Kiyak v. Dept. of Agriculture

Citations

• 210 Conn. App. 311

Syllabus

The plaintiff appealed to the Superior Court from the final decision of the defendant Department of Agriculture upholding disposal orders to euthanize the plaintiff's dog, which had bitten several people. An animal control officer for the defendant town of Fairfield issued the orders pursuant to the statute (§ 22-358) pertaining to biting animals. A depart- ment hearing officer had upheld the disposal orders in a proposed final decision that the department then adopted as its final decision. The Superior Court dismissed the plaintiff's appeal from the department's decision, concluding, inter alia, that he failed to prove that the depart- ment acted unreasonably, arbitrarily, illegally or in abuse of its discretion in upholding the disposal orders. On appeal to this court, the plaintiff claimed, inter alia, that the Superior Court erred in dismissing his appeal because § 22-358 (c) was unconstitutionally vague as applied in that the word ''necessary'' in the statute, concerning the issuance of a disposal order, authorizes arbitrary enforcement of the statute, and that his right to procedural due process was violated because the hearing officer adhered to no known rules, standards or procedures in determining that the disposal orders were necessary. Held: 1. The plaintiff's claim that § 22-358 (c) was unconstitutionally vague as applied was unavailing; the statute's lack of an explicit definition of ''necessary'' did not render it void for vagueness, as § 22-358 gives a person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited and provides sufficient notice that animal control officers are granted the discretion to decide what enforcement is necessary to protect the public in the case of a biting dog. 2. The plaintiff could not prevail on his claim that his right to procedural due process was violated because the hearing officer used inadequate procedures in upholding the decision of the animal control officer; the Superior Court's procedural