City of Philadelphia v. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5
City of Philadelphia v. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
We granted allowance of appeal in this case to consider whether the Commonwealth Court expanded improperly the limited scope of review applicable to an Act 111
This case involves a male police officer for the City of Philadelphia, Jason Breary (Grievant). In June of 2001, a female police officer reported to the department that Grievant had sexually assaulted her. After the female officer reported the incident, the Philadelphia Police Department Internal Affairs Division (IAD) commenced an investigation into the accusations and, in the course of doing so, interviewed several members of the police department. At the conclusion of the investigation, IAD referred the matter to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office, which subsequently filed criminal charges against Grievant.
Concurrent with the filing of the criminal charges, the police department formally notified Grievant of the charges against him, gave him an opportunity to respond (which he declined to do), informed him that he was suspended without pay for thirty days, and that the department intended to terminate his employment. This notification was provided in the presence of Grievant’s immediate superiors, the IAD investigator, and a representative from Appellant, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge Number 5 (FOP). Consistent therewith, Grievant was terminated on December 13, 2002. The FOP, on behalf of Grievant, and pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the City and the FOP, appealed the termination to a neutral arbitrator from the American Arbitration Association (AAA). The FOP contended that the termi
The Philadelphia Municipal Court convicted Grievant of all charges filed against him on September 2, 2003. Grievant filed an appeal demanding a trial de novo in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. That court, on July 28, 2005, found Grievant not guilty on all charges, thus terminating all criminal action against him. Subsequently, a notice of hearing before the AAA was issued to both the FOP and City, setting the grievance arbitration hearing for July 10, 2006.
[A]ny and all documents relating to the discipline imposed upon [Grievant], including but not limited to, Forms 75-18, investigation reports, citizen complaints, witness statements, Notices of Disciplinary Action (Suspension, Intent to Dismiss and Dismissal), documents reflecting actions taken by and recommendations made by the Police Board of Inquiry (“PBI”), transcripts or tape recordings of proceedings before the PBI, and all other documents that refer or relate in any way to the aforementioned discipline.
The FOP demanded that the subpoenaed documents be produced by the July 10 hearing.
The City arrived at the hearing with eight witnesses to present during its case-in-chief, but without the demanded documents. Counsel for the FOP informed the arbitrator of the City’s failure to honor the FOP’s subpoena. The deputy
The arbitrator sua sponte continued the matter until July 25, 2006, and indicated that he would hear oral arguments on the record, concerning the sanctions when the hearing resumed.
During arguments, the FOP averred that, given the internal nature of disciplinary proceedings in the Philadelphia Police Department, when a grievance is filed to challenge an officer’s termination or suspension, the City, at least initially, retains sole and exclusive possession of the relevant documents, reports, and transcripts. The FOP submitted that, while prior practice had formerly been to request documents and the like informally through correspondence addressed to the City, the City had recently changed its stance regarding arbitration discovery, and was requiring subpoenas for all information. Despite the City’s change in position, the FOP contended that, in this case, as well as other Act 111 arbitrations between the parties, the City had continuously refused to comply with formal discovery requests.
The FOP then argued that, given the finality of Act 111 arbitration, “it is absolutely and positively critical that the City
The City countered that, based upon the clerical error,
The arbitrator disagreed and granted the FOP’s request that the City be precluded from presenting any evidence that was subject to disclosure under the subpoena. While recognizing that the deputy City Solicitor was unaware of the subpoena until the July 10 hearing and that counsel diligently cured the problem immediately thereafter, the arbitrator found that the Grievant had sustained prejudice because he was seeking reinstatement to the police force and the delay in the proceedings had slowed this quest. Moreover and impor
Prohibited from presenting any evidence that had been sought through the subpoena, the City had no case and was forced to rest. Grievant then rested, and the arbitrator, in a written opinion issued October 2, 2006, sustained the grievance and reinstated Grievant to the police force with all back pay, holding that the City had not met its burden of proving just cause for dismissal.
The City filed a Petition to Vacate Arbitration Award with the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. In a one-sentence order, the court denied the petition. In a footnote to the order, the court indicated that because the arbitrator had not exceeded his authority, it possessed no authority to disturb the sanction order against the City, or the resulting-arbitration award. Tr. Ct. Slip Op. at 1-2 n. 1 (citing Pa. State Police v. Pa. State Troopers’ Ass’n (Betancourt), 540 Pa. 66, 656 A.2d 83 (1995), supra note 1). The City then appealed to the Commonwealth Court.
In a published opinion, City of Philadelphia v. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 (Jason Breary), 932 A.2d 274 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2007), a panel of the Commonwealth Court unanimously vacated the order of the Court of Common Pleas and remanded for a full arbitration. Initially, the court determined that the ability of the arbitrator constructively to dismiss the City’s case by precluding the subject evidence raised due process concerns, permitting substantive review within the limited confínes of narrow certiorari. Id. at 280 (citing Betancourt, supra note 1). The court then examined whether a procedural due process violation actually occurred. In so doing, it found “troubling” that the arbitrator denied a
The FOP filed for allowance of appeal to this Court, requesting that we resolve whether the Commonwealth Court improperly expanded the limited scope of review in Act 111 grievance arbitrations, as articulated in Betancourt, when it vacated the arbitrator’s determination and remanded for a hearing below. We granted review to decide this question, and concomitantly directed the parties to address whether Act 111 arbitrators, in the first instance, “can award such sanctions, and, if so, what is a reviewing court’s role in reviewing sanctions under the Act 111 narrow certiorari scope of review?” See City of Phila. v. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 (Jason Breary), 595 Pa. 403, 938 A.2d 986 (2007) (per curiam).
