Space Building Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue (1992)

See Luchini, 436 Mass. at 405 (exceptions to exhaustion “may be made in the judge’s discretion”); but see Space Bldg, 413 Mass. at 448–449 (judge abused discretion in requiring plaintiff to exhaust remedies before appellate tax board, because claim that Commissioner failed to comply with procedural requirements of G.L. c. 30A, § 11(7), raised pure question of law that board lacked jurisdiction to decide). 2.

Corp., 413 Mass. at 448; G.L.c. 62C, §41. 7 A court is not authorized to order an abatement which is foreclosed by a taxpayer’s failure to pursue available, adequate administrative remedies.

Corp. v. Comm’r of Revenue, 413 Mass. 445 , 449 (1992) (“When the question before the court is purely one of law and when the lack of jurisdiction is clear, a judge should not require parties to spend valuable time and resources pursuing unnecessary administrative review”). 3 When questioned at oral argument as to why MCAD needed to proceed “full steam ahead” on the merits of the claim if it had any lingering concerns about whether or not the ministerial exception ought to a…

DISCUSSION “As a general rule, where an administrative remedy is available, we require a party seeking declaratory relief first to exhaust the opportunities for an administrative remedy.” 5 Space Building Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue, 413 Mass. 445, 448 (1992), citing Villages Dev.

Further, there are “important, novel [and] recurrent issues at stake.” Space Building, 413 Mass. at 448.

Kelleher v. Personnel Administrator, 421 Mass. 382, 384 (1999); Space Building Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue, 413 Mass. 445, 448 (1992); Buteau v. Norfolk County Retirement Board, 8 Mass.App.Ct. 391, 395 (1979).

See Kelleher v. The Personnel Administrator, 421 Mass. 382, 384 (1995); Space Building Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue, 413 Mass. 445, 448 (1992); Construction Industries of Massachusetts v. Commissioner of Labor & Industries, 406 Mass. 162 , 166-67 (1990); and McKenney v. Commission on Judicial Conduct, 377 Mass. 790, 793-94 (1979).

“Exhaustion is generally required unless the administrative remedy is ‘seriously inadequate’ and exceptions to the rule occur most often when important, novel or recurrent issues are at stake, when the decision has public significance, or when the case reduces to a question of law.” Space Building Corp v. Commissioner of Revenue, 413 Mass. 445, 448 (1992).

Id. (“When a party fails properly to proceed through an agency’s lawfully established administrative process, that party normally is not entitled to a judicial decision on the merits of its claim.”) Plaintiffs alleged reliance on the belief that her attorney was appealing the 1988 termination of benefits is not a recognized exception to compliance with available administrative remedies. 2 See Space Building Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue, 413 Mass. 445, 448 (1992); Uniform…

Space Building Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue, 413 Mass. 445, 448 (1992).

See also Space Building Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue, 413 Mass. 445, 448 (1992) (when question before court is purely one of law and lack of jurisdiction is clear, judge should not require parties to spend valuable time and resources pursuing unnec-essaiy administrative review).