Kozal v. Nebraska Liquor Control Comm. , 297 Neb. 938 ( 2017 )


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    Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets
    297 Nebraska R eports
    KOZAL v. NEBRASKA LIQUOR CONTROL COMM.
    Cite as 
    297 Neb. 938
    Stuart Kozal, doing business as Jumping Eagle Inn,
    et al., appellees and cross-appellees, v. Nebraska
    Liquor Control Commission, appellant, and
    A bram Neumann et al., appellees
    and cross-appellants.
    ___ N.W.2d ___
    Filed September 29, 2017.   No. S-17-441.
    1.	 Judgments: Jurisdiction: Appeal and Error. Determination of a juris-
    dictional issue which does not involve a factual dispute is a matter of
    law which requires an appellate court to reach its conclusions indepen-
    dent from a trial court.
    2.	 Jurisdiction: Appeal and Error. Before reaching the legal issues
    presented for review, it is the duty of an appellate court to determine
    whether it has jurisdiction over the matter before it.
    3.	 ____: ____. Where a lower court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to
    adjudicate the merits of a claim, issue, or question, an appellate court
    also lacks the power to determine the merits of the claim, issue, or ques-
    tion presented to the lower court.
    4.	 ____: ____. When an appellate court is without jurisdiction to act, the
    appeal must be dismissed. However, an appellate court has the power to
    determine whether it lacks jurisdiction over an appeal because the lower
    court lacked jurisdiction to enter the order; to vacate a void order; and,
    if necessary, to remand the cause with appropriate directions.
    5.	 Administrative Law: Liquor Licenses: Judgments: Appeal and
    Error. Under the Nebraska Liquor Control Act, an order of the Nebraska
    Liquor Control Commission granting, denying, suspending, cancel-
    ing, revoking, or renewing or refusing to suspend, cancel, revoke, or
    renew a license may be appealed in accordance with the Administrative
    Procedure Act.
    6.	 Administrative Law: Final Orders: Appeal and Error. Under the
    Administrative Procedure Act, any person aggrieved by a final decision
    in a contested case may obtain judicial review in district court.
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    KOZAL v. NEBRASKA LIQUOR CONTROL COMM.
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    7.	 Administrative Law: Courts: Appeal and Error. An Administrative
    Procedure Act proceeding in district court for review of a decision by an
    administrative agency is not an “appeal” in the strict sense of the term,
    meaning the power and authority conferred upon a superior court to
    reexamine and redetermine causes tried in inferior courts, but, rather, is
    the institution of a suit to obtain judicial branch review of a nonjudicial
    branch decision.
    8.	 Administrative Law: Judgments: Appeal and Error. In an
    Administrative Procedure Act review proceeding, the district court
    reviews the agency’s decision de novo on the record of the agency and
    may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the agency or remand the
    case for further proceedings.
    9.	 ____: ____: ____. The Administrative Procedure Act provides that a
    party initiating review in the district court must do so by filing a peti-
    tion in the district court of the county where the action is taken within
    30 days of service of the agency’s final decision and that all parties of
    record shall be made parties to the proceedings for review.
    10.	 Administrative Law: Jurisdiction: Appeal and Error. Where a dis-
    trict court has statutory authority to review an action of an adminis-
    trative agency, the district court may acquire jurisdiction only if the
    review is sought in the mode and manner and within the time provided
    by statute.
    11.	 Administrative Law: Parties: Jurisdiction: Appeal and Error. The
    Administrative Procedure Act’s requirement that a petitioner make all
    parties of record in the agency proceeding parties to the proceeding
    for review is necessary to confer subject matter jurisdiction on the dis-
    trict court.
    12.	 Administrative Law: Parties: Appeal and Error. Because the
    Administrative Procedure Act is a procedural statute that applies to a
    variety of agencies and types of agency proceedings, determining which
    parties qualify as “parties of record” requires looking at the nature of
    the administrative proceeding under review.
    13.	 Legislature: Statutes: Intent. The Legislature may limit the scope of a
    statutory definition to a particular section, act, or chapter.
