Peters v. State

Opinion

Dr. John Peters appeals from a judgment on the pleadings entered against him in his action for declaratory relief against the State of California. Dr. Peters contends that Government Code section 19775.1 which entitles a state employee to compensation “for the first 30 calendar days of active duty served” on military leave means that he is entitled to be paid for 30 times 8 hours or 240 hours per year. We agree with the interpretation of the statute by the State of California and the trial court to the effect that the employee is entitled to his regular pay that he would otherwise have received during a period of 30 calendar days and we therefore affirm the judgment.

Dr. Peters is employed full time by the State of California, Department of Health Services, as a medical consultant. He also serves as a colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve. During fiscal year 1981 and 1982 he took 390 hours of military leave and was paid his regular state salary in addition to the military pay for all 390 hours. During the fiscal year 1982-1983 he took 180 hours on military leave and was paid for all 180 hours. In May 1983 respondent State of California realized its error and notified Dr. Peters that the maximum paid military leave entitlement under the statute was 172 hours per fiscal year. Dr. Peters was notified that he would be required to repay the overpayments totalling 226 hours by having sums deducted in monthly installments from his state salary. The deductions were not actually instituted pending the outcome of this litigation.

Dr. Peters’s first amended complaint sought a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction and a permanent injunction to prevent the State of California from refusing to pay the 240 hours of disputed military leave and to prevent the State of California from withholding any overpayment of wages during the period 1981-1984 from Dr. Peters’s state salary. The amended complaint also sought a declaration interpreting Government Code sections 19775.1 and 19775.2. The State of California demurred to the first amended complaint, alleging that the complaint did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action and that declaratory relief was not necessary

We first address the contention that the lower court acted prematurely in addressing the ultimate legal issue and granting judgment on the pleadings. Respondent State of California had not moved for judgment on the pleadings. However, during the hearing on the demurrer the court inquired “why can’t the Court, as a matter of interpretation, interpret this to be a judgment on the pleadings and give a judgment one way or the other on the pleadings or deny it as the case may be? Why can’t the Court do that? It’s done all the time.’ ” Counsel for Dr. Peters replied “The Court can do that. I don’t want to say it can’t, and the ruling would be welcome” and “In fact, that’s one of my more cogent arguments that this is a matter for the Courts; that this interpretation of the statute is a matter fdr the Courts that would dispose of the matter, your Honor, if you want to make that ruling now.” Dr. Peters cannot submit a matter for determination by the lower court and subsequently contend on appeal that the matter was beyond the scope of the issues framed by the pleadings. (See Estate of Armstrong (1966) 241 Cal.App.2d 1 , 7 [ 50 Cal.Rptr. 339 ].) Furthermore, a motion for a judgment on the pleadings and a general demurrer are in effect substantially similar and the same rules apply to ruling on such a motion as applied to ruling on a demurrer (Mathews v. State of California ex rel. Dept. of Transportation (1978) 82 Cal.App.3d 116 , 119 [ 145 Cal.Rptr. 443 ]), and an appeal from a judgment on the pleadings is reviewed in the same way as a judgment of dismissal following the sustaining of a demurrer. (Gill v. Curtis Publishing Co. (1952) 38 Cal.2d 273 , 275 [ 239 P.2d 630 ].) The same result could have been obtained by the trial court sustaining the demurrer without leave to amend. Dr. Peters argues Moore v. California Minerals etc. Corp. (1953) 115 Cal.App.2d 834 [ 252 P.2d 1005 ], as supportive of his assertion that it was error for the trial court to grant the judgment on the pleadings when no such motion was made. In Moore no motion of any kind was pending before the court and the trial had begun when the court granted sua sponte judgment on the pleadings. Surprise was involved and a lack of opportunity to be heard on the action being considered by the court. No such defects exist here. Appellant was on notice that in a hearing on a demurrer the demurrer to the complaint might be sustained without leave to amend which would result in a judgment being entered against the plaintiff. It was not error for the trial

It is a “well-established principle of statutory interpretation that if no ambiguity, uncertainty, or doubt about the meaning of a statute appears, the provision is to be applied according to its terms without further judicial construction. [Citation.]” (In re Atiles (1983) 33 Cal.3d 805 , 811 [ 191 Cal.Rptr. 452 , 662 P.2d 910 ].) The plain English language meaning and interpretation of the statute providing compensation for the first 30 calendar days of active duty and the apparently obvious intention of the statute seems clearly to have been to provide the employee the same compensation he would have received from his state employment during those 30 calendar days had he not been on active military duty. By plain logic and common sense, that would mean the number of hours the employee would have ordinarily worked during those first 30 calendar days. This would be true whether the employee is paid by the day, week or month or by the hour. The interpretation and policy of the State of California and the Department of Personnel Administration and State Personnel Board to that same effect are consistent with the plain English language meaning and interpretation of the statute. The contention by appellant that a state employee is entitled to be paid 30 times the number of hours in a regular work day simply has no support in logic or the language of the statute. We note that the wording of the statute refers to a single absence for military duty, “shall be entitled to receive his or her salary or compensation for the first 30 calendar days of active duty served during the absence.” (Gov. Code, § 19775.1, italics added.) The interpretation that the number of working hours in an average 30-day period whether the employee works five 8-hour days or four 10-hour days is the amount of compensation to which he is entitled seems to be

There was no requirement for the trial court to enter any form of declaratory judgment where the controversy can be determined as a matter of law. A complaint for declaratory relief is subject to demurrer without leave to amend under such circumstances (California State Employees’ Assn. v. Flournoy (1973) 32 Cal.App.3d 219 , 240-241 [ 108 Cal.Rptr. 251 ]) and the same rule applies to the disposition of the case by a judgment on the pleadings.

The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Butler, Acting P. J., and Todd, J., concurred.