Shoban v. Bd. of Trs. of Desert Ctr. Unified Sch. Dist.

ployed by defendant Desert Center Unified School District (District). They were first employed in June 1965 for the school year 1965-66 and were classified for salary purposes on the basis of their training, experience and number of postgraduate units they had earned. They were re-employed for the ensuing school year 1966-67. Shortly after commencement of the school year 1966-67, the District determined that plaintiffs had been erroneously classified by being credited with more units of postgraduate studies than they were entitled to under the District regulation. The Board of Trustees ordered plaintiffs reclassified into lower salary classifications and withheld from their salaries alleged overpayments for the period during which they were allegedly improperly classified.

Plaintiffs thereupon instituted separate mandate actions to compel the District to restore them to their original classifications and to repay them the sums withheld from their salaries. The District answered and cross-complained for declaratory relief praying that the court declare that the District had properly reclassified plaintiffs and was entitled to recoup the alleged overpayment. The-cases were consolidated and tried by the court on a written stipulation of facts and supplemental documentary and testimonial evidence. The court found for plaintiffs, entered judgment for the relief they sought, and dismissed the District’s cross-complaint. The District appeals from the judgment.

The facts may be summarized as follows:

Prior to accepting employment with defendant District, plaintiffs had been teaching in Colorado. In June 1965 they Were interviewed for employment with defendant District by Dr. Hawkins, district superintendent. The District salary schedule took into account the number of postgraduate units held by each teacher. It was, in part, as follows:

The central issue in the lawsuit was whether, under the District’s salary schedule and regulations, quarter units of postgraduate work should be given the same weight as semester units. The District’s salary regulation, known as Policy 4141, adopted March 2, 1965, required credit to be given for postgraduate units of work but failed to specify whether the unit should be quarter or semester. It read in relevant part as follows:

“Units to be credited beyond a degree must be taken after the degree was obtained, except that those taken during the semester in which degree requirements were completed, and not a part of the requirements, may also be credited. [Italics added.]

“A salary schedule shall be adopted each year. Stipulations thereon shall be considered a part of this policy.’’

On October 6, 1966, on the recommendation of Superintendent Mallory, the Board of Trustees adopted a resolution stating “that in Policy 4141 wherever the word ‘unit’ or the word ‘hour’ appears that the word ‘semester’ be inserted before it. . . . ’ ’

The Board’s president testified that Policy 4141, as originally adopted, was intended to refer to semester units and that the Board assumed that it would be so understood. The Board member who moved the adoption of Policy 4141 testified that he assumed that the reference to postgraduate units was intended to mean semester units and did not see the need for

Mr. Mallory testified that he had never heard of an instance where quarter units were given the same weight as semester units for teacher salary classification and in his opinion it would be unfair to do so. Mr. Shoban admitted that normally 30 semester units or 45 quarter units were required for a master’s degree.

Plaintiffs ’ position at trial was that under Policy 4141 they were entitled to a “unit” credit for each quarter unit of postgraduate work. They testified that they accepted employment on Dr. Hawkins’ representations that they would be classified on that basis; that they had no knowledge that the District’s regulations made a distinction between quarter and semester postgraduate units; that neither the salary schedule nor Policy 4141 made such distinction; and that, in their opinion, in terms of the actual study required to earn them, a quarter unit was roughly the equivalent of a semester unit.

The court made findings to the effect that prior to the adoption of the Board’s resolution in October 1966, the salary schedule and District’s regulations made no distinction between quarter units and semester units, that the October 1966 resolution constituted a change in District policy, and that the reclassification of plaintiffs constituted an unlawful retroactive application of the new policy. The court concluded that plaintiffs were entitled to a peremptory writ of mandate commanding the Board of Trustees to restore them to their original salary classifications and to the repayment of the

The District contends that the trial court’s determination that prior to October 1966 the salary regulations permitted the same weight to be given to quarter units as semester units for salary classification purposes is erroneous. We agree with that contention.

While the trial court’s resolution of that issue is contained in the findings of fact, the proper construction of the salary regulation is a question of law. Where the facts are not in conflict and the issue involves the proper application of a statute or administrative regulation, a reviewing court is not bound by the trial court’s determination. (Western Contracting Corp. v. State Board of Equalization, 265 Cal.App.2d 568 , 575 [ 71 Cal.Rptr. 472 ]; Millbrae Assn. for Residential Survival v. City of Millbrae, 262 Cal.App.2d 222 , 245 [ 69 Cal.Rptr. 25 ]; California School Emp. Assn. v. Willits Unified School Dist., 243 Cal.App.2d 776 , 781 [ 52 Cal.Rptr. 765 ]; Gibbons & Reed Co. v. Department of Motor Vehicles, 220 Cal.App.2d 277 , 285 [ 33 Cal.Rptr. 688 , 927].) In the case under review the cause was submitted on stipulated facts and supplemental documentary and testimonial evidence. There was no substantial conflict in the supplemental evidence bearing upon the interpretation of the salary regulation. We are, therefore, not bound by the trial court’s finding, but must make our own determination respecting the proper interpretation of the salary regulation. (See Western Contracting Corp. v. State Board of Equalization, supra, 265 Cal.App. 2d 568 , 575; Gibbons & Reed Co. v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 220 Cal.App.2d 277 , 285.)

