Bower-Hansen v. Nebraska Dept. of Health & Human Servs.


Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 04/12/2019 08:06 AM CDT - 847 - Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets 302 Nebraska R eports BOWER-HANSEN v. NEBRASKA DEPT. OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVS. Cite as 302 Neb. 847 Betty Jane Bower-H ansen, appellant, v. Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services et al., administrative agencies of the State of Nebraska, and the State of Nebraska, appellees. ___ N.W.2d ___ Filed April 12, 2019. No. S-17-1278. 1. Administrative Law: Judgments: Appeal and Error. A judgment or final order rendered by a district court in a judicial review pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act may be reversed, vacated, or modified by an appellate court for errors appearing on the record. 2. ____: ____: ____. When reviewing an order of a district court under the Administrative Procedure Act for errors appearing on the record, the inquiry is whether the decision conforms to the law, is supported by com- petent evidence, and is neither arbitrary, capricious, nor unreasonable. 3. Contracts. When the terms of a contract are clear, a court may not resort to rules of construction. Instead, the terms of the contract are to be accorded their plain and ordinary meaning. 4. ____. Courts do not have the power to rewrite a contract to provide terms contrary to those that are expressed. 5. ____. It is not the province of a court to rewrite a contract to reflect the court’s view of a fair bargain. Appeal from the District Court for Lancaster County: Jodi L. Nelson, Judge. Affirmed. Nicholas J. Welding, of Norby & Welding, L.L.P., for appellant. Douglas J. Peterson, Attorney General, and Ryan C. Gilbride for appellees. - 848 - Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets 302 Nebraska R eports BOWER-HANSEN v. NEBRASKA DEPT. OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVS. Cite as 302 Neb. 847 Heavican, C.J., Miller-Lerman, Cassel, Stacy, Funke, Papik, and Freudenberg, JJ. Papik, J. After the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) terminated the employment of Betty Jane Bower-Hansen as a teacher at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney, Nebraska, Bower-Hansen sought to challenge the termination. She initiated grievance proceed- ings provided by the governing collective bargaining agree- ment (CBA). Those proceedings concluded when the State Personnel Board (Personnel Board) dismissed her grievance appeals. Bower-Hansen sought review of that decision in dis- trict court, and the district court affirmed the Personnel Board’s decision. Bower-Hansen now appeals the district court’s deci- sion. We affirm. BACKGROUND June 3, 2016, Meeting. The facts relevant to this dispute begin with a June 3, 2016, meeting between Bower-Hansen; John McArthur, the princi- pal at the treatment center; and LaDene Madsen, the human resources manager at the center. Bower-Hansen was a member of the bargaining unit represented by the State Code Agency Teachers Association (SCATA) at the time, and representatives of SCATA were also present at the meeting. During the meet- ing, Bower-Hansen was issued a notice of discipline advising her that her employment was terminated for cause, effec- tive immediately. Bower-Hansen ...

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