Ziegler v. District Columbia

Esther H. Francis, in her capacity as Director of the District of Columbia Department of Public Works (DPW), brought suit in the Superior Court to vacate an order of the District of Columbia Contract Appeals Board (CAB). Instead of filing this suit against the CAB, however, Francis sued Recycling Solutions, Inc. (RSI), the prevailing party before the CAB. The trial court dismissed Franciss complaint, concluding that: (a) Francis had no statutory authority or any other basis for standing to bring the suit; (b) Francis improperly named RSI, rather than the CAB, as defendant; and (c) the Superior Court in any event lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter, since it was a "contested case" subject solely to this courts direct review. In a second order, the trial court granted RSIs request for costs and attorneys fees as sanctions under Super.Ct.Civ.R. 11; the trial court has not yet settled on the proper dollar amount. The court declined RSIs additional request for a Rule 11 order awarding lost profits. Francis appealed both the dismissal of the lawsuit and the award of sanctions; RSI appealed the courts refusal to award lost profits.