Prior to 1968, police officers and firefighters in the Commonwealth had no legal ability to unionize or collectively bargain. In response to a number of illegal strikes throughout the Commonwealth, the General Assembly enacted Act 111 of 1968, see supra note 1, which gave police officers and firefighters the ability to unionize and collectively bargain, but at a price: the newly permitted unions would continue to possess no power to strike. The Legislature assured, however, that labor disputes between political subdivisions and the police and fire unions would be resolved quickly and with finality by providing no right of appeal from final disposition of an Act 111 arbitration. 43 P.S. § 217.7(a).
Instantly, the FOP claims that the arbitrator’s decision to preclude the City from presenting any evidence subject to the subpoena cannot be assailed on appeal because the decision constitutes a mere evidentiary ruling, not encompassed by narrow certiorari under Betancourt. Citing to Betancourt, The Washington Arbitration Case, and Act 111 itself, the FOP emphasizes that these arbitration hearings are to be swift, and result in the final resolution of all grievances. Thus, the FOP argues that to enable the City to challenge simple “evidentiary rulings,” and, further, to permit the Commonwealth Court to
Should we find the imposition of the sanction reviewable, the FOP alternatively contends that the arbitrator’s decision to prohibit the City from presenting the subject evidence fell within all bounds of due process, as all that transpired was that the City ignored a duly issued subpoena, and was sanctioned for the transgression. Further, the FOP avers that it and Grievant were significantly prejudiced by the City’s noncompliance, in light of the inability to prepare for the July 10 hearing, and because any further delay in the proceedings delayed Grievant, whose criminal conviction had been overturned, from reclaiming his position on the police force. Indeed, the FOP and Grievant contend that such prejudice outweighed the prejudice the City suffered when it was precluded from adducing evidence, resulting in the constructive dismissal.
First regarding the threshold inquiry of narrow certiorari, our review of the record reveals that the issue presently before us is one involving procedural due process such that Betancourt is satisfied, as this is a properly reviewable constitutional matter.
Initially, we recognize the FOP’s concern: arbitrators must decide evidentiary questions such as hearsay and relevancy; and, the exclusion of evidence pursuant to such a ruling does not typically involve notions of due process. However, the instant case does not concern a simple “evidentiary ruling.” Indeed, the FOP’s characterization of the subject ruling as one involving evidence is inaccurate; the arbitrator did not rule upon a relevancy, best evidence, or hearsay objection. Rather, the arbitrator decided a technical discovery issue, and in the process, constructively precluded
Accordingly, while we agree with the FOP that review of a simple “evidentiary question” would run far afield of narrow certiorari, the heart of this matter concerns the propriety of an extreme discovery sanction precluding further action in this case, and, therefore, a valid constitutional claim involving the most basic of rights: due process of law. Thus, pursuant to Betancourt, we find that we may examine whether the arbitrator’s discovery sanction, which constructively precluded the City from presenting a case-in-chief, violated the City’s right to procedural due process.
This Court has never opined upon the specific factors that a trial court (or, for that matter, appellate courts on review) should consider before concluding that dismissal of a case for a discovery violation constitutes a proper remedy. Nevertheless, in considering sanctions for noncompliance with other pre-trial procedural rules, we have “noted that enforcement of procedural rules is governed by the facts and circumstances of each particular case.” Miller v. Brass Rail Tavern, Inc., 541 Pa. 474, 664 A.2d 525, 532 n. 5 (1995) (citing Feingold v. Southeastern Pa. Transp. Auth., 512 Pa. 567, 517 A.2d 1270 (1986)). Specifically, in Feingold, a case involving the exclusion of expert testimony for a party’s failure to name the expert in its pre-trial statement, we delineated the principal considerations a trial court should examine when deciding whether exclusion of the expert’s testimony would be proper:
(1) the prejudice or surprise in fact of the party against whom the excluded witnesses would have testified, (2) the ability of that party to cure the prejudice, (3) the extent to which waiver of the rule against calling unlisted witnesses*286 would disrupt the orderly and efficient trial of the case or of other cases in the court, and (4) bad faith [or] willfulness in failing to comply with the court’s order.
Feingold, 517 A.2d at 1273.
