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Pieren-Abbott v. Kansas Dep't of Revenue5/7/2004
the agency decision under K.S.A. 8-1020(o) and (p) commences a special proceeding. Once a licensee has requested an administrative hearing, a dispute exists over the driver's license suspension. KDR becomes a party to the dispute once it has received the notice of the request by mail or facsimile. Requests for judicial review of the orders entered following those hearings are not original actions. They are essentially appellate in nature. The purpose of a summons in the Code of Civil Procedure is to notify a defendant of a new lawsuit and the requirement that the defendant must timely file an answer or judgment will be taken. (See K.S.A. 60-268 et seq., Form No. 1 in the Appendix of Forms following the Rules of Civil Procedure). In these review proceedings, KDR is not required to but may file an answer. With no purpose to be served in requiring a summons, we should not construe the statute so as to require a futile act. See KPERS v. Reimer & Koger Assocs., Inc, 262 Kan. 635, 643, 941 P.2d 1321 (1997).
Certainly, the legislature, if it so desires, could require that a summons be served on KDR before the district court obtains subject matter jurisdiction in these proceedings. In the absence of a clear statement of that intent, however, we will not impose such a condition in light of the conflicting statutory provisions and the nature of a summons itself.
After considering the entirety of the statute and its history, the inclusion of the word summons in K.S.A. 8-1020(o) is not a prerequisite to conferring subject matter jurisdiction or obtaining personal jurisdiction for an appeal under K.S.A. 8-259(a), K.S.A. 8-1020(o), or the KJRA. Where a licensee timely files a petition for judicial review, mails the petition to KDR, and complies with all other clear statutory requirements, the district court possesses jurisdiction. Thus, the district courts erred in their interpretation of K.S.A. 8-1020(o), and the dismissals of the petitions filed by Pieren-Abbott, Day, and Earlywine should be reversed.
Reversed and remanded.
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