Mofu v. State, State Medical Board

486 N.E.2d 1169, 21 Ohio App. 3d 182, 21 Ohio B. 194, 1984 Ohio App. LEXIS 12676
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 17, 1984
Docket48234
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 486 N.E.2d 1169 (Mofu v. State, State Medical Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mofu v. State, State Medical Board, 486 N.E.2d 1169, 21 Ohio App. 3d 182, 21 Ohio B. 194, 1984 Ohio App. LEXIS 12676 (Ohio Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

*183 Per Curiam.

The State Medical Board rejected four license applications by a medical school graduate who had practiced elsewhere. Following an administrative hearing on the last two denials, the board again denied them. The applicant appealed to the common pleas court, which reversed the board’s decision.

The board now appeals to this court, complaining that the court erred by (1) applying an incorrect standard to review the board’s order, (2) failing to state its reasons for the reversal, and (3) reversing an order supported by reliable, probative and substantial evidence. While the trial court had no duty to explain its judgment, we agree with the board’s contention that it misapplied the proper standard for review. Hence, we reverse.

I

The applicant completed his undergraduate education in 1969 and received his medical degree in 1973. In 1975 the state of Georgia licensed him to practice medicine. In the same year he obtained a license to practice in California by “endorsement” of his Georgia registration. Likewise, in 1978 he received a Michigan license by endorsement of his Georgia license. During these years, the applicant pursued postgraduate training in those states.

On June 25, 1979, he moved to Ohio to accept a position as a resident at a local teaching hospital. On November 13, 1979, the State Medical Board received his request for application forms for a permanent Ohio license by endorsement of his Georgia registration. Before the applicant took any further action to obtain an Ohio license, the California Medical Board notified him they had undertaken disciplinary proceedings against him. That notice in January 1980 specified grounds related to his activities there in 1977 and 1978, and scheduled a hearing on those charges in February. Believing that the charges had no merit, the applicant determined not to attend the California hearings. Instead, he relied on a lawyer who represented another physician in the same disciplinary case to protect his interests there.

On February 19,1980, the applicant supplied the Ohio board with handwritten information on the board’s “Screening Information” form. The form directed:

“List all states in which you have been licensed to practice medicine and surgery and the date the licenses were issued. Place a check beside ‘Yes’ if your license is current.”

The applicant listed Georgia and Michigan with dates of his licensure in those states, indicating that both licenses were then current. He did not list his California registration. Although he listed a California hospital as a place he received training before his licensure there, he did not list any California experience after his licensure. He later testified that, despite his knowlege of the pending California disciplinary proceedings, his failure to list his California license on that form was “an honest omission.”

On March 9,1980, the applicant sent the state board his formal application for a permanent license. In language which differed slightly from the “Screening Information” form, the application form directed:

“List ALL states in which you are or have been fully licensed to practice medicine and surgery. Indicate the license number and the date it was issued. If the license is properly renewed, check YES under current. If the license was not renewed, check NO.” (Emphasis sic.)

The applicant listed Georgia and Michigan with the “date of issuance” and “license number” for each. He showed the Georgia license as current and the Michigan license as not current. He did not list a California license, but *184 he identified the California hospital that employed him in the medical employment history part of the form.

In fact, his Georgia and Michigan licenses were delinquent because he had failed to request their renewal and pay the prescribed fees for 1980. At his later hearing, he testified that he did not realize his Georgia license was then delinquent and he promptly remedied the defect when he learned about it.

The Ohio Medical Board conducted its investigation of this application for permanent licensure. It discovered the applicant’s California license, the pending disciplinary proceeding there, his grades on the Georgia examination, and the delinquent Georgia renewal. On April 30, 1980, the Ohio board denied this application for a permanent license, citing two reasons: (1) his grade on one part of the Georgia examination fell slightly below Ohio minimum standards, and (2) he failed to disclose his California license on both forms he had supplied, and disciplinary proceedings were pending there.

In May 1980, the California board notified the applicant that it had revoked his California license. At his later Ohio hearing, he testified that he disputed the California decision, so he retained new counsel to seek its reversal. By letters to the Ohio board dated July 3,1980 and October 2,1980, the applicant expressed his views about the California ruling and described his efforts to challenge it. His counsel represented in his later objection to the Ohio hearing examiner’s report that the California board ultimately reinstated the applicant’s license there on December 9, 1981.

On July 9, 1980, the applicant submitted an application for an Ohio “Temporary Certificate.” The application form asked: “Has any license entitling you to practice in any foreign country or in any state or territory of the United States been suspended or revoked?” He answered “No,” despite his letter acknowledging the California action which the board received one day earlier.

On February 11, 1981, the Ohio board sent the applicant a certified mail letter denying the temporary certificate for three reasons: (1) he falsely denied any revocation on this application, (2) he omitted reference to his California license in his earlier application for a permanent license, and (3) he prescribed controlled substances for certain patients in California without performing physical examinations. The board’s letter further advised that he could request a hearing on this matter within thirty days. An unidentified person signed the postal receipt for the letter at the hospital address, but the applicant testified that he never received it.

The Ohio board received the applicant’s second application for a temporary certificate on June 19,1981. This time he answered the question about any license suspension or revocation with “See previous note.” At the later hearing, he explained that this response referred to his earlier correspondence about the California decision.

On July 2, 1981, the Ohio board received a third application signed by the applicant for a temporary certificate. This time the inquiry about any past suspension or revocation was answered “No.” At the hearing, the applicant explained that he provided the hospital with his handwritten application form (number 2) and a signed blank form (number 3). He presumed that the hospital staff typed the answers on the third application and mailed both applications to the board. He did not explain why the second and third applications arrived on different dates with different answers to the revocation question.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Midwest Fireworks Manufacturing Co. v. Hennosy
594 N.E.2d 725 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1991)
Leon v. State Bd. of Psychology
8 Ohio App. Unrep. 356 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1990)
In Re Raymundo
586 N.E.2d 1149 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1990)
Kuzas v. Ohio State Medical Bd.
586 N.E.2d 210 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1990)
Cite as Cook v. Maxwell
567 N.E.2d 292 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1989)
Boieru v. State Employment Relations Board
560 N.E.2d 801 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1988)
Hale v. Ohio State Veterinary Medical Board
548 N.E.2d 247 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
486 N.E.2d 1169, 21 Ohio App. 3d 182, 21 Ohio B. 194, 1984 Ohio App. LEXIS 12676, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mofu-v-state-state-medical-board-ohioctapp-1984.