While our jurisprudence in this area is somewhat limited, the Superior Court has had the opportunity to develop and apply four similar factors that it concludes trial and appellate courts alike should examine before determining the general severity and vitality of a discovery sanction: (1) the prejudice, if any, endured by the non-offending party and the ability of the opposing party to cure any prejudice; (2) the noncomplying party’s willfulness or bad faith in failing to provide the requested discovery materials; (3) the importance of the excluded evidence in light of the failure to provide the discovery; and (4) the number of discovery violations by the offending party. See e.g. Pioneer Commercial Funding Corp. v. Amer. Financial Mortg. Corp., 797 A.2d 269 (Pa.Super. 2002), rev’d on other grounds, 579 Pa. 275, 855 A.2d 818 (2004); Steinfurth v. LaManna, 404 Pa.Super. 384, 590 A.2d 1286, 1288-89 (1991); see also Wolloch v. Aiken, 572 Pa. 335, 815 A.2d 594, 597 n. 3 (2002) (citing Steinfurth as setting forth factors a trial court should consider when responding to a motion for sanctions under Pa. R.C.P. No. 4019.). In applying these factors to appeals where a trial court dismissed an action for noncompliance with a discovery order, the Superior Court has consistently placed greater emphasis on the first two factors: (1) the prejudice to the non-offending party and the ability to cure that prejudice; and (2) the willfulness of the offending party’s conduct. See e.g. Stewart v. Rossi, 452 Pa.Super. 120, 681 A.2d 214, 217 (1996) (holding that because “dismissal is the most severe sanction, it should be imposed only in extreme circumstances, and a trial court is required to balance the equities carefully and dismiss only when the violation of the discovery rules is willful and the opposing party has been prejudiced.”).
We find the jurisprudence of the Superior Court in this area to be consistent with the precedent of this Court. Accordingly, we adopt the aforementioned four factors as the proper
First, we examine what prejudice, if any, the FOP suffered because of the City’s noncompliance, and if the City cured that prejudice. Initially, we note that there is no doubt that a discovery violation by the City occurred; the City concedes as much. As already established, the arbitrator issued a subpoena, and the City failed to produce the duly requested materials by the July 10 deadline for providing them. As a result of this noncompliance, the arbitrator found that the FOP and Grievant were prejudiced by the violation in two ways. First, the City prevented Grievant and the FOP from preparing their case for the July 10 arbitration hearing by failing to turn over the requested materials, reasoning that until the City turns over such evidence, it remains in exclusive control thereof. Moreover, the arbitrator concluded that Grievant and the FOP sustained prejudice due to the “substantial backlog of well over 200 grievances pending before arbitration. Therefore[,] to grant additional time in order to prepare and eventually reschedule a hearing would further prejudice [Grievant] by forcing him to encounter more ... delays in resolving this matter.” Arbitration Award Op. at 6.
Nevertheless, as ably observed by the Commonwealth Court, the City cured any prejudice that arguably may have occurred immediately following conclusion of the July 10 hearing. As discussed supra, the subpoena contained a compliance date of July 10 and, accordingly, the City could have fully complied with the subpoena by simply providing the requested items to the FOP in the moments prior to the commencement of the hearing. Upon being informed of its inadvertent noncompliance, the City immediately provided the requested documents to the FOP. With the hearing continued until July 25,
Next, we consider whether the City willfully, or in bad faith, withheld the requested documents from the FOP. On that point, while the FOP attempts on numerous occasions in its brief to characterize the City’s actions as “willful,” the arbitrator declined to make such a finding. Our independent review of the record fully supports the arbitrator’s conclusion that the City did not act willfully, or in bad faith, in failing to provide the requested discovery. Indeed, there is ample support for the arbitrator’s holding in this regard: the FOP conceded that the subpoena inadvertently “sat on a secretary’s desk,” N.T., Jul. 25, 2006, at 11, and that the noncompliance was the result of a “clerical error.” Id. at 23. Further, the deputy City Solicitor supplied the subpoenaed documents promptly upon being informed of the inadvertent noncompliance. Thus, we find no willful misconduct on the City’s part.
Third, we examine the importance of the excluded evidence (which constituted the City’s entire case) in light of the failure to provide the requested materials. There is no question that the evidence at issue was vitally important to both the City and the FOP. We further recognize the arbitrator’s finding that the FOP was hampered in the preparation of its case for the July 10 hearing because of the City’s noncompliance. Notwithstanding this, the City, which bore the burden of proving just cause for Grievant’s termination, clearly had no other alternative but to rest its case once the arbitrator precluded the entry of any evidence or testimony subject to the terms of the subpoena. While the FOP argues that the City had other options to present its case — namely calling the
Finally, we analyze the number of discovery violations by the City. To that end, the FOP contends that the City has violated discovery orders in other Act 111 cases, and we should draw upon such alleged misconduct to reinstate the sanctions imposed by the arbitrator instantly. Indeed, the arbitrator seemingly used these prior violations as a basis for his decision: “For quite some time there was a controversy which it was alleged that the City had failed to turn over customary documents and evidence. As a result six prior arbitrators have at least expressed their displeasure or have ruled against the City.” Arbitration Award Op. at 4 (emphasis added). The City counters, however, that such supposed noncompliance by it in other Act 111 arbitrations, involving different counsel, arbitrators, grievants, facts, and circumstances, has no relevance here.
