What defense might an attorney assert if the administrative discretion argument failed?

What defense might an attorney assert if the administrative discretion argument failed?

• A. The plaintiff should have filed for a temporary restraining order.
• B. The plaintiff should have appealed to the board of building code appeals.
• C. The plaintiff has no standing.
• D. The plaintiff should have requested a hearing before the mayor.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is exhaustion of administrative remedies. When a party challenges an agency’s decision, courts normally require going through the agency’s own review process before seeking court review. If the challenge rests on the agency’s discretionary action and that line of attack fails, the defense you’d expect is that the plaintiff should have pursued the internal remedy—appealing to the board of building code appeals. That board is the designated body to review building code decisions, and pursuing that appeal would provide a final administrative determination before any court intervention. Without taking that internal step, the case is typically not properly brought or may be barred from immediate judicial review. The other options don’t fit as a defense to a failed administrative-discretion challenge: a temporary restraining order is a court remedy to halt action, not a defense about the proper route for review; a hearing before the mayor is not the standard internal appeal path for building code matters; and standing concerns whether the plaintiff has a stake in the dispute, which isn’t the issue when the question centers on exhaustion of administrative remedies.

The key idea is exhaustion of administrative remedies. When a party challenges an agency’s decision, courts normally require going through the agency’s own review process before seeking court review. If the challenge rests on the agency’s discretionary action and that line of attack fails, the defense you’d expect is that the plaintiff should have pursued the internal remedy—appealing to the board of building code appeals. That board is the designated body to review building code decisions, and pursuing that appeal would provide a final administrative determination before any court intervention. Without taking that internal step, the case is typically not properly brought or may be barred from immediate judicial review.

The other options don’t fit as a defense to a failed administrative-discretion challenge: a temporary restraining order is a court remedy to halt action, not a defense about the proper route for review; a hearing before the mayor is not the standard internal appeal path for building code matters; and standing concerns whether the plaintiff has a stake in the dispute, which isn’t the issue when the question centers on exhaustion of administrative remedies.