Rockett v. Texas State Board of Medical Examiners

287 S.W.2d 190, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 2019
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 1, 1956
Docket12929
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 287 S.W.2d 190 (Rockett v. Texas State Board of Medical Examiners) 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
Rockett v. Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, 287 S.W.2d 190, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 2019 (Tex. Ct. App. 1956).

Opinion

W. O. MURRAY, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Special 37th District Court of Bexar County, judicially reviewing and approving an order of the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners cancelling the license of Dr. F. W. B. Rockett to practice medicine in this State.

The trial began to a jury and after the jury had failed to answer any of the special issues submitted, the jury was discharged and judgment peremptorily rendered cancelling the license of Dr. Rockett *191 to practice medicine, and Dr. F. W. B. Rockett has' prosecuted this appeal.

Appellant’s first four points present the contention that the trial court tried this case under the substantial evidence rule and did not accord appellant a trial “de novo” in the district court.

There can be no question but that appellant was entitled to a trial “de novo” in its broadest sense. Art. 4506, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.Stats., as amended, Acts 53rd Legislature, 1953, p. 1029, Ch. 426, § 7, provides among other things as follows:

“The proceeding on appeal [one for the forfeiture of a medical license] . shall be a trial de novo, as such term is commonly used and intendéd in an appeal from the justice court to the county court, * *

The record in this case shows that the trial court overruled a motion for a summary judgment and gave appellant a full trial, submitting four special issues to the jury, but the jury was unable to agree upon the answers thereto. The trial was not conducted under the substantial evidence theory. We overrule appellant’s first four points.

Appellant by his fifth point presents the complaint that the court erred in granting appellee’s motion for peremptory judgment, because such motion did not properly disclose the grounds on which such action would be justified; and by his sixth point, that the court erred in granting such motion after the jury had failed to agree, because all essential issues were not undisputed.

We will discuss these two points together. It is true that Rule 268 provides that a motion for a directed verdict shall state the specific grounds upon which it is based, but the failure to do so is not necessarily fatal to the motion, and if ■ it is granted by the court such action will be sustained by an appellate court, if the judgment is based upon sufficient undisputed facts. Harvey v. Elder, Tex.Civ.App., 191 S.W.2d 686; Baylor v. Eastern Seed Co., Tex.Civ.App., 191 S.W.2d 689. Nor is the fact that the motion was not made by appellee until after the jury had been discharged for failure to ■ agree of any consequence. Slay v. Burnett Trust, 143 Tex. 621, 187 S.W.2d 377; Peveto v. Herring, Tex.Civ.App., 198 S.W.2d 921.

This brings us to a consideration of the one remaining question of whether or not the judgment .was justified by the undisputed facts. By the pleadings of appellant, his testimony, and the stipulations of the parties, it was conclusively established that: Appellant was employed by Thomas Clinic for a salary, of $500 per month and he received no fees; the Clinic was owned by Ralph C. Thomas, who was not a medical doctor and no .medical doctor owned any interest in the clinic; appellant performed medical services for the clinic arid the fees for such services were collected by the clinic. ■ Such conduct on the part of appellant was-in effect “permitting, or allowing, another to use -his.license or certificate to practice medicine- in this State, for the purpose .of treating, or offering to treat, • sick, -injured, or afflicted human beings”, which conduct is prohibited by the provisions of Section 12 of Art. 4505, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.Stats., and is made a ground for the forfeiture of a license to practice medicine by the-provisions of Art. 4506, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.Stats. See Section 5, Art. 4505.

This question has not been passed upon in this State, but there is an abundance of authorities from other jurisdictions. For complete annotations, see: State Board of Medical Examiners v. Spears, 1926, 79 Colo. 588, 247 P. 563, 54 A.L.R. 1498, 1516, annotation VII, aiding unlicensed persons to practice unlawfully, 54 A.L.R. 1516; State Board of Dental Examiners v. Savelle, 1932, 90 Colo. 177, 8 P.2d 693, 82 A.L.R. 1176, 1187, annotation VII, aiding unlicensed persons to practice unlawfully, 82 A.L.R. 1187; Rhode Island. Bar Association v. Automobile Service Association, 1939, 55 R.I. 122, .179 A. 139, 100 A.L.R. 226, 234; State ex rel. Beck v. Goldman Jewelry Co., 1935, 142 Kan. 881, 51 P.2d 995, 102 A.L.R. 334, 343, annotation — right *192 of a corporation 'or individual not himself licensed, to practice optometry through licensed employee, 102 A.L.R. 343; People, by Kerner v. United Medical Service, 1936, 362 Ill. 442, 200 N.E. 157, 103 A.L.R. 1229, 1240, annotation — right of a corporation or an' individual not himself licensed, to practice medicine, surgery, or dentistry through licensed employees, 103 A.L.R. 1240; People ex rel. State Board of Medical Examiners v. Pacific Health Corporation, 1938, 12 Cal.2d 156, 82 P.2d 429, 119 A.L.R. 1284, annotation — health service plan as violation of medical practice acts, 119 A.L.R. 1290; State ex rel. Bierring v. Ritholz, 1939, 226 Iowa 70, 283 N.W. 268, 121 A.L.R. 1450, annotation— one who fills prescriptions under reciprocal arrangement with physician or optometrist as subject to charge of practice of medicine or optometry without license, 121 A.L.R. 1455; Silver v. Lansburgh, 72 App.D.C. 77, 111 F.2d 518, 128 A.L.R. 582, 585, annotation — right of a corporation or individual, not himself licensed, to practice optometry through licensed employee, 128 A.L.R. 585; State ex rel. Booth v. Beck Jewelry Enterprise, 1942, 220 Ind. 276, 41 N.E.2d 622, 141 A.L.R. 876, 888, .annotation — employing an optometrist, leasing rooms to an optometrist, 141 A.L.R. 888; Hexter-Title & Abstract Company v. Grievance Committee, 1944, 142 Tex. 506, 179 S.W.2d 946, 157 A.L.R. 268, 282, annotation — right of corporation to perform or hold itself out as ready to perform functions in the nature of legal services, 157 A.L.R. 282; In re Rothman, 1953, 12 N.J. 528, 97 A.2d 621, 39 A.L.R.2d 1032.

In United States v. American Medical Association, 72 App.D.C. 12, 110 F.2d 703, 714, the Court said:

“The practice of medicine in the District of Columbia is subject to licensing and regulation and, we think, •may not lawfully be subjected ‘to commercialization or exploitation’. As was well said in People v. United Medical Service, 362 Ill. 442, 200 N.E.

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287 S.W.2d 190, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 2019, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rockett-v-texas-state-board-of-medical-examiners-texapp-1956.