While the test we adopt today recognizes the importance of not condoning repeated misconduct, see Steinfurth, 590 A.2d at 1288 (“[W]e consider the number of discovery violations. Repeated discovery abuses are disapproved.”), we agree with the City that we cannot take into account alleged violations from other cases and circumstances here for several reasons. First, our independent review of the record reveals that the FOP referenced these alleged incidents of noncompliance baldly to the arbitrator during the arguments over the motion for sanctions. The FOP, however, did not introduce testimony or other evidence supporting the substance or circumstances of these alleged violations. Moreover, as noted above, Act 111 arbitrations are normally conducted without the benefit of transcription and, with the FOP entering no substantive evi
Moreover, we cannot fault the City for not being prepared to counter the accusations of misconduct from unrelated arbitrations during the July 25 hearing. Analogous to this circumstance, in the Staff Inspector Appeal, 564 Pa. 290, 768 A.2d 291 (2001), an Act 111 arbitration case involving these same parties, we found error on an arbitrator’s part for placing the City “on notice” concerning a specific argument merely because that argument had been raised by the FOP against the City in prior arbitrations. There, the FOP filed for arbitration concerning the City’s elimination by attrition the position of staff inspector.
the notion that the City was somehow ‘on notice’ that the out-of-class pay claim was at issue in this matter simply because the FOP had specifically raised such a claim in earlier demands for arbitration which were separate from and unconsolidated with the instant matter. [¶]... ] It would be illogical to conclude that the City was somehow on notice not only as to those claims actually raised in the demand for arbitration, but also as to any other claims that the FOP has raised in the past.
Id. at 295 n. 3.
We find that the same logic, or perhaps better stated, “illogic,” applies here. While it may certainly be true that discovery disputes between the City and the FOP have existed in the past and may continue into the future, we again cannot expect the City to have been prepared to litigate fully discov
Thus, for the reasons set forth herein, given application of the four-factor test, we agree with the Commonwealth Court that the arbitrator, under the circumstances of this case, violated the procedural due process rights of the City. In particular, regarding the prongs of prejudice and willful misconduct, while the FOP and Grievant arguably suffered prejudice by the City’s failure to comply with the subpoena, we find of great import that such prejudice was sufficiently cured by the City’s subsequent actions and that no willful misconduct occurred on the part of the City. See Stewart, 681 A.2d at 217. Again, the FOP was afforded an additional two weeks to prepare for the arbitration once the subpoena was complied with, and the arbitrator, despite the FOP’s assertions to the contrary, did not find any willful misconduct or bad faith on the City’s part. Further, the excluded evidence consisted of the City’s entire case-in-chief, thus the arbitrator’s action constructively dismissed the grievance entirely. Finally, the City did not repeatedly violate discovery orders as they pertained to this arbitration. Rather, a sole transgression oc
In so holding, we reiterate, however, that we in no way approve of a challenge to sundry rulings by an arbitrator on due process grounds. To be sure, the unique circumstances of this case epitomize the very reason narrow certiorari review in Act 111 cases is permitted: to remedy a clear procedural due process violation. The opinion and order of the Commonwealth Court are affirmed.
Jurisdiction relinquished.
. Act of June 24, 1968, P.L. 237, as amended, 43 P.S. §§ 217.1-217.10. As discussed further, infra, Act 111 applies to grievances filed by unionized police officers and firefighters in the Commonwealth. While Act 111 precludes such police officers and firefighters from striking, the act was designed to guarantee swift resolution of grievances by establishing the ability of police officers and firefighters to bring their complaints before a neutral arbitrator, but permitting an appeal of an arbitration award (or denial thereof) pursuant only to the limited
. Act 111 provides for two different types of arbitration: "interest arbitration” and "grievance arbitration.” "Interest arbitration is the arbitration which occurs when the employer and employee are unable to agree on the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. In contrast, grievance arbitration is the arbitration which occurs when the parties disagree as to the interpretation of an existing collective bargaining agreement.” City of Pittsburgh v. Fraternal Order of Police, Fort Pitt Lodge No. 1, 595 Pa. 47, 938 A.2d 225, 227 n. 1 (2007) (internal citations and quotations omitted).
. Pursuant to 43 P.S. § 217.6, Act 111 arbitrators "have the power ... to compel the attendance of witnesses and physical evidence by subpoena.”
. It appears that Act 111 arbitration hearings between the City and FOP are normally conducted without the presence of a stenographer. In fact, the initial July 10 hearing was not transcribed. Thus, this Court was constrained to rely upon the briefs and opinions below in construing this history. However, by specific order of the arbitrator, the July 25 hearing was transcribed, and we have the benefit of that transcription.
. Thus, the FOP had the subpoenaed documents for approximately two weeks prior to the hearing's resumption on July 25.
. It is undisputed that the "clerical error” consisted of an administrative professional in the City Solicitor’s office misplacing the subpoena after it had been served on the City.
. The FOP further contends that the City's claim that its case was constructively dismissed through the preclusion of evidence is incorrect. Rather, according to the FOP, the City could have presented the
. See AAA Rule 26 ("The arbitrator may vary the normal procedure under which the initiating party first presents its claim, but in any case shall afford full and equal opportunity to all parties for the presentation of relevant proofs.”); Rule 28 (providing for the opportunity for all parties to present all evidence deemed relevant by the arbitrator).
. As noted previously, a plenary standard of review governs this preliminary determination of whether an issue implicates the four areas of review pursuant to narrow certiorari. Town of McCandless, 901 A.2d at 1000. Moreover, as the thrust of both parties' arguments sound exclusively in procedural due process, we do not examine whether the other three areas of narrow certiorari, jurisdiction, regularity of the proceedings, and excess of use of powers, are present.
