Angle v. Bd. of Dentistry

431 P.3d 447, 294 Or. App. 470
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedOctober 17, 2018
DocketA162472
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 431 P.3d 447 (Angle v. Bd. of Dentistry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Angle v. Bd. of Dentistry, 431 P.3d 447, 294 Or. App. 470 (Or. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

AOYAGI, J.

*471The Board of Dentistry suspended petitioner's license to practice dentistry after concluding that he violated ORS 679.170(6) by failing to respond to two information requests from the board. Petitioner seeks judicial review of the board's order. In his first assignment of error, petitioner argues that he did not "fail to respond" within the meaning of ORS 679.170(6). In his second assignment of error, he asserts that, if the order stands as to the violations, then the board abused its discretion by imposing an excessive sanction. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the board erred in deciding on summary determination that petitioner violated ORS 679.170(6). Accordingly, we reverse and remand. Because of our disposition of the first assignment of error, we do not reach the second assignment of error.

*449STANDARD OF REVIEW

The board based its final order on a grant of summary determination. In contested case proceedings before the Board of Dentistry, an administrative law judge (ALJ) "shall grant" a motion for summary determination if, considering "all evidence in a manner most favorable to the non-moving party," there is "no genuine issue as to any material fact that is relevant to resolution of the legal issue as to which a decision is sought" and the moving party "is entitled to a favorable ruling as a matter of law." OAR 137-003-0580 (model rule); OAR 818-001-0005 (Board of Dentistry's adoption of model rule). We state the facts in accordance with that standard, and we review for legal error. Wolff v. Board of Psychologist Examiners , 284 Or. App. 792, 800, 395 P.3d 44 (2017).

FACTS

Petitioner is an orthodontist licensed by the board to practice dentistry in Oregon. In October 2014, petitioner and the board entered into a consent order in conjunction with a disciplinary settlement. Among other things, the consent order required petitioner to submit his next 20 completed cases to an approved reviewer before removing the patients' orthodontic bands : "At the completion of treatment *472for the next 20 active patients, but prior to debanding, Licensee shall submit the cases for evaluation to a reviewer, preapproved by the Board and Licensee * * *." In the event that petitioner violated any terms of the consent order, the order allowed the board, "after notice and hearing, [to] enter further disciplinary orders including license revocation."

On July 22, 2015, Wilcox, a reviewer who had been approved by the board, notified the board that petitioner had not contacted him to review any cases during the nine months since entry of the consent order. The board sent a letter to petitioner on the same day, requesting information:

"By your Consent Order, dated 10/17/14, you agreed to submit 20 orthodontic cases for review prior to debanding. Please submit to the Oregon Board of Dentistry a list of those patients for whom you have removed bands since 10/17/14 and identify the dentist(s) who reviewed those cases.
"If you have not removed bands from any patient since 10/17/14, provide a written narrative explaining why that has not happened.
"Oregon law requires that you respond to this written request within ten days. Failure to respond within ten days may constitute a violation of the Dental Practice Act. Please contact the Board as soon as possible if you need an extension of time."

During August 2015, the board twice contacted the law firm that represented petitioner and was told that a response to the board's letter was forthcoming. The board also called petitioner's office and learned from his staff that petitioner was accepting new patients and was booked into October.

On September 21, 2015, the board sent another letter to petitioner, repeating its prior information request and adding a new one:

"By letter dated 7/22/15, copy enclosed, the Oregon Board of Dentistry requested information regarding the review of orthodontic cases per your Consent Order, dated 10/17/14. The Board has no record that you responded to that request.
*473"Please respond to the Board's 7/22/15 request. Additionally, provide a written narrative why you did not respond to the Board's 7/22/15 request within ten days.
"Oregon law requires that you respond to this written request within ten days. Failure to respond within ten days may constitute a violation of the Dental Practice Act."

On September 30, 2015, petitioner, who was no longer represented, sent a letter to the board, which stated in its entirety:

"The requested response to your letter of July 22, 2015 was mailed to you on July 27, 2015, well within the 10 day timeline.
"The requested response was intentionally placed in the same envelope as Check No. 14949 payable to the Oregon Board of Dentistry to verify its receipt.
"Check No. 14949 payable to the Oregon Board of Dentistry (Copy Enclosed) cleared the bank on [August] 11, 2015, *450unequivocally proving your receipt of the requested response.
"How about we stop playing games and treat each other with respect."

Petitioner enclosed a copy of the canceled check, which was in the amount of the civil penalty imposed under the consent order and included a notation of the case number.

On October 6, 2015, the board sent a third letter to petitioner:

"The Oregon Board of Dentistry received your letter dated 9/30/15. The Board did not receive a response to its letters of 7/22/15 or 9/21/15. If you did provide a response, please send a copy of that correspondence as soon as possible. * * *
"The Board received your check #14949 on 8/10/15. The check was not accompanied by a cover letter or any other correspondence."

Petitioner did not reply to the board's third letter. On November 16, 2015, the board issued a notice of proposed license suspension to petitioner. The board alleged that petitioner had committed three violations of *474ORS 679.170(6), specifically that he had failed to respond within 10 days to each of the board's information requests of July 22, September 21, and October 6, 2015.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
431 P.3d 447, 294 Or. App. 470, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/angle-v-bd-of-dentistry-orctapp-2018.