American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Indiana Department of Administration

Indiana Supreme Court
American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Indiana Department of Administration, 563 N.E.2d 113 (Ind. 1990)
1990 Ind. LEXIS 245; 1990 WL 192089
Debruler

American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Indiana Department of Administration

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

Petition to transfer denied.

Dissenting Opinion

DeBRULER, Justice,

dissenting to denial of transfer.

In this case, the trial court dismissed a petition for judicial review under the Administrative Adjudication Act because it was not properly verified. The Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the petition “prima facie has been duly executed.” American Tel. & Tel v. Department of Admin. (1988), Ind.App., 528 N.E.2d 1155, 1158. The majority of this Court has chosen to deny transfer. I would grant transfer and affirm the trial court.

The statutory requirement that a petition for judicial review be verified is general in nature. I.C. 4-21.5-5-7. This Court has held that the requirement is satisfied when the verifying statements are made by an attorney acting for a corporate petitioner. Indiana Dept. of Pub. Welfare v. Chair Lance Serv. (1988), Ind., 523 N.E.2d 1373. In the ease at bar, the person making the verification is not an executive or administrative officer of the corporate petitioner, nor is he its attorney. He is instead a branch manager who asserts that he has authority to execute the petition and has personal knowledge of the matters being verified. In my view, when an employee of a corporation is designated by the officers to act as its agent and to make the final verification of so important a document for the corporation, more in the way of documentation or a specific description of the source of the designation should be required.

Reference

Full Case Name
AMERICAN TELEPHONE & TELEGRAPH COMPANY and AT & T Communications of Indiana, Inc. v. INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, GTE Telecom Incorporated, GTE North, Incorporated, Intelenet Commission, and EDS Information Services Corporation
Status
Published