Garner v. Texas State Board of Pharmacy

304 S.W.2d 530, 1957 Tex. App. LEXIS 1983
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 28, 1957
Docket3326
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 304 S.W.2d 530 (Garner v. Texas State Board of Pharmacy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garner v. Texas State Board of Pharmacy, 304 S.W.2d 530, 1957 Tex. App. LEXIS 1983 (Tex. Ct. App. 1957).

Opinion

COLLINGS, Justice.

Calvin H. Garner a licensed pharmacist, was charged by the Texas State Board of Pharmacy with the offense of permitting another to use his license in filling a prescription for barbiturates, in violation of Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. Article 4542a, Sec. 12(f). A hearing was had by the Board at the Baker Hotel in Dallas, Texas, on March 28, 1956. After hearing and deliberation the Board ordered Garner’s license to practice pharmacy revoked and he filed his appeal from the action of the Board in the District Court of Bexar County. Upon a trial before that court without a jury judgment was entered sustaining the action of the Board. Garner has brought this appeal.

The Texas State Board of Pharmacy has filed a motion to dismiss Garner’s appeal. Under the provisions of Article 4542a, supra, such an appeal is required to be made within twenty days after the effective date of the order of the Board. In this connection it appears that at the conclusion of the hearing on March 28, 1956, but before the Board had taken any action, Garner was told that he was “excused” and that in due time he would “hear from the Board”. In compliance with this seeming request to leave the hearing Garner did leave and the first information that he had concerning the action of the Board was when he received a letter some days later. After Garner’s departure from the hearing the Board proceeded with its deliberation. A motion was made and seconded that Texas Pharmacist’s License No. 9852 issued to Calvin H. Garner be revoked and upon a vote the motion was carried unanimously. Thereafter, on April 2, 1956, the Board addressed to Garner the following letter:

“This will inform you of action taken by this Board after hearing held on *532 March 28th at the Baker Hotel in Dallas under which your pharmacist’s license No. 9852 is revoked. We request that license be forwarded to us immediately.”

On April 18, 1956, Garner filed his appeal from the action of the Board in the District Court of Bexar County, the place of his residence. Appellee contends that the effective date of the Board’s order revoking Garner’s license was on March 28, 1956, at the time of the hearing and, affirmative vote which was more than twenty days pri- or to April 18, 1956, when Garner’s appeal was filed in the District Court and that the appeal should, therefore, be dismissed. We cannot agree with this contention. In our opinion the date of the affirmative vote of the Board to cancel Garner’s license was not the effective date of the Board’s order as contemplated by the statute. In 73 C.J.S. Public Administrative Bodies and Procedure § 193, p. 541, it is stated:

“Where a statute provides for judicial review of a decision of an agency in the manner prescribed within a specific number of days after deliver)^ of the decision or after the date set by the agency as the effective date of the decision, the mere denial of the petition does not constitute the setting of an effective date, but there must be some affirmative action by the agency to start the period after the effective date running.”

Appellant was requested to leave the hearing on March 28, 1956. He was advised that in due time he would be informed of any action taken by the Board. He was, thereafter, informed by letter dated April 2, 1956, that “after hearing held on March 28 * * * ” his license was revoked. This letter, although ambiguous, is certainly subject to the interpretation and might well lead one to believe that the revocation of appellant’s license took place on April 2, 1956. Under the circumstances we hold that the effective date of the Board’s order was April 2, 1956, and that the appeal filed by Garner in the District Court on April 18, 1956, was timely. Appellee’s - motion to dismiss the appeal is overruled.

Article 4542a, Sec. 12, V.A.T.C.S., provides that the State Board of Pharmacy may in its discretion cancel, revoke or suspend the operation of any license granted by it for certain specified reasons. One of the grounds specified, to wit, Subsection (f), is when the holder of a license “directly or indirectly, aids or abets in the practice of pharmacy any person not duly licensed to practice under this Act”. The statute also provides that such cancellation, revocation or suspension by the Board shall be only after ten (10) days notice and a full hearing. The charge against Garner which was made before the Board and of which he was given notice was that he had violated Subsection (f), Section 12, of the article; that he did on or about the 29th day of November, 1955:

“allow Earl Burns to fill prescription No. 6574 for 6 Seconal capsules, grain 1½ which he labeled ‘Capsules 1 three times a day’. Prescription by Dr. Robert L. Price. This prescription was filled in the Burns Drug Store located in Sweetwater, Texas, said Drug Store was holder of Permit No. 10 issued by the Texas Board of Pharmacy, Calvin H. Garner, pharmacist, Cert. No. 9852. Above prescription No. 6574 was filled for B. L. Hillis, Sweetwater, Texas.”

It is urged by appellant Garner that the evidence does not support a finding that he allowed Burns to fill the prescription as charged. The general rule is that on an appeal from such an order of an administrative agency the test of sufficiency of the evidence to support the order is whether there was substantial evidence before the court reasonably supporting the order appealed from. 1 Tex.Jur. (Ten Year Supp.) 124; Railroad Commission v. Shell Oil Company, 139 Tex. 65, 161 S.W.2d 1022; Hawkins v. Texas Company, 146 Tex. 511, 209 S.W.2d 338.

*533 The evidence before the court was to the effect that Calvin H. Garner is and was at all times relevant hereto a registered pharmacist and that he was during a portion of the year of 1955 employed in that capacity in the Burns Drug Store of Sweet-water, Texas, of which Mr. Earl Burns was the owner. Earl Burns was not a registered pharmacist. On or about November 29, 1955, Burns filled a prescription. Thereafter, on the same day two investigators for the Board secured a search warrant and went to Burns’ drug store. They found Garner in his living quarters in back of the drug store “in his underwear, apparently asleep or something”. Burns at that time admitted in Garner’s presence that he had filled the prescription for Mr. Hillis. Garner at that time denied that he knew Mr. Hillis, denied that he had filled the prescription, and denied that he had previously known that Mr. Burns filled the prescription. There was no evidence contrary to this testimony by Garner unless it is contradicted by circumstances as herein substantially set out. There was evidence that a considerable amount of restricted drugs was gone for which no prescriptions could be found. Garner testified in effect that he knew nothing of the shortage. There was evidence to the effect that he was confined in the hospital during a portion of the time shortly before the incidents hereinabove set out. Garner testified: “As far as I knew, they were still just like I found them.” Garner also testified that he did not see any prescription on the file which he did not fill himself, and although questioned about this matter to some extent there was no showing to the contrary, other than the fact that the prescription in question was filled by Burns.

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Bluebook (online)
304 S.W.2d 530, 1957 Tex. App. LEXIS 1983, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garner-v-texas-state-board-of-pharmacy-texapp-1957.