Kasliner v. Dept. of Human Services

A circuit court must produce “special findings of fact” when it reverses an agency’s order in other than a contested case. ORS 183.484(6).

Petitioner requested judicial review of a final order issued by Department of Human Services (DHS) that assigned a “founded” disposition to a report that petitioner sexually abused his stepdaughter. The trial court found DHS led a prejudicial investigation, remanded DHS’s order and awarded attorney fees to petitioner.  DHS appealed both judgments.  On appeal, DHS assigned error to the finding that DHS’s order was unsupported by substantial evidence. DHS asserted that the victim’s statements supplied substantial evidence to uphold its final disposition and petitioner could offer evidence to the trial court that he believed DHS disregarded.  A circuit court must produce “special findings of fact” when it reverses an agency’s order in other than a contested case. ORS 183.484(6).  Applying rules of statutory construction, the Court found the mandate in ORS 183.484(6) that a court make special findings of fact textually applies when the court sets aside an agency’s order in other than a contested case for a lack of substantial evidence under ORS 183.484(5)(c).  Thus, the Court held that in judicial reviews of orders apart from a contested case for substantial evidence, deference is warranted to a trial court’s ancillary findings of fact supported by the record.  Affirmed.