    14.	 Administrative Law: Liquor Licenses: Parties: Appeal and Error.
    Neb. Rev. Stat. § 53-1,115 (Reissue 2010) defines which parties qual-
    ify as “parties of record” in proceedings of the Nebraska Liquor
    Control Commission and thus must be included in the district court’s
    Administrative Procedure Act review of the commission’s proceedings.
    15.	 Statutes: Intent. When interpreting a statute, the starting point and
    focus of the inquiry is the meaning of the statutory language, understood
    in context.
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    KOZAL v. NEBRASKA LIQUOR CONTROL COMM.
    Cite as 
    297 Neb. 938
    16.	 ____: ____. A court ascertains the meaning of a statute by reading it
    in pari materia, in light of the broader structure of the relevant act and
    related statutes.
    17.	 Statutes: Legislature: Intent. Where appropriate, a court may consider
    legislative history in order to better understand a statute’s context.
    18.	 Statutes. It is a fundamental rule of statutory interpretation that courts
    should, if possible, avoid any interpretation that renders a portion of the
    statute as superfluous.
    19.	 Statutes: Words and Phrases. A statutory definition of a term found in
    one statute may be considered when interpreting that same term as used
    in a different statute.
    20.	 Administrative Law: Parties: Jurisdiction: Appeal and Error. The
    failure to make a party of record in the agency proceedings a party to the
    proceedings for review as required by the Administrative Procedure Act
    is a failure to seek review in the mode and manner provided by statute
    that deprives the district court of jurisdiction.
    Appeal from the District Court for Lancaster County:
    A ndrew R. Jacobsen, Judge. Vacated and dismissed.
    Douglas J. Peterson, Attorney General, James D. Smith, and
    Milissa D. Johnson-Wiles for appellant.
    David A. Domina, of Domina Law Group, P.C., L.L.O., for
    appellees Abram Neumann et al.
    Andrew W. Snyder, of Chaloupka, Holyoke, Snyder,
    Chaloupka & Longoria, P.C., L.L.O., for appellees Stuart
    Kozal, doing business as Jumping Eagle Inn, et al.
    Heavican, C.J., Wright, Miller-Lerman, Cassel, Stacy,
    K elch, and Funke, JJ.
    Wright, J.
    NATURE OF CASE
    The often unremarkable process of renewing a liquor license
    has involved considerable controversy for the four beer retail-
    ers in this case. These retailers are located in the unincor-
    porated border town of Whiteclay, Nebraska, which is just
    across the state line from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
    in South Dakota, where the sale and consumption of alcohol is
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    KOZAL v. NEBRASKA LIQUOR CONTROL COMM.
    Cite as 
    297 Neb. 938
    prohibited. The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission
    (Commission) denied the retailers’ license renewal applica-
    tions. Pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA),1
    the retailers petitioned for review to the Lancaster County
    District Court, which vacated the Commission’s order. The
    Commission and some of the citizen objectors appealed.
    Our decision today does not address the merits of the par-
    ties’ respective positions, but rests solely on jurisdictional
    grounds. To obtain judicial review of an administrative agen-
    cy’s order under the APA, a party must include all “parties
    of record”2 from the agency proceeding. Under the Nebraska
    Liquor Control Act,3 local residents who formally object to the
    issuance of a liquor license (citizen objectors) are “parties of
    record” in the licensure proceeding before the Commission.
    In this case, when they sought review in the district court,
    the retailers failed to include the citizen objectors. Thus, the
    retailers did not comply with the requirements for judicial
    review under the APA and the district court lacked jurisdic-
    tion over the retailers’ petition for review. Because the district
    court lacked jurisdiction, its order is void and we lack juris-
    diction over this appeal from the district court. We vacate the
    district court’s order and dismiss this appeal.
    BACKGROUND
    The appellees, Stuart Kozal, doing business as Jumping
    Eagle Inn; Arrowhead Inn, Inc., doing business as Arrowhead
    Inn; Clay Brehmer and Daniel Brehmer, doing business as
    State Line Liquor; and Sanford Holdings, L.L.C., doing busi-
    ness as D & S Pioneer Services (collectively the retailers), held
    Class B liquor licenses, authorizing them to sell packaged beer
    for consumption off the premises.4 The Commission required
    the retailers to submit “long form” applications to renew their
    1
    Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 84-901 to 84-920 (Reissue 2014 & Cum. Supp. 2016).
