Wheelsmith Fabrication v. Dept. of Labor, 99-383.
Decision Date | 01 February 2000 |
Docket Number | No. 99-383.,99-383. |
Parties | WHEELSMITH FABRICATION, INC., Plaintiff and Appellant, v. MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY, and Judy Hall, Defendants and Respondents. |
Court | Montana Supreme Court |
Lance Lovell, Patrick Dringman, Josephson, Lovell & Dringman; Big Timber, Montana, For Appellant.
Robert J. Campbell, Department of Labor and Industry; Helena, Montana, Stephen C. Pohl, Attorney at Law; Bozeman, Montana, For Respondents.
¶ 1 The Petitioner, Wheelsmith Fabrication, Inc., petitioned the District Court for the Sixth Judicial District in Sweet Grass County for judicial review of the Department of Labor and Industry's award of unemployment insurance benefits to Judy Hall. Hall moved for summary judgment, which the District Court granted. Wheelsmith appeals from the District Court's summary judgment. We affirm the judgment of the District Court.
¶ 2 The issues presented for review are:
¶ 3 Judy Hall was the chief financial officer at Wheelsmith Fabrication, Inc. On April 3, 1997, Wheelsmith's chief executive officer Ron McAdams discharged Hall. The following day, Hall submitted a claim for benefits to the Department of Labor and Industry, Unemployment Insurance Division (UID).
¶ 4 On May 30, 1997, the UID denied Hall's claim. Hall then requested a redetermination, following which, benefits were awarded.
¶ 5 On October 6, 1997, after an appeal by Wheelsmith, an appeals referee held an extensive hearing, which produced a 278-page transcript. Hall, who was represented by counsel, testified at the hearing in person and presented one live witness. Wheelsmith was represented by its lawyer and participated in the hearing by telephone. On November 26, 1997, the appeals referee issued his decision in favor of Hall. The referee stated the following reasons for his decision:
¶ 6 Wheelsmith appealed to the Board of Labor Appeals based on its contentions that the hearing referee failed to assure fundamental fairness to Wheelsmith, ignored substantial credible evidence in adopting the claimant's story verbatim, and exceeded the factual issue before him. The Board held a telephonic hearing at which both Wheelsmith and Hall were represented by counsel. The Board affirmed the decision of the appeals referee. The Board stated the following:
¶ 7 Wheelsmith appealed the Board's decision to the District Court where Hall moved for summary judgment. In its order granting summary judgment the District Court stated:
¶ 8 A district court's review of a decision by the Board of Labor Appeals is not governed by the Montana Administrative Procedure Act. Schneeman v. Department of Labor & Indus. (1993), 257 Mont. 254, 257, 848 P.2d 504, 506 (citing City of Billings v. Board of Labor Appeals (1983), 204 Mont. 38, 663 P.2d 1167). The correct standard of review in the instant case is set forth at § 39-51-2410(5) and (6), MCA, which provide:
Moreover, in Potter v. Montana Department of Labor and Industry (1993), 258 Mont. 476, 853 P.2d 1207, we stated:
[T]he District Court must limit its review of the Board's findings to a consideration of whether they are supported by substantial evidence, and the same standard applies to this Court. With regard to questions of law, however, our task is to determine whether the agency's interpretation of the law is correct.
Potter, 258 Mont. at 479, 853 P.2d at 1209 (citations omitted).
¶ 9 Did the District Court err when it concluded that Wheelsmith's due process rights were not violated when the hearing referee allowed Hall to testify in person?
¶ 10 Wheelsmith contends that its right to due process was violated when the hearing referee permitted Judy Hall to testify in person and present a live witness. Wheelsmith, however, failed to raise this issue at the unemployment insurance hearing.
¶ 11 "It is axiomatic that an appellate court will generally not review any issue not raised in the court below." 5 Am. Jur.2d Appellate Review § 690, at 360 (1995); see also Akhtar v. Van de Wetering (1982), 197 Mont. 205, 209, 642 P.2d 149, 152. The rule applies to both substantive and procedural matters. Day v. Payne (1996), 280 Mont. 273, 276-77, 929 P.2d 864, 866. It is based on the principle that it is fundamentally unfair to fault the trial court for failing to rule correctly on an issue it was never given the opportunity to consider. Day, 280 Mont. at 277-78, 929 P.2d at 866.
¶ 12 The principle that we will not consider issues which were not raised in the forum which is alleged to have erred applies in the context of unemployment insurance hearings as well. See Schneeman, 257 Mont. at 259, 848 P.2d at 507.
¶ 13 In this case, Wheelsmith did not raise the issue at the hearing when Hall appeared in person. The hearing referee stated: Wheelsmith's attorney did not object; rather, he responded: "[v]ery good." The hearing referee had no opportunity to rule on the issue because Wheelsmith did not raise it. Because Wheelsmith failed to make a timely objection, we decline to consider whether Wheelsmith's due process rights were violated when the hearing referee allowed Hall to testify in person and present a live witness.
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