Walker v. Board of County Comr's of Brule County
| Decision Date | 23 May 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 13991,13991 |
| Citation | 337 N.W.2d 807 |
| Parties | Jack L. WALKER, Defendant and Appellant, v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR BRULE COUNTY, Plaintiff and Appellee. . Considered on Briefs |
| Court | South Dakota Supreme Court |
Steven A. Wise, Dakota Plains Legal Services, Fort Thompson, for defendant and appellant.
Michael E. Sebastian of Miller, Miller & Sebastian, Kimball, for plaintiff and appellee.
This action arises from the Brule County Commissioners (Commissioners) terminating Jack Walker's (Walker) employment as Brule County Jailer. Walker brings this appeal from a judgment quashing a writ of certiorari. We affirm.
On September 2, 1980, Commissioners agreed to hire Walker as jailer upon the recommendation of Brule County Sheriff Bailey. On September 29, 1981, at a regular Commissioners' meeting, Walker was advised that Commissioners were not satisfied with his performance and orally notified him that he was to be terminated as jailer. A resolution to that effect was duly adopted by Commissioners and written notice of such action was given to Walker on October 1, 1981. The termination was to be effective November 1, 1981. When Walker refused to vacate the jailer's quarters on November 1, 1981, Commissioners commenced action to evict him. Walker responded by the application for writ of certiorari to the circuit court. A preliminary writ was duly issued by the trial court. Commissioners responded with a motion to quash the writ. The trial court granted Commissioners' motion by a memorandum opinion and findings of fact and conclusions of law. An order quashing the writ was subsequently granted.
In our view, the dispositive issue is whether the trial court erred in quashing the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted. We hold that it did not, and we affirm the decision.
Certiorari is an equitable remedy to be granted only in very limited circumstances. It will not lie where petitioner has a plain, speedy and adequate remedy. SDCL 21-31-1. 1
In this case petitioner had such a remedy. Commissioners had adopted a resolution terminating Walker's job. Walker was duly served with notice of this action of Commissioners. Walker's plain, speedy and adequate remedy at that time was to appeal that action to the circuit court under the provisions of SDCL 7-8-27. 2 See SDCL 16-6-10. 3
The trial court so found when it said:
3. That on September 29, 1981, the County Commissioners of Brule County passed a resolution which stated that the Brule County Jail was not being maintained in a proper manner, that the County Commissioners had never approved of the hiring of Jack Walker, that the Commission give thirty (30) days notice to the Plaintiff to vacate the apartment connected with the Brule County Jail, and that no further payments be made to Plaintiff as jailer.
....
5. That the Plaintiff has sued out a Writ of Certiorari alleging the County Commissioners exceeded their jurisdiction in ordering the Plaintiff to vacate the apartment owned by the County and in dismissing the Plaintiff.
The record clearly supports these findings of fact. Upon the foregoing findings of fact the trial court then concluded, as a matter of law: "That [Walker] had a right of appeal from the decision of the County Commissioners which he has forfeited."
Walker argues that, because Commissioners exceeded their statutory authority in adopting the resolution of September 29, 1981, he was precluded from appealing that decision to circuit court and could only test Commissioners' authority by the writ of certiorari. Walker points to Lewis v. Board of Com'rs, 44 S.D. 4, 182 N.W. 311 (1921) and State v. Board of Com'rs, 29 S.D. 358, 137 N.W. 354 (1912), to support this contention. We hold these cases to be distinguishable.
In Lewis, supra, this court held that county commissioners violated a specific statutory requirement that county commissioners shall designate official county newspapers only during the month of January when they adopted a resolution revoking such...
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Ridley v. Lawrence County Com'n
...the Lawrence County Commission "acted in excess of its jurisdiction." We addressed a similar argument in Walker v. Board of County Comm'rs for Brule County, 337 N.W.2d 807 (S.D.1983). There, the petitioner alleged that the matter was not properly before the board because the commissioners e......
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Groseclose v. Bloom, 14460
...sheriffs and clerks. We adhered to our holding in Rosander in Wahl v. Moses, 339 N.W.2d 792 (S.D.1983). In Walker v. Bd. of County Comm'rs of Brule County, 337 N.W.2d 807 (S.D.1983), we held that SDCL 7-12-10 confers upon boards of county commissioners general jurisdiction regarding the hir......
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High Plains Res., LLC v. Fall River Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs
...revoking such a designation of one paper and filling the vacancy by designating another in June." Walker v. Bd. of Cty. Comm'rs of Brule Cty., 337 N.W.2d 807, 808 (S.D.1983). The statutory provision at issue in Lewis mandated that the county commission designate newspapers "[a]t its first r......
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State ex rel. Johnson v. Public Utilities Com'n of South Dakota, s. 14908
...obtaining the extraordinary remedy of certiorari. Analogous to the instant case, is this court's decision in Walker v. Bd. of County Com'rs of Brule, 337 N.W.2d 807 (S.D.1983). In Walker, the Brule County Commissioners terminated Walker's employment as Brule County Jailer. Walker responded ......