    2
    See § 84-917.
    3
    Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 53-101 to 53-1,122 (Reissue 2010 & Cum. Supp. 2016).
    4
    See § 53-124(6)(a)(ii).
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    KOZAL v. NEBRASKA LIQUOR CONTROL COMM.
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    liquor licenses rather than allowing them to use the “short
    form” automatic renewal process.
    After the retailers submitted their applications, the
    Commission received 13 written objections from citizens of
    Sheridan County, protesting the renewal of the retailers’ licenses.
    That number was later reduced to 12 when the Commission
    determined in a prehearing order that one of the objectors was
    not a resident of Sheridan County. Under § 53-133(1)(h), the
    filing of “objections in writing by not less than three persons
    residing within such city, village, or county, protesting the issu-
    ance of the license” triggers a requirement that the Commission
    hold a hearing on the contested applications.
    The hearing was held on April 6, 2017. On April 19,
    the Commission voted to deny the retailers’ applications and
    issued a written order detailing its findings of fact and conclu-
    sions of law on April 24.
    The following day, the retailers filed a petition, pursuant to
    § 84-917 of the APA, in the Lancaster County District Court.5
    The retailers argued that the Commission’s requirement that
    they file “long form” applications and the denial of those
    applications was arbitrary and capricious and contrary to the
    Nebraska Liquor Control Act and the rulings of this court.
    But in seeking review in the district court, the retailers failed
    to make the citizen objectors parties to the petition for review
    under the APA.
    The retailers simultaneously filed a motion to stay the
    Commission’s order during the pendency of the review, which
    order was set to go into effect on April 30, 2017. A hearing
    was scheduled and held on April 26 in the Lancaster County
    District Court. Notice of the hearing was given only to the
    assistant attorney general representing the Commission. The
    only attorneys appearing at the hearing were those for the
    retailers and the Commission. The citizen objectors were not
    included at any point in the district court proceedings.
    5
    See § 53-1,116.
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    KOZAL v. NEBRASKA LIQUOR CONTROL COMM.
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    297 Neb. 938
    On April 27, 2017, the district court entered an order. In spite
    of holding a hearing and receiving arguments on the motion to
    stay, the district court ruled on the merits of the case. The dis-
    trict court, relying on this court’s holdings in Pump & Pantry,
    Inc. v. City of Grand Island 6 and Grand Island Latin Club v.
    Nebraska Liq. Cont. Comm.,7 vacated the Commission’s order
    and remanded the cause to the Commission with instructions
    to allow the retailers to renew their licenses through the “short
    form” automatic renewal process.
    On April 27, 2017, the same day as the district court’s
    order, the Commission appealed the order. We moved the
    appeal from the Nebraska Court of Appeals’ docket to this
    court’s docket.8
    On May 26, 2017 (more than 30 days after the Commission’s
    order but less than 30 days after the district court’s order), four
    of the citizen objectors, represented by counsel, filed a notice
    of appeal from the district court’s order. These citizen objectors
    argued that they were “parties of record” in the Commission’s
    licensure proceeding, but were not made parties to the APA
    review in the district court. We docketed this appeal together
    with the Commission’s appeal, designating the citizen objec-
    tors as appellees and cross-appellants.
    ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
    The Commission and the citizen objectors claim the district
    court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to enter its order vacat-
    ing the Commission’s order.
    STANDARD OF REVIEW
    [1] Determination of a jurisdictional issue which does not
    involve a factual dispute is a matter of law which requires an
    6
    Pump & Pantry, Inc. v. City of Grand Island, 
    233 Neb. 191
    , 
    444 N.W.2d 312
    (1989).
    7
    Grand Island Latin Club v. Nebraska Liq. Cont. Comm., 
    251 Neb. 61
    , 
    554 N.W.2d 778
    (1996).
    8
    See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-1106(3) (Reissue 2016).
