Owens v. Montana Department of Revenue

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court dismissed Yvonne Owens’s appeal without prejudice because the District Court reviewed the Montana Department of Revenue’s decision without the complete administrative record. The Court held that judicial review under the Montana Administrative Procedure Act must be based on the administrative record and remanded for further proceedings after the record was properly submitted.

Holdings

1. In a contested case under the Montana Administrative Procedure Act, the reviewing court must confine its review to the complete administrative record; review based only on documents submitted with the parties' briefs was improper.
2. The Supreme Court will not decide an appeal based on a record that was not first submitted to the district court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court properly reviewed the Department of Revenue's contested-case decision without the complete administrative record.
2. Whether the Supreme Court could decide the appeal based on the administrative record submitted for the first time on appeal.

Disposition

dismissed