State Comm. for Marital v. Haynes

• Decision Date: 26 March 2013
• Docket Number: No. WD 74966.,WD 74966.
• Citation: 395 S.W.3d 67
• Parties: STATE COMMITTEE FOR MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPISTS, Appellant, v. Jennifer HAYNES, Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

395 S.W.3d 67

STATE COMMITTEE FOR MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPISTS, Appellant,

v.Jennifer HAYNES, Respondent.

No. WD 74966.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Western District.

March 26, 2013.

Matthew Laudano, for appellant.

Dale Ingram, for respondent.

Before Division One: THOMAS H. NEWTON, Presiding Judge, JOSEPH M. ELLIS, Judge and GARY D. WITT, Judge.

JOSEPH M. ELLIS, Judge.

The Missouri State Committee of Marital and Family Therapists (“the Committee”) appeals from a decision entered by the Administrative Hearing Commission (“the AHC”) granting Jennifer Haynes' motion for summary decision in her case challenging the Committee's denial of her request for licensure as a marital and family therapist in Missouri. For the following reasons, the AHC's decision is reversed.

The Committee licenses and regulates marital and family therapists in Missouri. In May 2008, Haynes, who was licensed in the state of Kansas as a marriage and family therapist, applied for licensure in Missouri as a marital and family therapist. On July 29, 2009, the Committee denied her application. Haynes challenged that decision before the AHC. Both parties filed motions for summary decision in their favor. The AHC eventually denied the Committee's motion and granted Haynes', finding that Haynes was entitled to licensure under the reciprocity provisions of § 337.715.2.

The Committee filed a petition for review in the Circuit Court of Cole County. The Circuit Court subsequently entered its judgment affirming the decision of the AHC. The Committee now appeals to this Court, contending that Haynes was not entitled to summary decision as a matter of law.

“On appeal from the circuit court's review of an agency decision, this Court reviews the action of the agency, not the action of the circuit court.” State Bd. of Registration for the Healing Arts v. Trueblood, 368 S.W.3d 259, 261 (Mo.App. W.D.2012). In reviewing an AHC decision, “we must consider whether the AHC decision was unsupported by competent and substantial evidence based upon a review of the whole record, was unauthorized by law, was arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable, or involved an abuse of discretion.” St. Charles Cnty. Ambulance Dist., Inc. v. Missouri Dep't of Health & Senior Servs., 248 S.W.3d 52, 53 (Mo.App. W.D.2008).

In this case, the AHC granted summary decision in Haynes' favor. “Summary decision, which is a procedure modeled on the summary judgment procedure at the circuit court level, is proper if a party establishes facts that entitle any party to a favorable decision and no party genuinely disputes such fact.” Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp. v. Director of Revenue, 358 S.W.3d 48, 51 (Mo. banc 2011); see1 C.S.R. § 15–3.446(5)(A). Whether summary decision should be granted is an issue of law, and, accordingly, this Court's review of such decisions is essentially de novo. Fire Ins. Exchange v. Horner, 368 S.W.3d 214, 216 (Mo.App. W.D.2012). We view the record in the light most favorable to the party against whom summary decision was entered and determine whether there is a dispute as to any material fact and whether the movant was entitled to a decision in their favor as a matter of law. Tisch v. DST Systems, Inc., 368 S.W.3d 245, 251 (Mo.App. W.D.2012). However, facts asserted in support of a motion for summary decision are taken as true unless contradicted by the non-moving party's response. Greene v. Schneider, 372 S.W.3d 887, 890 (Mo.App. E.D.2012).

To become licensed as a marital and family therapist in Missouri, § 337.715 requires:

1. Each applicant for licensure or provisional licensure as a marital and family therapist shall furnish evidence to the committee that:

(1) The applicant has a master's degree or a doctoral degree in marital and family therapy, or its equivalent as defined by committee regulation, from an acceptable educational institution accredited by a regional accrediting body or accredited by an accrediting body which has been approved by the United States Department of Education;

(2) The applicant for licensure as a marital and family therapist has twenty-four months of postgraduate supervised clinical experience acceptable to the committee, as the state committee determines by rule;

(3) After August 28, 2008, the applicant shall have completed a minimum of three semester hours of graduate-level course work in diagnostic systems either within the curriculum leading to a degree as defined in subdivision (1) of this subsection or as post-master's graduate-level course work. Each applicant shall demonstrate supervision of diagnosis as a core component of the postgraduate supervised clinical experience as defined in subdivision (2) of this subsection;

(4) Upon examination, the applicant is possessed of requisite knowledge of the profession, including techniques and applications research and its interpretation and professional affairs and ethics;

(5) The applicant is at least eighteen years of age, is of good moral character, is a United States citizen or has status as a legal resident alien, and has not been convicted of a felony during the ten years immediately prior to application for licensure.

As to the examination requirement, Missouri State regulations adopt the Examination in Marital and Family Therapy developed by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards and also adopted “the passing score, known as the criterion referenced passing point on the national examination in marital and family therapy, as established by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards ..., as the minimum passing score for Missouri Applicants.” 20 C.S.R. § 2233–2.040.

The sole exception to the foregoing licensing requirements is where the applicant is able to satisfy the requirements for licensure through reciprocity set forth in § 337.715.2, which provides:

Any person otherwise qualified for licensure holding a current license, certificate of registration, or permit from another state or territory of the United States or District of Columbia to practice marriage and family therapy may be granted a license without examination to engage in the practice of marital and family therapy in this state upon application to the state committee, payment of the required fee as established by the state committee, and satisfaction of the following:

(1) Determination by the state committee that the requirements of the other state or territory are substantially the same as Missouri;

(2) Verification by the applicant's licensing entity that the applicant has a current license; and (3) Consent by the applicant to examination of any disciplinary history in any state.

Haynes was required to prove these elements to the AHC in order to be entitled a decision that she was entitled to reciprocal licensure.

The AHC ultimately found that, under the undisputed facts, Haynes was entitled to licensure under this reciprocity provision, concluding that the requirements for obtaining a Kansas license as a marital and family therapist were substantially the same as the licensing requirements for becoming a marital and family therapist in Missouri. This conclusion was erroneous as a matter of law.

Kansas has a different license and significantly different licensing criteria for marriage and family therapists and for clinical marriage and family therapists. CompareK.S.A. § 65–6404(a) with § 65–6404(b). Under Kansas law, a “licensed marriage and family therapist” is:

[A] person who engages in the practice of marriage and family therapy and who is licensed under this act except that ... such person shall engage in the practice of marriage and family therapy only under the direction of a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist, a licensed psychologist, a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery or a person licensed to provide mental health services as an independent practitioner and whose licensure allows for the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.

K.S.A. § 65–6402(c). On the other hand, a “licensed clinical marriage and family therapist” is “a person who engages in the independent practice of marriage and family...