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    appellate court to reach its conclusions independent from a
    trial court.9
    ANALYSIS
    [2-4] Before reaching the legal issues presented for review,
    it is the duty of an appellate court to determine whether it
    has jurisdiction over the matter before it.10 Where a lower
    court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits
    of a claim, issue, or question, an appellate court also lacks
    the power to determine the merits of the claim, issue, or
    question presented to the lower court.11 When an appellate
    court is without jurisdiction to act, the appeal must be dis-
    missed.12 However, an appellate court has the power to deter-
    mine whether it lacks jurisdiction over an appeal because the
    lower court lacked jurisdiction to enter the order; to vacate a
    void order; and, if necessary, to remand the cause with appro-
    priate directions.13
    [5] Under the Nebraska Liquor Control Act, an order of
    the Commission “granting, denying, suspending, canceling,
    revoking, or renewing or refusing to suspend, cancel, revoke,
    or renew a license” may be appealed “in accordance with
    the [APA].”14
    [6-8] Under the APA, “[a]ny person aggrieved by a final
    decision in a contested case” may obtain judicial review in
    district court.15 An APA proceeding in district court for review
    9
    deNourie & Yost Homes v. Frost, 
    295 Neb. 912
    , 
    893 N.W.2d 669
    (2017).
    10
    In re Interest of Luz P. et al., 
    295 Neb. 814
    , 
    891 N.W.2d 651
    (2017).
    11
    See, Midwest Renewable Energy v. American Engr. Testing, 
    296 Neb. 73
    , 
    894 N.W.2d 221
    (2017); In re Estate of Evertson, 
    295 Neb. 301
    , 
    889 N.W.2d 73
    (2016); Conroy v. Keith Cty. Bd. of Equal., 
    288 Neb. 196
    , 
    846 N.W.2d 634
    (2014).
    12
    In re Estate of Evertson, supra note 11; Conroy v. Keith Cty. Bd. of Equal.,
    supra note 11.
    13
    
    Id. 14 §
    53-1,116.
    15
    § 84-917(1).
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    of a decision by an administrative agency is not an “appeal” in
    the strict sense of the term, meaning “the power and authority
    conferred upon a superior court to reexamine and redetermine
    causes tried in inferior courts,” but, rather, is “the institution of
    a suit to obtain judicial-branch review of a nonjudicial-branch
    decision.”16 In an APA review proceeding, the district court
    reviews the agency’s decision “de novo on the record of the
    agency” and “may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of
    the agency or remand the case for further proceedings.”17
    [9] The APA provides that a party initiating review in the
    district court must do so “by filing a petition in the district
    court of the county where the action is taken” within 30 days
    of service of the agency’s final decision.18 It further provides
    that “[a]ll parties of record shall be made parties to the pro-
    ceedings for review.”19
    [10,11] Where a district court has statutory authority to
    review an action of an administrative agency, the district court
    may acquire jurisdiction only if the review is sought in the
    mode and manner and within the time provided by statute.20
    We have held that the APA’s requirement that a petitioner make
    all “parties of record” in the agency proceeding parties to the
    proceeding for review is necessary to confer subject matter
    jurisdiction on the district court.21
    Here, the citizen objectors were “parties of record” in the
    Commission’s proceeding. The retailers failed to include the
    16
    Glass v. Nebraska Dept. of Motor Vehicles, 
    248 Neb. 501
    , 506, 
    536 N.W.2d 344
    , 347 (1995).
    17
    § 84-917(5)(a) and (6)(b).
    18
    § 84-917(2)(a)(i).
    19
    
    Id. 20 See,
    J.S. v. Grand Island Public Schools, ante p. 347, 
    899 N.W.2d 893
          (2017); Nebraska Dept. of Health & Human Servs. v. Weekley, 
    274 Neb. 516
    , 
    741 N.W.2d 658
    (2007).
    21
    See Shaffer v. Nebraska Dept. of Health & Human Servs., 
    289 Neb. 740
    ,
    
    857 N.W.2d 313
    (2014).
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    citizen objectors in the district court’s review. The result is that
    the district court never acquired subject matter jurisdiction to
    review the Commission’s order.
    [12] The citizen objectors were “parties of record” in the
    Commission’s hearing on the retailers’ license applications.
