Ruddell v. City of Jenks, Dashner

1 Citing case

  1. City of Durant v. Cicio

    2002 OK 52 (Okla. 2002)   Cited 71 times
    Finding that a statute specifically governing police officers controlled over a statute of general applicability to municipal administration, and stating that "[t]he fundamental rule of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the legislative intent, and that intent is first sought in the language of a statute. . . . When the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, no occasion exists for application of rules of construction, and the statute will be accorded meaning as expressed by the language employed"

    ΒΆ 23 We hold that section 50-123 protects a member's right to continue in his employment in the absence of a showing of cause, and the board of review has the authority to pass on the merits of the discharge decision. Today's ruling finds support in Ruddell v. City of Jenks, 1976 OK 166, 556 P.2d 999, 1003, where we affirmed the trial court's issuance of a Writ of Mandamus requiring the City to establish a Board of Review to review the discharge of the Police Chief where his pension and retirement rights were involved. To the extent that Rains states the "for cause" provision creates an interest only in a member's pension and retirement benefits, and not in the continued employment itself, it is overruled.