Water Bd. of Madison v. City of Athens

• Decision Date: 20 February 2009
• Docket Number: 2070764.
• Citation: Water Bd. of Madison v. City of Athens, 17 So.3d 241 (Ala. Civ. App. 2009)
• Parties: WATER AND WASTEWATER BOARD OF THE CITY OF MADISON v. CITY OF ATHENS.
• Court: Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

17 So.3d 241

WATER AND WASTEWATER BOARD OF THE CITY OF MADISON v. CITY OF ATHENS.

2070764.

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama.

February 20, 2009.

L. Ann Grace and Gary K. Grace of Grace, Matthews, Grimes & Debro, LLC, Huntsville, for appellant.

J. Jeffery Rich and Matthew B. Reeves of Sirote & Permutt, P.C., Huntsville, for appellee.

THOMAS, Judge.

In December 2000, the City of Athens ("the City") hired Shaun Chandler as a service installer for the City's water-distribution system. At the time Chandler was hired, he was not yet certified as a Grade I Distribution System Operator ("Grade I operator"). In fact, when Chandler was hired, the City intended to train Chandler for certification as a Grade I operator. Chandler was certified as a Grade I operator on or about November 1, 2002, and he was promoted to the position of construction technician later that month. On December 3, 2003, Chandler resigned his position with the City and became employed by the Water and Wastewater Board of the City of Madison ("the Board") as a pipe fitter.

The City notified the Board by letter in March 2004 that it claimed an entitlement to reimbursement under Ala.Code 1975, § 22-25-16, which permits the State, a municipality, a municipal utility board, or a county to seek reimbursement for the total amount that that entity expended to enable a water operator or wastewater operator to become certified from another state, municipality, municipal utility board, or county who employs that operator within 24 months of his or her certification. The statute reads, in its entirety "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."

§ 22-25-16. Although the City provided the required itemized statement, the Board refused to pay the City.

On March 10, 2005, the City sued the Board, seeking a judgment declaring that the City was entitled to reimbursement from the Board for the expenses associated with Chandler's training and certification as a Grade I operator, pursuant to § 22-25-16. The City further sought reimbursement from the Board of the $62,594.53 the City claimed it had expended in training Chandler to be certified as a Grade I operator. After answering the complaint, the Board sought a summary judgment in May 2006, which was denied. In January 2008, the City moved for a summary judgment, which the Board opposed. After considering the materials submitted by both parties, the trial court entered a summary judgment in favor of the City and ordered the Board to reimburse the City $62,298.15. The Board appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court, which transferred the appeal to this court, pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 12-2-7(6).

We review a summary judgment de novo; we apply the same standard as was applied in the trial court. A motion for a summary judgment is to be granted when no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56(c)(3), Ala. R. Civ. P. A party moving for a summary judgment must make a prima facie showing "that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that [it] is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Rule 56(c)(3); see Lee v. City of Gadsden, 592 So.2d 1036, 1038 (Ala.1992). If the movant meets this burden, "the burden then shifts to the nonmovant to rebut the movant's prima facie showing by `substantial evidence.'" Lee, 592 So.2d at 1038 (footnote omitted). "[S]ubstantial evidence is evidence of such weight and quality that fair-minded persons in the exercise of impartial judgment can reasonably infer the existence of the fact sought to be proved." West v. Founders Life Assurance Co. of Florida, 547 So.2d 870, 871 (Ala.1989); see Ala.Code 1975, § 12-21-12(d). Furthermore, when reviewing a summary judgment, the appellate court must view all the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmovant and must entertain all reasonable inferences from the evidence that a jury would be entitled to draw. See Nationwide Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. DPF Architects, P.C., 792 So.2d 369, 372 (Ala. 2000); and Fuqua v. Ingersoll-Rand Co., 591 So.2d 486, 487 (Ala.1991).