    While the APA provides some guidance for when an agency is
    considered a “part[y] of record” that must be included in APA
    review of that agency’s decision,22 it provides no guidance for
    when a nonagency party is a “part[y] of record.” Nor does it
    include an all-encompassing definition of “parties of record,”
    applicable to every type of administrative proceeding. Because
    the APA is a procedural statute that applies to a variety of
    agencies and types of agency proceedings, determining which
    parties qualify as “parties of record” requires looking at the
    nature of the administrative proceeding under review.23
    Here, we must look to the Nebraska Liquor Control Act,
    which governs the Commission and its liquor license appli-
    cation proceedings, in order to determine whether the citi-
    zen objectors were “parties of record.” And we must look
    to the proceedings in this case to see whether the citizen
    objectors acted as parties and were treated as parties by the
    Commission.
    Nebraska Liquor Control Act Defines
    Citizen Objectors as Parties
    of R ecord
    The Nebraska Liquor Control Act, in § 53-1,115,
    defines which parties qualify as “part[ies] of record” in the
    22
    See § 84-917(2)(a)(i).
    23
    See, generally, Shaffer v. Nebraska Dept. of Health & Human Servs.,
    supra note 
    21, 289 Neb. at 750
    , 857 N.W.2d at 321 (reviewing underlying
    regulations for “State fair hearing” Medicaid coverage proceeding before
    Department of Health and Human Services to determine whether Medicaid
    provider was “party of record” for purposes of APA review); McDougle v.
    State ex rel. Bruning, 
    289 Neb. 19
    , 
    853 N.W.2d 159
    (2014).
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    Commission’s proceedings. It provides that “[i]n the case
    of an administrative proceeding before the [C]ommission on
    the application for a retail [liquor] license,” the “part[ies] of
    record” include: the applicant, the local government (if it has
    objected to the issuance of the license or requested a hearing),
    the Commission itself, and each citizen objector.24 Thus, the act
    itself defines citizen objectors as “part[ies] of record” in the
    Commission’s license application proceedings.
    [13,14] The retailers argue that the definition of a “party
    of record” in § 53-1,115(4) “applies only to that particular
    section.”25 Section 53-1,115(4) begins: “For purposes of this
    section, party of record means . . . .” (Emphasis supplied.)
    It is true that the Legislature may limit the scope of a statu-
    tory definition to a particular section, act, or chapter.26 But
    § 53-1,115 defines which parties qualify as “part[ies] of
    record” in the Commission’s proceedings. Thus, it defines
    which parties are “parties of record” that must be included
    in the district court’s APA review of the Commission’s
    proceedings.
    [15-17] When interpreting a statute, the starting point and
    focus of the inquiry is the meaning of the statutory lan-
    guage, understood in context.27 We ascertain the meaning of
    a statute by reading it in pari materia,28 in light of the broader
    24
    § 53-1,115(4)(a). See, also, § 53-133(1)(b).
    25
    Supplemental brief for appellees Kozal et al. at 3.
    26
    See, 2A Norman J. Singer and Shambie Singer, Statutes and Statutory
    Construction § 47:7 (rev. 7th ed. 2014); Antonin Scalia & Bryan A.
    Garner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts 225-33 (2012).
    27
    See, Doty v. West Gate Bank, 
    292 Neb. 787
    , 
    874 N.W.2d 839
    (2016). See,
    also, generally, Ross v. Blake, ___ U.S. ___, 
    136 S. Ct. 1850
    , 1856, 
    195 L. Ed. 2d 117
    (2016) (“[s]tatutory interpretation, as we always say, begins
    with the text”); State ex rel. Kalal v. Dane County, 
    271 Wis. 2d 633
    , 
    681 N.W.2d 110
    (2004) (statutory language is interpreted in context in which
    it is used); Scalia & Garner, supra note 26.
    28
    See Black’s Law Dictionary 911 (10th ed. 2014).
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    structure of the relevant act and related statutes.29 And where
    appropriate, we may consider legislative history in order to
    better understand a statute’s context.30
    Our conclusion that the definition of “party of record” in
    § 53-1,115(4) controls for purposes of the APA’s require-
    ment that “[a]ll parties of record shall be made parties to the
    proceedings for review”31 in a review of the Commission’s
    proceedings is confirmed by a closer look at that statute. First,
    the definition of “party of record” was enacted in the very
    same bill that amended the Nebraska Liquor Control Act to
    allow for review of the Commission through the APA.32 Prior
    to that bill, § 53-1,116 provided for review through petition
    in error33 and expressly stated that the APA did not apply.34
    The fact that the Legislature adopted the definition of “party
    of record” in § 53-1,115(4)—a key term of art in the APA—
    in the very same bill in which it adopted APA review of the
    Commission’s orders, leads to the conclusion that the defini-
    tion in § 53-1,115(4) is the controlling definition of “party
    of record” for purposes of APA review of the Commission’s
    proceedings.