. We use the phrases "constructively precluded" and "constructively dismissed” throughout the body of this opinion because we recognize that the arbitrator’s ruling did not mandate actual dismissal of the arbitration. As has already been discussed, and will be further examined, however, we conclude that this ruling left the City with no case to present following the arbitrator’s ruling. In that vein, and contrary to the view espoused by Mr. Justice McCaffery, we perceive this order to be all-encompassing as concerns the City’s case-in-chief, and not merely an order that prohibited the City from presenting an expert witness or a
. The decision in Fox is discussed more fully, infra.
. Mr. Justice McCaffery, in disagreeing with this initial finding, declares that our review under narrow certiorari cannot be implicated in a situation where a party "forfeited its opportunity” to a fair hearing "through its own action." Dissenting Op. at 297, 985 A.2d at 1277 (McCaffery, J.). This viewpoint, however, incorrectly requires a party, like the City (or, indeed, an aggrieved police officer) first to prove a constitutional violation in order for an appellate court then to review a case under Betancourt. Such a requirement is wholly improper under our Act 111 jurisprudence, as review of an Act 111 arbitration involves
. Having determined that this case presents a constitutional question, we note that our standard of review of constitutional questions is de novo, and our scope of review plenary. See Pocono Manor Investors, LP v. Pa. Gaming Control Bd., 592 Pa. 625, 927 A.2d 209, 219 (2007).
. Again, we recognize that, "whatever else it is, an arbitration panel certainly is not a court." Washington Arbitration Case, 259 A.2d at 440 n. 3. Regardless, and like trial courts, arbitrators must adhere to the doctrines of procedural due process when fashioning Act 111 awards. Id. at 440. Thus, we find the precedent concerning review of a trial court's discovery sanction order to be instructive to the circumstances presented instantly.
. While we recognize this appeal involves an arbitration award issued pursuant to Act 111, once we accept consideration of an issue pursuant to Betancourt, the posture of the appeal becomes identical to that of an appeal from a trial or intermediate appellate court.
. A staff inspector was an officer with a rank higher than captain, but below inspector, who investigated special and important claims of misconduct against fellow officers. Through attrition, the City had begun to eliminate the staff inspector position, and captains within the department had been forced to perform the investigations formerly conducted by staff inspectors.
. The FOP may not, however, be without a remedy to counteract the City's alleged management of document requests. If there is any basis to the allegations of repeated misconduct (and we reiterate that we hold no opinion on the veracity of such allegations, as no record in this regard was developed), and further if the CBA between the parties so provides, it may well be that the FOP can file a separate grievance arbitration to litigate the City’s failure to comply with requests for documents, whether informal or formal. Certainly, then, the parties would be on full notice concerning the FOP’s allegations of repeated contractual violations, and the issue may be fully resolved. Additionally, should there not be a basis for such grievance in the agreement between the FOP and the City, the FOP could make this the subject of collective bargaining.
. In light of our disposition of this appeal on constitutional grounds, we need not address the ancillary question of whether Act 111 arbitrators may, in the first instance, impose discovery sanctions.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent, as I disagree with the majority’s characterization of the Act 111 arbitrator’s sanction as a constitutional due process violation. Act 111 was designed to ensure timely resolution of grievances by police officers and firefighters; thus, the Act only permits appeals from an arbitrator’s decision under very limited circumstances. See Pennsylvania State Police v. Pennsylvania State Troopers’ Association (Betancourt), 540 Pa. 66, 656 A.2d 83, 89 (1995) (swift resolution of labor disputes decreases chance public safety workforce will be destabilized by protracted litigation; legislature’s intent was to prevent Act 111 arbitration awards from miring down in litigation). Permitting a party to challenge what amounts to a routine evidentiary ruling is to thwart Act Ill’s purpose.
Classifying such a ruling as one of constitutional magnitude because the City withheld all its evidence is to allow the tail to wag the dog; an evidentiary ruling does not become a due process matter simply because its encompassing scope matches the encompassing nature of the violation. To allow such challenge to an arbitrator’s sanction, even under these circumstances, disrupts the deference Act 111 arbitrators’ decisions are due, see 43 P.S. § 217.7(a) (“No appeal therefrom shall be allowed to any court.”), and will result in awards being mired down by challenges to routine rulings.
I appreciate the City’s ultimate compliance, but the question before this Court is the scope of review, not the equities of the ruling. Accordingly, I would hold Betancourt does not authorize narrow certiorari review of the arbitrator’s evidentiary sanction. I would reverse the Commonwealth Court’s order remanding for full arbitration, and would reinstate the arbitrator’s decision sustaining the grievance and reinstating the grievant to the police force.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I must respectfully dissent.
Due process, for our purposes, simply requires “an opportunity ... granted at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner for a hearing appropriate to the nature of the case.” Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co., 455 U.S. 422, 437, 102 S.Ct. 1148, 71 L.Ed.2d 265 (1982) (emphasis in original; citations and internal quotation marks omitted). Logan, a case relied upon by the majority, held that a litigant’s due process rights were violated when his administrative hearing was terminated for reasons completely beyond his control. In the instant case, no comparable situation occurred. Rather, the City clearly had an opportunity “granted at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner for a hearing appropriate to the nature of the case.” Id. However, the City forfeited that opportunity by its behavior. As Logan also observed: “And the State certainly accords due process when it terminates a claim for failure to comply with a reasonable procedural or evidentiary rule.” Id. (emphasis in original). That is all that transpired before the Act 111 arbitrator in this case; thus, the City did receive the process that was constitutionally due. Significantly, there is no allegation or argument that the sanction the arbitrator imposed was not directly related to the misbehavior of the City in this case and in others.
