion Number: 2012-NMCA-021 |
| Parties | ROBIN WAKELAND, Petitioner-Appellant, v. NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS and GILMAN LAW OFFICES, LLC, Respondents-Appellees. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of New Mexico |
Certiorari Denied, January 19, 2012, No. 33,351
APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BERNALILLO COUNTY
Robin Wakeland
Albuquerque, NM
Pro Se Appellant
Gilman Law Offices, LLC
James K. Gilman
Albuquerque, NM
for Appellee
Lucy Salsbury Payne
Albuquerque, NM
for Appellee N.M. Department of Workforce Solutions
{1} Robin Wakeland's uncertainty about the proper procedure for seeking appellate review in this case caused her to file a notice of appeal and a docketing statement rather than a petition for writ of certiorari. Because Wakeland's docketing statement provides information sufficient to evaluate it as a petition for writ of certiorari, we will accept it as a non-conforming petition; however, the petition was untimely, and the fact that it was untimely is a procedural defect that will only be excused in unusual circumstances. Wakeland's uncertainty about the proper procedure is not an unusual circumstance that will excuse the late filing, so we deny her non-conforming petition as untimely.
{2} Wakeland sought unemployment compensation benefits after she was fired from her job. The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (the Department) denied the unemployment benefits based on evidence that Wakeland had been terminated because she wilfully violated the terms and conditions of her employment. Wakeland appealed to the district court pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 51-1-8(N) (2004), which provides for an appeal as of right to the district court by means of a petition for writ of certiorari that the district court is required by statute to grant, so long as it is timely. The district court affirmed in an order filed on December 22, 2010, and Wakeland appealed to this Court by filing a notice of appeal in the district court on January 3, 2011, and a docketing statement in this Court on January 28, 2011.
{3} Because it appeared that Wakeland did not have an appeal as of right to this Court and that she should have sought review by means of a petition for writ of certiorari, we asked the parties to brief the question whether the procedural defects warranted either dismissal of the appeal or denial of the non-conforming petition.
{4} Wakeland asserts that she is entitled to an appeal as of right to this Court from the district court's decision affirming the Department. Our law is clear, however, that she is not. In Section 51-1-8(N), the Legislature chose to provide an appeal as of right to the district court from the Department's decision. The Legislature did not provide for an appeal as of right to this Court from the decision of the district court. Both Section 51-1-8(N) and Rule 1-077(L) NMRA, which govern unemployment compensation appeals, state that an aggrieved party may appeal the district court's order or judgment in accordance with the Rules of Appellate Procedure. Rule 12-505 NMRA governs "review by the Court of Appeals of decisions of the district court . . . from administrative appeals pursuant to . . . Rule 1-077." Rule 12-505(A)(1). Rule 12-505(B) requires a party to seek discretionary review in this Court by means of a petition for writ of certiorari.
{5} Wakeland raises a number of arguments in support of her claim that she must be provided with an appeal as of right, even if Rule 12-505 is to the contrary. These include(1) an argument that our Supreme Court is without authority to issue a rule of procedure that gives the Court of Appeals discretion to decline to review this matter on the merits; (2) an argument that she is denied equal protection and due process by being limited to a petition for writ of certiorari rather than being permitted the processes allowed for an appeal as of right; and (3) an argument that by issuing an order in this case, this Court has already assumed jurisdiction, such that it cannot now decline to review her appeal on its merits. We have reviewed these arguments and conclude that Wakeland has not demonstrated that she is entitled to an appeal as of right.
{6} Because Wakeland is not entitled to an appeal to this Court as of right, she was required to seek discretionary review by means of a petition for writ of certiorari. She did not do so and instead filed a notice of appeal and a docketing statement. Wakeland asserts that this Court should exercise its discretion to accept these non-conforming documents and review her arguments on their merits.
{7} Generally, New Mexico courts have not been stringent about the form and content requirements of documents filed in an effort to seek appellate review, so long as the information provided in the non-conforming document is adequate to convey the basic intent of the party filing the document. See Govich v. N. Am. Sys., Inc., 112 N.M. 226, 230, 814 P.2d 94, 98 (1991) (); Marquez v. Gomez, 111 N.M. 14, 15, 801 P.2d 84, 85 (1990) (); Johnson v. Johnson, 74 N.M. 567, 569, 396 P.2d 181, 182 (1964) (). This liberal approach has been adopted in order to further a policy of hearing appeals on their merits rather than dismissing them on technical grounds. See, e.g., Govich, 112 N.M. at 230, 814 P.2d at 98 ().
{8} Despite this liberal policy, in Roberson v. Board of Educ. of City of Santa Fe, 78 N.M. 297, 298-99, 430 P.2d 868, 869-70 (1967), our Supreme Court held that a notice of appeal is not an adequate substitute for a petition for writ of certiorari. In Roberson, a teacher was fired from her job by the board of education of the city of Santa Fe. Id. at 298, 430 P.2d at 869. The petitioner appealed to the state board of education, which affirmed. Id. Although there was no statute or rule permitting an appeal from this decision, the petitioner filed a notice of appeal with the district court. Id. The district court issued a writ of certiorari to the state board. Id. The city and state boards of education filed a motion to quash the writ and a motion to dismiss based on the petitioner's improper filing of a notice of appeal rather than a petition for writ of certiorari. Id. at 298-99, 430 P.2d at 869-70. Thedistrict court dismissed the matter because the petitioner was not entitled to an appeal as of right, and she failed to present a proper petition for writ of certiorari. Id. at 299, 430 P.2d at 870. The petitioner appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court but never perfected the appeal, so the matter was not reviewed at that time. Id. Then the petitioner filed a proper petition for writ of certiorari in the district court, arguing that this petition related back and was a continuation of the issues raised by her notice of appeal. Id. The district court again dismissed, and the petitioner sought review in the New Mexico Supreme Court. Id.
{9} The Supreme Court held that the petitioner's notice of appeal could not substitute for a petition for writ of certiorari. Id. It stated that it was "amply clear" that "the notice of appeal [was] not sufficient" because "a formal application showing a prima facie case for relief is a prerequisite to issuance of certiorari" and a notice of appeal does not meet these requirements. Id. at 300, 430 P.2d at 871 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). While the Court stated that it was not holding that "any particular nicety of pleading or precision of drafting is required," it would not construe the notice as a petition because "the record here discloses a total absence of any pleading which remotely approximates a petition or which contains any of the elements required as a minimum to merit such a description in a proceeding wherein certiorari is sought." Id. Accordingly, the Court concluded that the petitioner's later-filed petition for writ of certiorari did not revive the issues raised by the notice of appeal since the notice itself did not properly bring the case before the district court. Id. However, because at that time there was no statute or rule setting a time limit for the filing of a petition for certiorari and because laches did not bar the filing of the petition that the petitioner filed after she filed her improper notice of appeal, our Supreme Court held that the petition was properly filed and should not have been dismissed. Id. at 300-03, 430 P.2d at 871-74.
{10} Despite our Supreme Court's decision in Roberson, this Court has issued several opinions indicating that we may, in our discretion, elect to treat a timely filed notice of appeal as a petition for writ of certiorari. In West Gun Club Neighborhood Ass'n v. Extraterritorial Land Use Auth., 2001-NMCA-013, ¶ 3, 130 N.M. 195, 22 P.3d 220, this Court chose to treat a notice of appeal filed within the then-twenty-day period for filing petitions for writ of certiorari as a ...
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