Trimmier v. South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation

746 S.E.2d 491, 405 S.C. 239, 2013 WL 3361967, 2013 S.C. App. LEXIS 179
CourtCourt of Appeals of South Carolina
DecidedJuly 3, 2013
DocketAppellate Case No.2012-212267; No. 5154
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 746 S.E.2d 491 (Trimmier v. South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trimmier v. South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation, 746 S.E.2d 491, 405 S.C. 239, 2013 WL 3361967, 2013 S.C. App. LEXIS 179 (S.C. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

KONDUROS, J.

Edward P. Trimmier appeals the order of the Administrative Law Court (ALC) affirming the South Carolina State Board of Dentistry’s (the Board’s) order granting his request for relieensure conditioned upon his provision of written evidence regarding the status of his Georgia license. We affirm.

FACTS/PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Trimmier has been licensed in Georgia, New York,1 and South Carolina during his career as a dentist. He has been the subject of disciplinary action in South Carolina and New York arising out of his conviction in 2002 for filing false claims with the South Carolina Medicaid program.2 The Board and Trimmier entered into a disciplinary consent agreement dated December 7, 2002. Trimmier’s license was suspended for six years, which was stayed to probation provided he paid a civil penalty of $25,000 and completed eight hours of Board-approved ethical training and education. Trimmier complied with the consent agreement but discontinued practicing in South Carolina and moved to Georgia.

In 2003, the Georgia Board of Dentistry (the Georgia Board) suspended Trimmier’s license for six years with it being actively suspended for the first ninety days, and the remainder of the time he would be on probation. This sanction was the result of a consent agreement with the Georgia Board3 after it discovered Trimmier submitted an application for a sedation permit that falsely indicated he had never been convicted of a crime. The Georgia Board issued a probationary sedation permit when it had no knowledge of these misleading responses.

[242]*242In 2004, the Georgia Board again reprimanded Trimmier for performing a procedure on a patient while sedated after the probationary sedation permit he had received lapsed. Although there were no accusations of patient endangerment, the Georgia Board revoked his license. Trimmier appealed the revocation and won. The circuit court ordered the Georgia Board to dispense less severe sanctions. Therefore, beginning October 2009, Trimmier was on indefinite suspension but could go before the Georgia Board for reinstatement after two years. Instead of waiting the two years and reapplying, or simply doing nothing, Trimmier voluntarily surrendered his Georgia license in April 2010.

Trimmier moved to South Carolina and decided to practice here. He petitioned to have his South Carolina license reinstated.4 His greater than six-year absence from practice in South Carolina meant his license here was inactive and he had to seek relicensure. At that hearing, conducted in July 2010, the Board inquired into the status of Trimmier’s Georgia and New York licenses.

Q. You voluntarily surrendered your license in Georgia?

A. That’s correct.

Q. Let me ask you, what was the status of your license in Georgia prior to that surrender?

A. That was the suspension pending — which I could’ve appealed. But you know, rather than keep going on and rehashing the same thing, I just said, you know, forgiveness is better.

Q. Are you saying that your license—
A. Put that to bed.
Q. —are you saying that your license was suspended just — when you surrendered it?
A. Yes

Because the Board had concerns about the facts underlying Trimmier’s apparently ongoing issues with the Georgia Board, the Board members requested transcripts and information regarding those proceedings. The record is unclear if Trimmier provided any additional information, but the Board issued an order later that month granting his South Carolina [243]*243license upon the condition that he “provide documentary evidence satisfactory to the Board that his license and/or certificates from Georgia, New York [,] and any other states of licensure are in good standing, whether active or inactive.”5

Trimmier subsequently filed a motion for the Board to reconsider its order and another hearing was held. The issue of the Georgia license was again a subject of much discussion.

Q. So you would submit that your license — I just want to be clear. I know this is probably asking the same question over. You submit that your license to practice in Georgia is in good standing but inactive?

Trimmier’s attorney tried to clarify the issue.

Q. In other words, there were no charges against him in Georgia when he took this inactive status?

A. [Attorney] When he took the status in Georgia I believe everything had been resolved in front of the court. He had taken an appeal at some point. It had been resolved to the extent that he was now back at square one to reapply in Georgia and rather than go through all the rigmarole and effort and expenditure, he just said I’m done with Georgia.

A. [Trimmier] See you later[.] Says I owe no fees[.] I’m fine. Everything’s good with them.

Again, the Board granted Trimmier’s license conditional upon proof of “written evidence to the Board which is satisfactory, in the Board’s discretion, that shows his Georgia license either was in good standing at the time of his voluntary surrender and/or that there were no disciplinary or other impediments, pending or otherwise, against his license at that time.” Trimmier appealed this order to the ALC, which affirmed the Board’s order. This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The review of decisions from the ALC is governed by section 1-23-380(5) of the South Carolina Code (Supp.2012), which states:

[244]*244The court may not substitute its judgment for the judgment of the agency as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The court may affirm the decision of the agency or remand the case for further proceedings. The court may reverse or modify the decision if substantial rights of the appellant have been prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:
(a) in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions;
(b) in excess of the statutory authority of the agency;
(c) made upon unlawful procedure;
(d) affected by other error of law;
(e) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or
(f) arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.

LAW/ANALYSIS

I. Violation of Section 40-1-110(1)

Trimmier argues the Board exceeded its statutory authority by conditioning his relicensure upon action by the Georgia Board and because such a requirement was not a part of the 2002 consent agreement. We disagree.

Section 40-1-110 of the South Carolina Code (2011) states: “In addition to other grounds contained in this article and the respective board’s chapter: (1) A board may cancel, fine, suspend, revoke, or restrict the authorization to practice....

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Bluebook (online)
746 S.E.2d 491, 405 S.C. 239, 2013 WL 3361967, 2013 S.C. App. LEXIS 179, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trimmier-v-south-carolina-department-of-labor-licensing-regulation-scctapp-2013.