Further, “where a court imposes a judgment by default against a defendant as a sanction for failure to respond adequately to discovery requests, it is acting well within its
Further, although the majority professes to conduct its appellate review after having determined that such review is permissible under the narrow certiorari scope of review, the line drawn by the majority between its determination of whether we may review this case in the first instance and its actual “appellate review” is at best unclear, and in my opinion, inappropriately blurred. The majority’s opinion reads as if it is justifying its power to conduct a review based on the fruits of that review. See op. at 282, 985 A.2d at 1268. Although
I believe that the majority has strayed in this matter in part because it has erroneously taken an evidentiary sanction, a measure that even the majority concedes rests in the tribunal’s discretion, and conflated it with general considerations of deprivation of due process. See op. at 281-83, 985 A.2d at 1268-69. However, as Logan, supra observed, the two are very different. The majority’s apparent confusion on this point may also explain why the essential due process case law the majority cites in its opinion is completely and wholly inapposite to the facts of this case and has nothing to do with discovery sanctions.
First, in the context of Act 111, the majority is now opening the door for appellate courts to review discretionary evidentiary decisions based on claims of a constitutional violation, when appellate courts are not even permitted to review arbitration decisions on error of law grounds. See Pennsylvania State Police v. Pennsylvania State Troopers’ Ass’n (Betancourt), 540 Pa. 66, 656 A.2d 83, 90 (1995) (“An error of law alone will not warrant reversal under the narrow certiorari scope of review.”). It cannot be emphasized too strongly that because the “interests of labor and management, as well as those of the general public” are served by swift non-appeal-able resolution of labor disputes concerning police and firefighters, the explicit “restraint on judicial activism is the linchpin of’ Act 111. Id. at 89 (emphasis added). Therefore, this Court may not and must not interpret Act 111 in a manner that expands, or indeed even continues, the already too-prevalent practice of appellate review of “non-appealable” arbitration awards.
Again, in the present case there is no allegation that the arbitrator’s sanction is unrelated to the City’s behavior. We would be faced with a different situation — one that certainly could have serious due process implications — if the arbitrator had precluded the City from presenting evidence unrelated to its failure to obey a subpoena, thereby in actuality depriving the City of an opportunity to present its remaining evidence. That is not this case. Thus, where the case on appeal establishes that a party before the Act 111 arbitrator fully had an opportunity for a hearing, but forfeited its opportunity through its own action, I conclude that the Act 111 arbitrator’s discretionary sanction ruling is beyond appellate review under the narrow certiorari scope of review. If appellate courts may not review allegations of legal error purportedly committed by Act 111 arbitrators
Second, I believe that in contexts beyond Act 111, the majority’s decision will serve to interject chaos into the interpretation and application of Pa. R.C.P. 4019. The essence of the majority’s position is that despite the fact that tribunals may impose even the severest of sanctions for discovery violations under our Rule 4019, because we “disfavor” sanctions that ostensibly dismiss an action,
We have described the abuse of discretion standard as “significantly deferential,” defining it more fully as follows:
[I]t is important to emphasize that an abuse of discretion may not be found simply because an appellate court may have reached a different conclusion.... That is not the judicial function here. An abuse of discretion is not simply an error of judgment. It requires much more. If in reaching a conclusion the law is overridden or misapplied, or the judgment exercised is manifestly unreasonable, or the result of partiality, prejudice, bias, or ill-will, as shown by the evidence or the record, discretion is abused.
First, the majority discredits the arbitrator’s finding that the grievant suffered prejudice. Op. at 284, 985 A.2d at 1270-71. Established law prohibits appellate courts from reviewing, and thus potentially altering, the factual findings of Act 111 arbitrators. McCandless, supra at 1000. Aside from the circumstance that the majority ignores this law, the majority also appears to disregard the fact that the impact of the delay was not on the FOP lawyers but on the police officer who was then out of a job. The arbitrator did not abuse his discretion by concluding that the grievant suffered some prejudice in this instance, particularly when the officer had already been out of a job for some years.
Next, the majority begins its fact-finding in earnest: “Thus, we find no willful misconduct on the City’s part.” Op. at 288, 985 A.2d at 1272. This “finding” of the majority is based on its reading of the record, which it believes shows that the FOP “conceded” that the City’s failure to honor the subpoena was inadvertent. Id. In my opinion, the record cited by the majority simply reflects that the FOP, without making any concession, understood that the City’s position was that its failure to honor the subpoena was a “clerical error.” See Notes of Testimony (“N.T.”), 7/25/06, at 11 and 23. However,
I believe that the majority fails to appreciate that the Act 111 arbitrator, with personal knowledge of the City’s history of misbehavior in Act 111 grievance arbitrations, could reasonably take the position that the City must be disciplined because of its ongoing disregard of FOP subpoenas, and act accordingly within his discretion. Although there was no specific evidence of the City’s “bad intent” with respect to the subpoena in this particular grievance, as all such evidence was solely within the City’s possession, the arbitrator could, without making a specific finding of “bad intent” regarding the instant subpoena, nevertheless view the City’s behavior with suspicion because of the arbitrator’s knowledge of the City’s past behavior. Again, an appellate court’s job is not to review the record anew to arrive at an independent judgment, but to review the record to determine whether there are reasonable grounds for the discretionary rulings at issue.