    Second, the legislative history of the bill in which the “party
    of record” definition was adopted in § 53-1,115 indicates that
    29
    See, e.g., King v. Burwell, ___ U.S. ___, 
    135 S. Ct. 2480
    , 2492, 
    192 L. Ed. 2d 483
    (2015) (relying on “‘the fundamental canon of statutory
    construction that the words of a statute must be read in their context and
    with a view to their place in the overall statutory scheme’”); County of
    Webster v. Nebraska Tax Equal. & Rev. Comm., 
    296 Neb. 751
    , 
    896 N.W.2d 887
    (2017).
    30
    See, generally, Matter of Sinclair, 
    870 F.2d 1340
    , 1342 (7th Cir. 1989)
    (“[c]larity [of a statute] depends on context, which legislative history may
    illuminate”); Doe v. McCoy, ante p. 321, 
    899 N.W.2d 899
    (2017).
    31
    See § 84-917(2)(a)(i).
    32
    See 1999 Neb. Laws, L.B. 267.
    33
    See Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 25-1901 to 25-1910 (Reissue 2016).
    34
    § 53-1,116(1) (Reissue 1998) (“[t]he [APA] shall not apply to review
    under this section”).
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    the definition applies to APA review. The bill as introduced
    would have placed in § 53-1,115 both the definition of “party
    of record” in the Commission’s proceedings and the provision
    providing for APA review of the Commission’s proceedings.35
    The bill was later amended so that the APA review provision
    would be placed in § 53-1,116.36 This amendment made a
    variety of changes, which, in the words of the amendment’s
    introducer, “[we]re technical and intend[ed] for the purpose
    of clarifying the provisions of [the bill].”37 Thus, the sec-
    tion originally referred to by the language “[f]or purposes of
    this section” included the provision regarding APA review of
    the Commission’s orders.38 And the legislative history indi-
    cates that the amendment which moved the APA provision
    to the following section was not intended to change the fact
    that the definition of “party of record” would apply to APA
    review of the Commission’s proceedings.39 Thus, § 53-1,115
    defines who are “parties of record” in a hearing before the
    Commission that the APA requires be made parties to the pro-
    ceeding for review.
    For purposes of defining who are “parties of record” in a
    hearing before the Commission, § 53-1,115 defines such par-
    ties and § 53-1,116 provides that any order of the Commission
    may be appealed in accordance with the APA.
    [18] Third, the definition of “party of record” in § 53-1,115
    includes the Commission itself.40 If the definition of “party
    of record” for the Commission’s proceedings had no appli-
    cation to APA review of those proceedings, it would seem
    35
    Introduced Copy, L.B. 267, General Affairs Committee, 96th Leg., 1st
    Sess. 42-45 (Jan. 11, 1999).
    36
    See Legislative Journal, 96th Leg., 1st Sess. 1446 (Apr. 14, 1999).
    37
    Floor Debate, 96th Leg., 1st Sess. 5655-56 (May 3, 1999) (Senator Charlie
    Janssen).
    38
    See Introduced Copy, supra note 35.
    39
    See Floor Debate, supra note 37.
    40
    § 53-1,115(4)(a)(iv) and (c)(ii).
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    odd that the Commission is defined as a party of record.
    Section 53-1,115(1) through (3) addresses which parties are
    entitled to receive notice of the Commission’s order, have the
    right to move for rehearing, and may be assessed costs. The
    Commission has no need to give itself notice of the hearings
    it conducts, to move itself for rehearing, or to assess costs
    against itself. To strictly limit the application of the defini-
    tion of “party of record” in § 53-1,115(4) to that section alone
    would render the definition of the Commission as a “party of
    record” as superfluous. It is a fundamental rule of statutory
    interpretation that courts should, if possible, avoid any inter-
    pretation that renders a portion of the statute as superfluous.41
    But the inclusion of the Commission as a “party of record”
    in § 53-1,115(4) makes much more sense if that definition
    applies not only to that section, but also to APA review of the
    Commission’s proceedings.
