No. 2600 C.D. (Pa. Comwlth.2003)

Facts of the Case

Ophelia Fetter who was an elementary school principal in the Jersey Shore Area School District submitted a written request for a three-month leave of absence to which was attached a note from her physician. The school board did not believe that she had submitted he medical information necessary for the board to approve the medical leave. For several months there was an exchange of letters between the school district and Fetter and her attorney. Fetter did not submit the standard Department of Labor medical leave certification completed by her physician. The Jersey Shore Area School District appealed the order of the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas remanding the case to the Jersey Area School District so that a hearing could be conducted. The Jersey Shore Area School District argued that their attorney sent an adjudication to Ophelia Fetter’s attorney because she abandoned her position as principal in the Jersey Shore Area School District. The trial court held that the letter was not an adjudication under section 101 of the Local Agency Law, 2, Pa. C.S. §101, but was merely correspondence between attorneys and a hearing was necessary to determine whether Ophelia Fetter abandoned her position. On December 5, 2000, Fetter submitted a written request to the Superintendent for a leave of absence and attached a note from her physician, which did not contain the necessary medical information required to approve the leave. On June 27, 2001 Fetter’s attorney sent a facsimile to the counsel for the School District and repeated that her medical leave request fell under the Family and Medical Leave Act 29 U.S.C. §2601 et seq. The School Board responded with a letter dated June 29, 2001 which it believed constituted an “adjudication” and concluded that Ms. Fetter had abandoned her position and invited further discussion of a possible compromise. The Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas held that the letter was not an adjudication under section 101 of the Local Agency Law, 2, Pa. C.S. §101, but was merely correspondence between attorneys and a hearing was necessary to determine whether Ophelia Fetter abandoned her position. The Jersey Shore Area School District appealed to Commonwealth Court that their attorney sent an adjudication to Ophelia Fetter’s attorney because she abandoned her position as principal in the Jersey Shore Area School District.

Decision of the Court

Commonwealth Court affirmed that the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleastrial court did not err in remanding the matter to the Jersey Shore Area School District for a hearing and agreed that the June 29th letter was not an adjudication but was intended as communication between counsel.

Basis for Decision

The letter contained none of the requirements as set forth in the Local Agency Law and did not give notice or instruct Ms. Fetter to her right to a hearing. Section 553 of the Local Agency Law states that no adjudication shall be valid unless a party has been afforded a reasonable notice of hearing and an opportunity to be heard. 2 Pa. C.S. §553. The Commonwealth Court also cited section 555 of the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa C.S. §555, which states, “An agency’s adjudication shall contain findings and reasons for the adjudication, and shall be served on all parties or their counsel personally or by mail.”

Prepared by Douglas Welty, July, 2004