The majority then continues its fact-finding by determining that the arbitrator’s sanction precluded the City from presenting any evidence, despite the absolute absence of such factual finding by the arbitrator, and despite the FOP’s actual concession that the City could have called the IAD investigator and the grievant himself to testify. Again, the majority apparently believes the FOP is being disingenuous and that it would have actually opposed the City had it attempted to call
Then, the majority proceeds to “analyze the number of discovery violations by the City.” Op. at 289, 985 A.2d at 1272. Once again, I must register my distress that the majority deems it appropriate to act as “trial court.” The General Assembly did not intend that Act 111 arbitrators be so dismissed as insignificant trifles by appellate courts. Indeed, Act 111 grants rather extraordinary powers to its arbitrators, albeit within the narrow confines of their jurisdiction. Section 7 of Act 111, for example, not only provides that the Act 111 arbitrator’s decision is “final” and “non-appealable,” but it also provides that the final arbitrator’s award serves as a mandate to the public employer to enact required legislation or take such other action as is necessary to implement the award in a time-specific fashion.
With respect to the issue of the City’s alleged past transgressions in failing to honor subpoena requests, the majority utterly fails to accord the arbitrator the deference due. Here, the majority simply dismisses the institutional and actual knowledge of the arbitrator concerning the City’s past transgressions, not to mention the arbitrator’s apparent finding that “six prior arbitrators have at least expressed their displeasure or have ruled against the City.” Arbitration Opinion at 4. We would not dismiss the institutional knowledge or findings of any other trial court in this manner. Where there is evidence and institutional knowledge that one party in a narrow series of cases involving only one other party, and related by subject matter, has, for years, behaved improperly in discovery matters, it is simply beyond my comprehension that the majority would dismiss such evidence and knowledge as irrelevant. Among other things, in taking this position, the majority glosses over the City’s apparent transgressions and thereby simply encourages the City to disregard discovery requests and abuse the system until stopped in some manner by a future case. I find this deeply troubling.
Further, and just as incomprehensibly, the majority posits that the City could not have been “on notice” in this case regarding its past transgressions. The majority bases this determination on a footnote discussion in City of Philadelphia v. Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 5, 564 Pa. 290, 768 A.2d 291, 295 n. 3 (2001). However, in that case, we were discussing whether the City was on notice regarding a rather specific “out-of-class pay claim” because the FOP had raised similar claims in earlier, unrelated arbitrations. By contrast, the issue in the case sub judice concerned ongoing behavior by the City across a full spectrum of grievance arbitrations regarding not a substantive matter, but a procedural practice and repeated pattern concerning the FOP’s discovery requests.
Finally, I take issue with the majority’s assertion that we need not address the question of whether Act 111 arbitrators may, in the first instance, impose discovery sanctions. Op. at 287 n. 15, 985 A.2d at 1271 n. 15. One cannot read the majority’s opinion without reasonably concluding that the majority has already determined, sub silentio, that Act 111 arbitrators have the power to impose discovery sanctions. Certainly, if Act 111 arbitrators lack such authority, there is no need to determine whether the arbitrator’s decision in this case violated a constitutional right. The seminal issue in this case is whether the arbitrator has, in the first instance, the power to impose sanctions.
First, as I have already observed, Act 111 arbitrators are temporary bodies of exceedingly limited jurisdiction, but with broad power within that jurisdiction. As we stated:
*305 An arbitration panel is a temporary ‘one shot’ institution, convened to respond to a specific conflict. Once it reaches a decision it is disbanded and its members disperse. Its resolution of the dispute must be sure and swift, and much of its effectiveness would be lost if the mandate of its decision could be delayed indefinitely through protracted litigation.
City of Washington v. Police Department of City of Washington, 436 Pa. 168, 259 A.2d 437, 440 (1969) (emphasis added). Further, as I have mentioned supra, the powers of Act 111 arbitrators are rather extraordinary within the confínes of their narrow jurisdiction.
Even the majority concedes the power of Act 111 arbitrators to make and enforce evidentiary rulings, as Act 111 arbitrators could not carry out their mandate without such power. More importantly, Act 111 arbitrators are specifically granted the power to issue subpoenas to “compel the attendance of witnesses and physical evidence.” 43 P.S. § 217.6 (emphasis added). I believe that inherent in the power to issue subpoenas is the power to enforce them.