    [19] And even if we were to read the phrase “[f]or purposes
    of this section” in § 53-1,115(4) such that the definition of
    “party of record” did not expressly apply beyond § 53-1,115,
    it could still be viewed as persuasive evidence of the mean-
    ing of “parties of record” as used in the APA and applied to
    review of the Commission’s proceedings. A statutory defini-
    tion of a term found in one statute may be considered when
    interpreting that same term as used in a different statute.42
    41
    See, State v. Artis, 
    296 Neb. 172
    , 
    893 N.W.2d 421
    (2017), modified on
    denial of rehearing 
    296 Neb. 606
    , 
    894 N.W.2d 349
    ; Scalia & Garner,
    supra note 26, 174-79 (discussing surplusage canon).
    42
    Matter of J.M.M., 
    890 N.W.2d 750
    , 754 (Minn. App. 2017) (“[w]e may
    look to related statutes when interpreting an ambiguous statute. . . . More
    specifically, we may borrow from other statutes’ definitions of terms that
    are undefined in the statute at issue”); State v. Turner, 
    567 N.E.2d 783
    ,
    784 (Ind. 1991) (“a legislative definition of certain words in one statute,
    although not conclusive, is entitled to consideration in construing the same
    words in another statute”). See, also, Jaster v. Comet II Const., Inc., 
    438 S.W.3d 556
    (Tex. 2014); Schaefer v. Putnam, 
    841 N.W.2d 68
    (Iowa 2013)
    (as corrected Dec. 18, 2013).
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    Because the APA contains no definition of “parties of record”
    and because there is no other definition of “party” or “party
    of record” in the Nebraska Liquor Control Act, the definition
    in § 53-1,115(4) is, at a minimum, strongly suggestive of the
    conclusion that citizen objectors are “parties of record” that
    must be included in a district court’s APA review.
    And the retailers do not argue that the definition of “party
    of record” in § 53-1,115 is entirely irrelevant to determin-
    ing which parties are “parties of record” under the APA.
    Rather, what they argue is that the controlling definition of
    “party of record” is the one found in subsection (4)(c) of
    § 53-1,115, which applies to “administrative proceed­       ing[s]
    before the [C]ommission to suspend, cancel, or revoke a retail
    . . . license,” rather than subsection (4)(a), which applies
    to “administrative proceeding[s] before the [C]ommission
    on the application for a retail . . . license.” (Emphasis
    supplied.)
    The retailers argue that we should look to the definition
    of “party of record” under § 53-1,115(4)(c), applicable to
    proceedings to suspend, cancel, or revoke liquor licenses,
    because “[t]he end result was the same as a cancelation [sic]
    or revocation.”43 But the end result of this proceeding was not
    the same as the cancellation or revocation of a liquor license.
    The retailers’ licenses were set to expire, and their applications
    for the following year were denied. Liquor licenses provide
    an entitlement for the sale, distribution, or production of alco-
    hol (depending on the type of license) for a period of only
    1 year. As § 53-149(1) provides, “[a] license shall be purely
    a personal privilege, good for not to exceed one year after
    issuance unless sooner revoked as provided in the Nebraska
    Liquor Control Act, and shall not constitute property . . . .”
    (Emphasis supplied.) Thus, renewal applications (short form
    or long form) and applications for new licenses are both
    applications, because the applicant is seeking an entitlement
    43
    Supplemental brief for appellees Kozal et al. at 6.
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    to which he or she is not currently entitled. This is different
    from the cancellation or revocation of a license, which takes
    away an existing entitlement from the license holder. The
    denial of a license renewal application simply allows the exist-
    ing 1-year entitlement to expire.