In this state we have rejected the rigid application of the notion that equitable estoppel may not be invoked against the government. The doctrine has most commonly been applied where tort claimants have been misled by governmental employees with respect to procedural or time requirements of a claim statute. (Rand v. Andreatta, 60 Cal.2d 846 , 849 [ 36 Cal.Rptr. 846 , 389 P.2d 382 ] ; Farrell v. County of Placer, supra, 23 Cal.2d 624 , 628; Cruise v. City and County of San Francisco, 101 Cal.App.2d 558 , 563 [ 225 P.2d 988 ]; see Merco Constr. Engineers, Inc. v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist., 274 Cal.App.2d 154 , 160 [ 79 Cal.Rptr. 23 ].) The application of the doctrine, however, has not been confined to such cases. It has been applied in many varying situations. (See Farrell v. County of Placer, supra, 23 Cal.2d 624 , 627-628.) For example, the doctrine has been applied to estop a school district from denying a teacher permanent classification (Briney v. Santa Ana High School Dist., 131 Cal.App. 357 , 361 [ 21 P.2d 610 ]; Crawford v. Board of Education, 20 Cal.App. 2d 391 , 396 [ 67 P.2d 348 ]); to estop a municipality from asserting a violation of a zoning regulation (Woodie v. Byram, supra, 132 Cal.App.2d 651 , 654); to estop a city from denying the validity of a contract to serve water to a subdivision outside the boundary of .a city (Sawyer v. City of

It has been said that ordinarily estoppel should not be invoked where to do- so would be harmful to some specific public policy or public interest or where it would enlarge the power of a governmental agency or expand the authority of a public official. (McNeil v. Board of Retirement, 51 Cal.2d 278 , 285 [ 332 P.2d 28 ]; Boren v. State Personnel Board, 37 Cal.2d 634 , 643 [ 234 P.2d 98 ] ; County of San Diego v. California Water etc. Co., 30 Cal.2d 817 , 825, 826 [ 186 P.2d 124 , 175 A.L.R. 747 ].) Subject to those qualifications, estoppel may be invoked against a governmental agency where “justice and right require it. ’ ’ (Driscoll v. City of Los Angeles, 67 Cal.2d 297 , 306 [ 61 Cal.Rptr. 661 , 431 P.2d 245 ]; Sawyer v. City of San Diego, supra, 138 Cal.App.2d 652 , 662.) The elements which must be present are: “ (1) the party to be es-topped must be apprised of the facts; (2) he must intend that his conduct shall be acted upon, or must so act that the partiasserting the estoppel had a right to- believe it was so intended ; (3) the other party must be ignorant of the true state of facts; and (4) he must rely upon the conduct to his injury. ’ ’ (Driscoll v. City of Los Angeles, supra, p. 305.)

In the case under review, the necessary elements for estoppel are present. Both plaintiffs came from the State of Colorado to accept employment with defendant District; defendant’s superintendent represented to plaintiffs that they would be given full credit for postgraduate units without regard to whether they were quarter or semester units; plaintiffs had no knowledge that the district regulations made any distinction between the two types of ¡units; the salary regulations which were a part of the contract of employment failed to specify whether credit for postgraduate units was to be based on a quarter or semester basis; and plaintiffs accepted employment and rendered their services in reliance' upon the representations of the superintendent. In these circumstances equity and justice require that the District be estopped from recovering the alleged overpayments.

Though not involving the issue here presented, the court in Phillis v. City of Santa Barbara, 229 Cal.App.2d 45 , 57 [ 40 Cal.Rptr. 27 ], made the following relevant observation: “When required by considerations of common justice [cita

The result we reach is not inconsistent with Aebli v. Board of Education, supra, 62 Cal.App.2d 706 , relied upon by the District. While on its face, Aebli would appear to- empower the board to recoup the alleged overpayments, the facts in that case are materially distinguishable from those present in the ease under review. In AebU, that an obvious clerical error or mistake in salary classification had been made by employees of the district, was discernible from reading the salary schedule. In the instant case the uncertainity in plaintiffs’ classifications stemmed from the lack of specificity in the District’s regulation. Nor is Holtzendorff v. Housing Authority, 250 Cal.App.2d 596 [ 58 Cal.Rptr. 886 ], also cited by District, controlling. In that case Mr. Holtzendorff, director of the Housing Authority, was reimbursed by the Authority for legal fees and expenses incurred by him in a successful defense of a criminal prosecution for alleged embezzlement of funds of the Authority. The Authority subsequently determined that the reimbursement was unauthorized and sought recovery of the amounts paid. In response to Mr. Holtzendorff’s contention that recovery could not be had on the theory of mistake unless it was one of.fact, the reviewing court, citing Aebli v. Board of Trustees, supra, 62 Cal.App.2d 706 , stated at p. 732, that generally speaking, money paid out by a governmental agency through mistake of law or fact may be recovered because public funds are “trust funds.” That ease, however, did not involve the question of equitable estoppel. None of the elements of estoppel were present.