Section 7 Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

• Library: Administrative Law 2011

Separation-of-powers constraints on judicial review by prohibition of nonfinal agency action are reflected in the doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies. The constitutional basis
of the exhaustion of administrative remedies doctrine is found
in Article V, § 18, of the Missouri Constitution, which provides that only “‘final decisions, findings, rules and orders’ of an administrative agency are subject to review as provided by law.” Farm Bureau Town & Country Ins. Co. of Mo. v. Angoff,
909 S.W.2d 348, 352 (Mo. banc 1995). The provisions for judicial review of a “contested case” under § 536.100, RSMo Supp. 2010,
of MoAPA provide for judicial review only for a “person who
has exhausted all administrative remedies provided by law.”
The policy basis for the exhaustion doctrine is to:

prevent premature interference with agency processes so that the agency may function efficiently and have an opportunity to correct its own errors;

afford the parties and the courts the benefits of the agency’s...