    The Commission’s proceeding, in name and in substance,
    was “an administrative proceeding before the commission on
    the application for a retail . . . license.”44 Thus, the relevant
    definition of “party of record” in § 53-1,115 is that found in
    subsection (4)(a), not subsection (4)(c). The fact that citizen
    objectors are defined by the Nebraska Liquor Control Act as
    “parties of record” in license renewal proceedings establishes
    that they are “parties of record” that the APA requires to be
    included in an APA review proceeding.45
    Citizen Objectors Acted As and Were
    Treated As Parties of R ecord
    in Commission H earing
    Not only does the Nebraska Liquor Control Act define citi-
    zen objectors as “parties of record” in the Commission’s liquor
    license application proceedings, but the citizen objectors in this
    case acted as and were treated as parties in the Commission’s
    hearing on the retailers’ license renewal applications.
    In Shaffer v. Nebraska Dept. of Health & Human Servs.,46
    we concluded that a Medicaid provider was a “party of record”
    in a Department of Health and Human Services hearing regard-
    ing Medicaid coverage of nursing care that should have been
    included in the district court’s APA review. One of the princi-
    pal reasons we relied upon to conclude that the provider was a
    “party of record” was that “it [was] clear from the administra-
    tive record that [the provider] participated in the [department’s
    Medicaid] hearing and was treated as a party by the hearing
    44
    See § 53-1,115(4)(a) (emphasis supplied).
    45
    See § 84-917.
    46
    Shaffer v. Nebraska Dept. of Health & Human Servs., supra note 21.
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    officer.”47 We looked to the fact that the Medicaid provider’s
    “representatives presented evidence, cross-examined witnesses,
    entered into stipulations, and presented arguments” and that
    “[a]t the beginning and conclusion of the hearing, the hearing
    officer referred to [the Medicaid recipient] and [the Medicaid
    provider] as the ‘parties.’”48
    Here too, the citizen objectors acted as and were treated
    as parties. The attorney for four of the objectors made a for-
    mal appearance as an attorney of record and was listed as an
    attorney of record in the record of the proceeding. The hearing
    officer conducted the hearing by allowing the objectors to call
    witnesses and make their case first, followed by the retailers’
    case and response to the objectors’ arguments and evidence.
    The citizen objectors’ attorney submitted pretrial witness
    and exhibit lists, filed and responded to prehearing motions,
    called witnesses at the hearing, made stipulations, objected to
    evidence, and examined and cross-examined witnesses. The
    primary examination of witnesses at the hearing was conducted
    by the citizen objectors’ attorney and the retailers’ attorney,
    with just a few questions asked by the hearing officer and the
    commissioners. The hearing officer referred to citizen objectors
    and the retailers as the “parties.” And he referred to the unrep-
    resented objectors as “pro se litigant[s].”
    And the Commission wrote in its order that in making its
    decision, it “considered, foremost, the existence of citizen
    protest, and the adequacy of existing law enforcement.” For
    all practical purposes, the citizen objectors were “parties of
    record” in the retailers’ licensure proceeding.
    Conclusion: Citizen Objectors
    A re Parties of R ecord
    [20] Because citizen objectors are defined by the Nebraska
    Liquor Control Act as “part[ies] of record” in the Commission’s
    47
    
    Id. at 751,
    857 N.W.2d at 322.
    48
    
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    liquor license application proceedings and because the citi-
    zen objectors acted as and were treated as parties in the
    Commission’s hearing, we conclude that they are “parties of
    record” for purposes of the APA. The APA requires all “par-
    ties of record” in the agency proceeding to be made parties in
    the district court’s review. Where a district court has statutory
    authority to review an action of an administrative agency, the
    district court may acquire jurisdiction only if the review is
    sought in the mode and manner and within the time provided
    by statute.49 The failure to make a “part[y] of record” a party to
    the proceedings for review as required by the APA is a failure
    to seek review in the mode and manner provided by statute that
    deprives the district court of jurisdiction. Here, the result of the
    retailers’ failure to include the citizen objectors is that the dis-
    trict court never acquired subject matter jurisdiction to review
    the Commission’s order.
    CONCLUSION
    The retailers failed to include all “parties of record” in
    the Commission proceeding when they sought review in the
    district court. The district court never acquired subject mat-
    ter jurisdiction, and as a result, we lack jurisdiction over this
    appeal. We vacate the judgment of the district court and dis-
    miss this appeal.
    Vacated and dismissed.
    49
    J.S. v. Grand Island Public Schools, supra note 20; Nebraska Dept. of
    Health & Human Servs. v. Weekley, supra note 20.