Hachamovitch v. Office of Professional Medical Conduct

• Decision Date: 02 May 1996
• Citation: 227 A.D.2d 686,641 N.Y.S.2d 757
• Parties: In the Matter of Moshe HACHAMOVITCH, Petitioner, v. OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL CONDUCT et al., Respondents.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 757

641 N.Y.S.2d 757

227 A.D.2d 686

In the Matter of Moshe HACHAMOVITCH, Petitioner, v. OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL CONDUCT et al., Respondents.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division Third Department.

May 2, 1996.

Wood & Scher (Anthony Z. Scher, of counsel), Scarsdale, for petitioner.

Dennis C. Vacco, Attorney General (Raymond J. Foley, of counsel), New York City, for respondents.

Before MIKOLL, J.P., and MERCURE, CREW, YESAWICH and PETERS, JJ.

MERCURE, Justice.

Proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 (initiated in this court pursuant to Public Health Law § 230-c [5] ) to, inter alia, direct respondent Jonathan Brandes, as Administrative Law Judge of the State Department of Health, and/or respondent State Board for Professional Medical Conduct to decide petitioner's motion to reopen the administrative proceeding.

In August 1993, a Hearing Committee of the State Board for Professional Medical Conduct rendered a final determination sustaining findings, among others, that petitioner had practiced the profession of medicine fraudulently and failed to maintain adequate records with respect to a female patient (hereinafter patient A) by making a false entry concerning the extent of her blood loss in connection with an October 19, 1990 abortion procedure. That determination was confirmed following judicial review by this court, although our annulment of a finding of guilt on a specification concerning another patient required remittal to the Hearing Committee on the issue of penalty only (Matter of Hachamovitch v. State Bd. for Professional Med. Conduct, 206 A.D.2d 637, 614 N.Y.S.2d 608, lv. denied 84 N.Y.2d 809, 621 N.Y.S.2d 518, 645 N.E.2d 1218).

In November 1994, subsequent to the Hearing Committee's determination to leave the penalty unchanged, petitioner made application to respondent Jonathan Brandes, the Administrative Law Judge who presided over the administrative hearing on the charges against petitioner, to reopen the proceedings to permit petitioner to introduce allegedly newly discovered evidence and for an order directing respondent Office of Professional Medical Conduct to provide petitioner with all exculpatory material in its possession. Citing his lack of authority, Brandes denied the application, prompting petitioner to commence this CPLR article 78 proceeding in the nature of mandamus.

We conclude that the proceeding is lacking in merit and accordingly dismiss the petition. Fundamentally, mandamus is an extraordinary remedy, available, as against an administrative officer, only to compel the performance of a duty enjoined by law (see, Klostermann v. Cuomo, 61 N.Y.2d 525, 539-540, 475 N.Y.S.2d 247, 463 N.E.2d 588). In view of the fact that, at the time of the instant application, both administrative and judicial review had been completed (as it pertained to the issue of petitioner's guilt of the charges concerning patient A) and there being no statutory or regulatory provision granting petitioner the right to have the proceeding reopened on newly discovered evidence, respondents were under no clear legal duty to act...