On appeal, the Board makes three arguments for reversal. The Board first argues that, based on Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority v. City of Athens, 896 So.2d 531 (Ala.Civ.App.2004), § 22-25-16 does not apply to it because it is a public corporation, having been incorporated pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 11-50-310 et seq. Secondly, the Board asserts that Chandler was not a water "operator" as that term is defined in Ala.Code 1975, § 22-25-1. Finally, the Board argues that, if we conclude that it is subject to § 22-25-16 and that Chandler is a water operator as defined in § 22-25-1, the City was not entitled to the amount that the trial court ordered reimbursed because of the specific language pertaining to the training expenses to be reimbursed in § 22-25-16. We will consider each argument in turn.

I. Whether § 22-25-16 Applies to the Board

The Board argues that it is not "the State of Alabama, any county, municipality, or another municipal utility board," Board's brief at § 22-25-16, and, therefore, that the City may not seek reimbursement under § 22-25-16 for Chandler's training expenses. According to the Board, it is a public corporation incorporated pursuant to § 11-50-310 et seq. and, thus, is a distinct legal entity from the municipality it serves. See Water Works Bd. of Leeds v. Huffstutler, 292 Ala. 669, 677, 299 So.2d 268, 276 (1974) (adopting the order of the trial court, which stated that a water board was "`an entity separate and independent from the city which it serves'"); City of Mobile v. Cochran, 276 Ala. 530, 532, 165 So.2d 81, 83 (1964) (stating that a municipal corporation and a public corporation like a water-works board are "distinct, separate and independent corporations"). Because of its independence and status as a public corporation, the Board contends, it cannot be considered to be within the class of entities to which § 22-25-16 applies.

Although it is without question that the Board is not the State or a county, the question whether it qualifies as a municipality or municipal utility board is more challenging to answer. As our supreme court has recognized, "`[t]here has been considerable confusion over the existence and legal status of public corporation utilities, primarily because the reported cases are inconsistent in their analysis. It is possible to find a public corporation utility case to support almost any proposition....'" Water Works & Sewer Bd. of Talladega v. Consolidated Publ'g, Inc., 892 So.2d 859, 862 (Ala.2004) (quoting the amicus curiae brief of the State of Alabama). This is indeed the case.

The Board is a public corporation organized for the purpose of operating a water system for the City of Madison. See § 11-50-311 (explaining the procedure by which a public corporation is created, including the filing of an application with the governing body of the municipality and the adoption of a resolution approving the incorporation by the municipality) and § 11-50-312(a)(1) (indicating that the articles of incorporation of the corporation should "indicat[e] the system or systems for the operation of which the corporation is organized (e.g., `the waterworks and electric board of the City (or Town) of........,' or `the utilities board of the City (or Town) of.......'")). As noted, the Board maintains that, as a public corporation that is separate and independent from the municipality it serves, it is not an agency of the municipality and is therefore not required to reimburse the City pursuant to § 22-25-16 because it does not fall into the class of entities to which that statute applies, i.e., it is not a municipality or a municipal utility board.

However, despite the language in cases like Huffstutler and Cochran regarding the separate and independent nature of public corporations, our supreme court has also long held that, in at least some respects, a public corporation like the Board is an agency of the municipality it serves, Cochran, 276 Ala. at 532, 165 So.2d at 83; Jackson v. Hubbard, 256 Ala. 114, 120, 53 So.2d 723, 728 (1951), or acts as an agent of the municipality. Marshall Durbin & Co. v. Jasper Utils. Bd., 437 So.2d 1014, 1019 (Ala.1983), overruled on other grounds by Ex parte Waterjet Sys., Inc., 758 So.2d 505, 511 (Ala.1999). In more recent cases, the supreme court has referred to a public corporation like the Board as "an administrative agency that performs city functions" and has noted that such a public corporation "is so organized to perform its functions as an agency of the City." City of Montgomery v. Water Works & Sanitary Sewer Bd. of Montgomery, 660 So.2d 588, 594 (Ala.1995).

Based on these...