Further, I believe that Act 111 subpoenas must be enforced by the arbitrators rather than the courts of common pleas because of the critical legislative purposes behind Act 111 and the Act’s very explicit “no appeal” mandate. In several opinions, this Court has discussed the origins of Act 111, the critical goals the legislature hoped to achieve with its enactment, and the specific pathways the legislature laid out for achieving these goals. Briefly, these matters have been characterized by this Court as follows:
Act 111 altered the landscape of employer-employee relations. While the legislature maintained the prohibition on striking by police and fire personnel, 43 P.S. § 217.5, it granted to the workers the right to collectively bargain as well as the right to an arbitration of their disputes. These arbitration provisions were one of the key aspects of the legislature’s plan to ensure stability within the police and firefighting forces. The legislature designed Act 111 arbitration to be swift and final; it allowed judicial intervention*306 in the Act 111 context in only the rarest of circumstances. Betancourt, 656 A.2d at 89. The legislature feared that if resolution were to be forestalled by years of litigation, the illegal strikes that had rocked police and firefighting forces across the Commonwealth in the 1960s could very well reoccur.
City of Philadelphia, 768 A.2d at 294. Again, because the “interests of labor and management, as well as those of the general public” are served by swift non-appealable resolution of labor disputes concerning police and firefighters, the explicit “restraint on judicial activism is the linchpin of’ Act 111. Betancourt, supra at 89 (emphasis added).
I believe that we would be removing that linchpin by forcing parties to Act 111 arbitrations to file actions in the courts of common pleas in order to enforce their discovery requests. Such a position would critically endanger the legislature’s goal of “sure and swift” arbitration decisions. City of Washington, supra at 440. The “protracted litigation” caused by this approach would make a mockery of the “no appeal” mandate of Act 111. Id. The majority refuses to take a position as to the extent of the severity of the misbehavior alleged against the City in this case. However, the specter of the severity of such misbehavior serves to illustrate the damage that one party could inflict upon the legislative goal of “sure and swift” and “non-appealable” Act 111 arbitration awards, if such misbehavior could be corrected only in the courts of common pleas. Therefore, I believe it is incompatible with the text and spirit of Act 111 for Act 111 discovery requests to be enforced in the courts of common pleas. They must be enforced by the arbitrators.
For the above reasons, I respectfully dissent, particularly as I believe strongly that the consequences of the majority’s approach to several matters in this case are potentially disastrous.
. Fox came before this Court at a later stage where the issue was whether it is appropriate to disregard the finality of a judgment in a subsequent damages proceeding.
. With respect to this last factor, the majority views the arbitrator's evidentiary ruling as equivalent to the entry of a default judgment because of its perception that the City was effectively precluded from offering any evidence. See op. at 280-81 n. 7 and 287-88, 985 A.2d at 1267 n. 7 and 1271-72. However, the FOP argued that the City could have called as witnesses the Police Department Internal Affairs Division ("IAD”) investigator and the grievant. The majority asserts that this could not be so, but by so determining, the majority effectively takes the position that the FOP is being disingenuous to this Court and that had the City attempted to call these witnesses, the FOP would have objected to these witnesses because of the evidentiary sanction imposed by the arbitrator. There is simply no basis for the majority to have come to this disturbing conclusion. Now, the majority has essentially endorsed the City's strategy of refusing to proceed to a hearing on the case it could have brought, albeit with much less evidence than it would have wished to bring, on the gamble that the City would fare better on appeal. Respectfully, I believe that the majority errs significantly by
. Among this case law is Logan, supra, which, as I have observed, bears no resemblance to the present case, but, in fact, by its language supports the conclusion that no constitutional violation is here implicated. Other cases cited by the majority include Butler Bros. v. McColgan, 315 U.S. 501, 62 S.Ct. 701, 86 L.Ed. 991 (1942); Nixon v. Commonwealth, 576 Pa. 385, 839 A.2d 277 (2003), and Pennsylvania Game Com'n v. Marich, 542 Pa. 226, 666 A.2d 253 (1995). Butler Bros. simply involved whether the California Bank and Corporation Franchise Tax Act, as construed and applied to the appellant, violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Nixon involved whether the criminal records chapter of the Adults Protective Services Act, 35 P.S. §§ 10225.101-10225.5102, was unconstitutional as applied to the appellees. Marich involved whether a revocation of hunting and trapping licenses is subject to procedural due process.
. Betancourt, supra at 90.
. Again, the arbitrator did not dismiss the City’s case here; the City simply rested after being sanctioned.
. The grievant was terminated in December 2002, and the arbitrator's hearing was in July 2006.
. However, it is as yet unexplored whether the arbitrator's power to compel the enactment of legislation or the promulgation of regulations involves only interest as opposed to grievance arbitration. As grievance arbitration is essentially confined to the arbitrator's interpretation and application of a collective bargaining agreement, one might conclude that there could be no reason for a grievance arbitrator’s decision to compel the enactment of legislation or the promulgation of a regulation.
. The majority suggests that the FOP file a separate grievance and arbitrate the matter in order to place the City "on notice.” I strongly
. In fact, we sua sponte informed the parties that this was an essential issue on appeal. City of Philadelphia v. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 (Jason Breary), 595 Pa. 403, 938 A.2d 986 (2007) (per curiam ).
. In expressing my opinion, I disagree with the conclusion of the Commonwealth Court below that Act 111 arbitrators lack such authority, and most strenuously disagree with that court's conclusion that the forum for the FOP to enforce discoveiy requests is with the court of common pleas. See City of Philadelphia v. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 (Breary), 932 A.2d 274, 286 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2007).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, v. FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE LODGE NO. 5 (Jason BREARY). Appeal Of: Michael G. Lutz
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