K & Y. Corp. v. Ohio State Liquor Control Commission
| Decision Date | 16 August 2001 |
| Docket Number | 01AP-219,01-LW-3221 |
| Parties | K & Y Corp., Appellant-Appellant v. Ohio State Liquor Control Commission, Appellee-Appellee |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
APPEAL from the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Sanjay K. Bhatt, for appellant.
Betty D. Montgomery, Attorney General, and David A. Raber, for appellee.
Appellant, K & Y Corp., appeals from a judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas affirming the order of appellee, the Ohio State Liquor Control Commission ("commission"), revoking appellant's liquor license for paying for alcoholic beverages with checks that were dishonored due to insufficient funds in violation of Ohio Adm.Code 4301:1-1-43(I).
Appellant asserts the following assignments of error:
Appellant is the owner of a business known as USA Market, located at 2185 West Mound Street, Columbus, Ohio. Appellant is the holder of a C1 and C2 liquor permit issued by the commission, which authorizes it to sell liquor on the permit premises. The commission received information from Central Beverages that appellant had made purchases of beer from them paying by checks which were dishonored because of insufficient funds. Copies of the checks, which indicate they were used to buy beer, are included in the record as follows: October_13, 1999, $321.58; October 19, 1999, $343.73; and October 26, 1999, $357.10, all payable to Central Beverages. After an investigation, the commission charged appellant, as the permit holder, with violations of Ohio Adm.Code 4301:1-1-43(I). An investigator gave notice to the manager of USA Market, Yazan Alkhadra, of the violations on December 13, 1999.
Notice of a hearing scheduled for April 5, 2000 was sent to USA Market and signed as received on March 10, 2000.
There was no request for continuance of the hearing, nor indication that appellant would present a representative or attorney to attend the hearing. Similarly, appellant offered no proof that the bad checks had been satisfied. When the cases were called for hearing on April 5, 2000, neither appellant, counsel, nor a corporate representative appeared. The only person to appear for appellant was Alkhadra, who stated that he was manager of the permit premises. Alkhadra stated he had appeared because he received the notice last week (even though Exhibit B reveals the notice was signed for on March 10, 2000, almost four weeks prior to the hearing). Alkhadra stated that the owner of the corporation was traveling overseas and conceded that he had no express authorization to attend the hearing on behalf of the corporation.
The hearing then proceeded with appellant's case. An investigator of the commission testified that the bad checks had been issued by USA Market and that as of April 3, 2000, the checks remained unpaid. Exhibits A, B, and C were admitted into the record which consisted of the notice of hearing, the signed and returned certified mail card, and the investigator's report with copies of the bad checks.
After presentation of the investigator's testimony, Alkhadra attempted to say something but was prohibited from doing so because he had no authorization to appear on behalf of the permit holder.
The commission found appellant guilty of the violations and revoked its liquor permit.
The trial court rejected the contentions that appellant makes in this appeal and found that the order of the commission was supported by reliable, probative and substantial evidence and was in accordance with law. On appeal, our scope of review is to determine whether the trial court abused its discretion in making its decision. Pons v. Ohio State Medical Bd. (1993), 66 Ohio St.3d 619, 621.
The trial court correctly ruled that Alkhadra, a layman who is manager of USA Market, cannot represent a permit holder at a commission hearing. Representation of a corporation by a...
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