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Appleby v. State ex rel Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Div.6/5/2002
Id. at 347. The IHU hearing officer made recommended findings of facts and conclusions of law that determined the Division had properly advised Scheneman of all deadlines and had properly computed those deadlines. Based on these conclusions, Scheneman's request for hearing was ruled untimely, and the final determination was not subject to further administrative or judicial review. Id. at 347-48.
[ ] On appeal, we determined that, where the statute prohibited review of a final determination before either the OAH or the Medical Commission when the request for hearing was untimely, the Division did have statutory authority to promulgate rules and regulations creating the IHU to review processing decisions that a request for hearing was untimely. Id. at 349-50. In Scheneman, the IHU's jurisdiction over the procedural aspect of processing a claim was distinguished from a claimant's substantive right to a contested case hearing before the OAH or the Medical Commission that is fixed at the time of injury. Id. at 351. Although the statute terminated Scheneman's substantive right to a contested case hearing on the denial of benefits, we held that IHU's jurisdiction over the preliminary processing issue did not adversely affect his rights. Id. at 351. This Court then went on to review whether substantial evidence supported the IHU's decision that Scheneman's request for hearing was untimely. Id. Thus, Scheneman is clear, the IHU has jurisdiction over the procedural matter of whether a request for hearing was untimely.
[ ] Scheneman addressed the issue of what process is due when a claimant contends that the Division has wrongly determined that a request for hearing was untimely. The Workers' Compensation Act (Act) and the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act (WAPA) require that no determination or award be final without notice, an opportunity for hearing and judicial review. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-606 (LexisNexis 2001); Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114 (LexisNexis 2001); Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-101(b)(ii) (LexisNexis 2001). Our jurisprudence requires that
oth general due process considerations of fairness and specific statutory restrictions directly limit the manner in which an agency may exercise its designated responsibilities. Additional restrictions are imposed by the often stated principle that an agency enjoys only those powers which the legislature has expressly conferred and the corollary rule of construction that statutes under which an agency purports to exercise a doubtful power must be strictly construed against the exercise of that power. Jackson v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Compensation Div., 786 P.2d 874, 878 (Wyo. 1990) (citations omitted).
[ ] Scheneman recognized the IHU jurisdiction over the specific facts in that case. It made no determination that the IHU had jurisdiction beyond determining whether the Division had properly advised of and computed deadlines before rejecting as untimely a request for a contested case hearing on a final determination denying benefits. The issue before us is, therefore, whether, considering all statutory and due process requirements, the IHU has subject matter jurisdiction over the issue of equitable estoppel.
[ ] Subject matter jurisdiction is an issue that this Court may raise upon its own motion. Summers, 987 P.2d at 156. In this case, Appleby conceded that her request for hearing was untimely, but contended that the Division was equitably estopped from denying her a contested case hearing on the final determination. Equitable estoppel is a tort doctrine that requires proof of misrepresentation. B&W;Glass v. Weather Shield Mfg., 829 P.2d 809, 813 (Wyo. 1992). Generally, the doctrine is considered a rule of s
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