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Zomer v. West River Farms9/14/2005
he record is reviewed as a whole." Simonson v. Snap-On Tools, Corp., 588 N.W.2d 430, 434 (Iowa 1999). Evidence is substantial if a reasonable person would find it adequate to reach a conclusion. Id. Substantial evidence need not amount to a preponderance, but must be more than a scintilla. Elliot v. Iowa Dep't of Transp., Motor Vehicle Div., 377 N.W.2d 250, 256 (Iowa Ct. App. 1985). Further, we are to give deference to the fact-finding of the agency as we would a jury verdict. Harpole, 621 N.W.2d at 418. This deference includes the agency's credibility determinations. Clark v. Iowa Dep't of Revenue & Fin., 644 N.W.2d 310, 315 (Iowa 2002). If there is enough evidence to support the findings, we must affirm the agency's decision even if we might have found otherwise. Harpole, 621 N.W.2d at 420.
An abuse of discretion occurs when the agency action is based on untenable grounds or is clearly erroneous. IBP, Inc, v. Al-Gharib, 604 N.W.2d 621, 630 (Iowa 2000). Such abuse is "synonymous with unreasonableness," and is "clearly against reason and evidence." Dico, Inc. v. Iowa Employment Appeal Bd., 576 N.W.2d 352, 355 (Iowa 1998) (quoting Stephenson v. Furnas Elec. Co., 522 N.W.2d 828, 831 (Iowa 1994)). "Arbitrary" or "capricious" means the agency acted without regard to the law or facts. Bernau v. Iowa Dep't of Transp., 580 N.W.2d 757, 764 (Iowa 1998). We therefore concentrate on whether the agency's decision is both rational and based in law and fact. Dico, 576 N.W.2d at 355.
III. Merits
IMT's first two arguments claim that contract reformation was never properly raised or litigated at the hearing. We find several instances in the record addressing whether Blom and the local insurance agents knew or intended family-members to be covered under the policy. Such testimony is directly probative on the issue of mutual mistake. Commissioner Trier also specifically addressed these arguments in his ruling:
This is a case in which the parties failed to file a prehearing conference report. The report refines the issues to be determined at hearing and if one is not filed any and all issues can be raised and pursued. Defendants assert that they did not have notice that reforming the insurance contract was an issue. If that assertion is presumed to be true, their lack of knowledge is attributable to their failure to file a prehearing conference report as required by the agency.
Regardless of whether or not claimant expressly identified contract reformation as an issue while on the record, the issue was obviously present because without reforming the insurance policy contract claimant had no other plausible theory upon which to obtain a recovery. . . . Absent the issue of reforming the contract, the claim could have been dismissed prior to hearing through a simple motion for summary judgment. There was no reason to conduct an evidentiary hearing. The reformation issue was fully litigated. There was no other reason for the evidence at hearing to have included testimony about Gertrude's intent when purchasing the policy or how well she and Mark were known in the community or the history of her long relationship with the insurance agency. There would have been no reason for defendants to introduce evidence of policy audits or the uncompleted "420 endorsement" form. While defendants, through the exercise of hindsight, might wish that they had defended the claim differently, they cannot credibly claim that they did not realize the reformation issue existed or defend against it.
Given the record and the reasons set forth by the commissioner, we find the commissioner's determination that contract reformation was raised and addressed is sufficiently based in law and
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