Watts v. Oregon State Board of Nursing

386 P.3d 34, 282 Or. App. 705, 2016 Ore. App. LEXIS 1540
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedDecember 7, 2016
Docket1300653; A156115
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 386 P.3d 34 (Watts v. Oregon State Board of Nursing) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Watts v. Oregon State Board of Nursing, 386 P.3d 34, 282 Or. App. 705, 2016 Ore. App. LEXIS 1540 (Or. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

SCHUMAN, S. J.

Petitioner seeks judicial review of a final order of the Oregon State Board of Nursing (the board) denying her, by summary determination, a license to practice as a registered nurse in Oregon. The board concluded that petitioner’s application included fraudulent documents purportedly showing that she met educational criteria for licensure by graduating from college when, in fact, she never did so. Petitioner does not deny that the board received the application, that she signed it, and that it contained fraudulent documents; she argues, however, that she deserved a hearing instead of a summary determination in order to prove her claim that an unscrupulous criminal filled in and submitted the material without her knowledge or permission. We vacate the board’s decision and remand.

In July 2012, the board received an application under the name of Dawn Osborne Watts for licensing as a registered nurse. One of the requirements for obtaining the license is “evidence of having completed, a state approved pre-licensure, Diploma, Associate Degree, Baccalaureate Degree or Master’s Degree Program in Nursing.” OAR 851-031-0006(l)(a)(B). The application stated that petitioner had obtained the necessary degree from Long Island University (LIU) in Brooklyn, New York, in 2012. A transcript and letter supposedly from LIU accompanied the application, at the end of which was the following statement:

“I hereby certify that I have read this application. I also certify that the information provided on this application is true and correct and that I have personally completed this application. I am aware that falsifying an application, supplying misleading information or withholding information is grounds for denial or revocation of license/certification.”

Petitioner concedes that she signed that statement, although she maintains that the application was blank when she did so and that another person sent it to the board.

A board employee responsible for investigating license applications suspected that the documents “looked very outdated” and “may be fraudulent.” The investigator contacted the LIU registrar’s office, which, after receiving copies of the documents, confirmed the investigator’s [707]*707suspicions. As a result, the board issued a Notice of Proposed Denial, citing ORS 678.111(l)(c), which authorizes denial of a license for “[a]ny willful fraud or misrepresentation in applying for or procuring a license,” and OAR 851-045-0070(6)(e), authorizing denial for “[r]esorting to fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit during the application process for licensure.” Petitioner, through counsel, requested a hearing, asserting, among other things, that a man falsely claiming to be an employee of LIU had defrauded her by collecting $4,000 from her in return for enrollment in a special accelerated program.

The board scheduled a hearing, but before it occurred, the board filed a Motion for Summary Determination, OAR 137-003-0580,1 alleging once again that petitioner had committed willful fraud or misrepresentation in applying for a license. Petitioner, now pro se because her attorney could not obtain pro hac vice status, filed a document captioned “Opposition to Motion for Summary Determination.” The first sentence began, “Dawn Osborne Watts swears as follows [.] ” She repeated her assertion that the board

“alleged erroneously that I submitted fraudulent documents in support of my license application. They have relied on a bogus transcript from [LIU] to bolster the false allegations. That document was not submitted to Oregon Board of Nursing by me. It was submitted by an unscrupulous individual who claimed to be an employee of LIU.”

The document was signed by petitioner and notarized. The board assigned the case to an administrative law judge (ALJ), who granted the board’s motion for summary determination. The board voted to accept the ALJ’s proposed order without substantive alterations, concluding, “It is appropriate that Ms. Watts’[s] Licensure by Examination Application be denied.”

On appeal, petitioner concedes that she never attended LIU and that the documents received by the board are fraudulent. She also concedes that she signed the documents, but maintains that she did so before they were filled [708]*708out and that she was not the person who filled out or submitted them. Although her appellate brief maintains also that the board reached the wrong conclusion, the actual argument is only that the board erred in granting the motion for summary determination—that, in other words, she was entitled to a hearing. The board responds that her claim of error is not preserved and, even if we reject that argument, that the board’s decision to grant summary determination was correct.

The board’s contention that petitioner’s claim of error is not preserved derives from ORAP 5.45(1), which provides, “No matter claimed as error will be considered on appeal unless the claim of error was preserved in the lower court and is assigned as error in the opening brief [.] ” The board maintains that, despite its reference to a “lower court” and “appeal,” the rule applies to judicial review of agency action. We agree. Thomas Creek Lumber v. Board of Forestry, 188 Or App 10, 30, 69 P3d 1238 (2003). We part ways with the board, however, when it asserts that failure to file exceptions to the ALJ’s proposed final order necessarily precludes judicial review. See OAR 137-003-0650(1) (“If the recommended action in the proposed order is adverse to any party or to the agency, the party or agency may file exceptions ***.”). In support of that argument, the board relies on Becklin v. Board of Examiners for Engineering, 195 Or App 186, 97 P3d 1216 (2004), rev den, 338 Or 16 (2005). In that case, the ALJ issued a proposed order favorable to the petitioner, but the respondent board amended the proposed order by making additional findings of fact. Id. at 200. Despite being notified of its opportunity to file exceptions, the petitioner

“chose not to file any exceptions to the amended proposed order. As a result, [the] petitioner never argued to the board that it lacked authority to make the additional findings of fact. Even assuming for the sake of argument that the board erred in making those additional findings, [the] petitioner never gave the board the opportunity to avoid that error in adopting its final order.
“[The p]etitioner’s argument that he preserved his assignment of error by arguing to the ALJ that the exceptions apply misses the point. The assignment of error is [709]*709not about whether the exceptions apply. It is about whether the board had the authority to address them. [The petitioner never advanced that issue until now. Accordingly, it is unpreserved [.] ”

Id. As we noted, “In general, to preserve a contention for appeal or judicial review, a party must provide the lower court or agency with an explanation of his or her objection that is specific enough to ensure that the court or agency is able to consider the point and avoid committing error.” Id. at 199-200. In other words, Becklin stands for the proposition that the court will not review arguments presented for the first time on judicial review. The holding would apply in a case like Becklin,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
386 P.3d 34, 282 Or. App. 705, 2016 Ore. App. LEXIS 1540, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/watts-v-oregon-state-board-of-nursing-orctapp-2016.