Jenny Wiley Health Care Center v. Commonwealth Cabinet for Human Resources

828 S.W.2d 657, 1992 Ky. LEXIS 58, 1992 WL 71105
CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedApril 9, 1992
DocketNo. 91-SC-310-DG
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 828 S.W.2d 657 (Jenny Wiley Health Care Center v. Commonwealth Cabinet for Human Resources) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jenny Wiley Health Care Center v. Commonwealth Cabinet for Human Resources, 828 S.W.2d 657, 1992 Ky. LEXIS 58, 1992 WL 71105 (Ky. 1992).

Opinions

STEPHENS, Chief Justice.

The sole issue in this appeal is whether the act of depositing in the mail a written request for a hearing concerning a citation issued by the Cabinet for Human Resources, pursuant to 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(1), amounts to a “filing,” when receipt of [658]*658the request by the Cabinet exceeds the twenty-day filing requirement by one day, according to 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(2). The Circuit Court and Court of Appeals held that it did not. We affirm for the following reasons.

Appellant, Jenny Wiley Health Care Center (hereinafter JWHCC), is a personal care home in Paintsville, Kentucky, licensed under KRS 216.750(2). Long-term care facilities such as JWHCC are regulated by the Cabinet for Human Resources pursuant to KRS 216.510-216.593. Under KRS 216.550 the Cabinet is required to establish uniform criteria to evaluate long-term care facilities and to make annual licensure inspections to rate their compliance with minimum standards set forth in the statute and their compliance with agency regulations. In making these licensure inspections, KRS 216.555 empowers the Cabinet to issue citations for any violations of agency regulations and/or federal law or regulations. See also 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(1).

The Cabinet, after an inspection on March 28, 1988, issued a citation to JWHCC for a Type “A” violation as defined in KRS 216.557(1). A Type “A” violation, according to the statute, is a violation of regulations set forth by the Cabinet, as prescribed by KRS 216.550 and 216.563; a violation of provisions found in KRS 216.-510 to 216.525; or a violation of applicable federal law or regulations, which “presents an imminent danger to any resident of a long-term care facility and creates substantial risk that death or serious mental or physical harm to a resident will occur.” KRS 216.557(1). Specifically, JWHCC was cited for violation of regulation 902 KAR 20:036, 3(8)(f)1.2, because the number of staff JWHCC utilized did not adequately meet the needs of its residents based upon the number of residents, the amount and kind of personal care required, the supervision and program needed, as determined by the definitions of care and services under the cited regulation.

JWHCC, questioning the merits of the citation, mailed a written request for a hearing to the Secretary of the Cabinet for Human Resources, pursuant to 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(2). This agency regulation provides that:

Within twenty days of the receipt of the written notice of action by the cabinet, the licensee of the facility may file a written request for hearing with the Secretary of the Cabinet for Human Resources. Upon receipt of the written request for hearing, the Secretary shall appoint an impartial hearing officer to hear and decide upon appealed decisions. 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(2).

The Cabinet responded by filing a motion to dismiss, arguing that JWHCC’s request was untimely since it had not been received within the twenty day period prescribed in 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(2).

An administrative hearing on May 19, 1988 was conducted to consider the Cabinet’s motion. During the hearing, counsel for both JWHCC and the Cabinet stipulated that a citation was issued and received by the facility on March 28, 1988. Without objection by counsel for JWHCC, counsel for the Cabinet further stipulated that the request for review was received by its Division of Licensure and Regulation on April 19, 1988, as evidenced by a departmental stamp. This date was one day after expiration of the time limit found in 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(2), when applied in conjunction with KRS 446.030(l)(a). Since the notice of appeal was due on or before April 17, 1988, which was a Sunday, KRS 446.030(l)(a) allowed JWHCC until Monday, April 18,1988 to file with the Cabinet Secretary for a review concerning the merits of the citation. See 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(1) and (2).

The hearing officer, granting the Cabinet’s motion to dismiss and setting forth his findings of fact and conclusions of law, entered a final appealable order on June 2, 1988, pursuant to 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(8). In the findings of fact, which neither party subsequently contested, the hearing officer stated that “JWHCC mailed a notice of appeal to the Cabinet for Human Resources on or after April 12, 1988, within 20 days after receipt of the Type A Citation.”

The hearing officer in his ruling, determined that filing a timely appeal is both [659]*659mandatory and jurisdictional. Thus he concluded that JWHCC’s request was time-barred from review by the Cabinet because it was not delivered to, or filed with, the agency on or before Monday, April 18, 1988, pursuant to 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(2) and KRS 446.030(l)(a). See Revenue Cabinet v. JRS Data Systems, Inc., Ky.App., 738 S.W.2d 828, 830 (1987), discretionary review denied. Distinguishing JWHCC’s case from Beauchamp v. Commonwealth, Ky., 243 S.W.2d 879 (1951), he further held that while “sufficient” compliance with a statutory deadline may be adequate for obtaining a veterinarian license as found in Beauchamp, supra, “strict” compliance is required for obtaining a hearing on an appeal of a citation. See Jones v. Cabinet for Human Resources, Ky.App., 710 S.W.2d 862, 865 (1986), discretionary review denied.

Pursuant to KRS 216.570(1) and 900 KAR 2:020, Sec. 2(9), JWHCC filed an appeal to the Franklin Circuit Court, which on April 4, 1990 affirmed the order of the hearing officer. Arguing that strict adherence to procedural rules is both mandatory and jurisdictional, the circuit court refused to consider the merits of JWHCC’s complaint, citing Jones v. Cabinet for Human Resources, supra, and Revenue Cabinet v. JRS Data Systems, supra.

Thereupon JWHCC, pursuant to KRS 216.570(4), sought review of the circuit court decision with the Court of Appeals.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
828 S.W.2d 657, 1992 Ky. LEXIS 58, 1992 WL 71105, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jenny-wiley-health-care-center-v-commonwealth-cabinet-for-human-resources-ky-1992.