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Board adopts multiple proposed memoranda of decision; denies stay in at least one revocation case
Summary
At its June 3 meeting the board adopted several proposed memoranda of decision prepared after hearings (including cases recommending revocation) and rejected at least one oral motion to stay enforcement of a revocation, citing legal standards and the need to protect the public.
The Board of Examiners for Nursing considered multiple proposed memoranda of decision on June 3 and adopted several as final decisions. Cases on the agenda included proposed final decisions for Michael J. Belli (LPN), Margaret Montario (LPN), Alberta Dean (RN) and Peggy K. Cayamba (RN), among others; the board adopted the proposed memoranda as final decisions after motions and roll-call votes.
In several matters respondents’ attorneys asked for stays or for remedial options in lieu of revocation. Attorney Robert Irving Miller argued on behalf of Peggy K. Cayamba that the board should stay a revocation and allow remediation because the factual record did not show patient harm and the respondent has a long clinical history. Attorney Miller asked for an 18-month stay to allow the respondent to remediate educational deficiencies and retain the ability to work as an LPN pending corrective coursework.
DPH (Joel Newton and other staff) argued the proposed decisions were grounded in findings that respondents had not completed required program or clinical components and therefore did not meet the educational or clinical prerequisites for an RN license; the department asked the board to finalize the proposed memoranda to protect the public.
During discussion the board considered legal guidance about motions to stay and the balancing-of-equities test used by courts for agency stays. The board denied an oral motion to stay enforcement in Peggy Cayamba’s matter after considering arguments about irreparable injury, public harm from delay, and statutory authority. At least one other proposed memorandum on the agenda was adopted as a final decision by roll-call vote.
Why it matters: The board’s adoption of proposed memoranda as final decisions resolves contested hearings and may include revocations, probation or other discipline. Denying a stay allows the final sanction to take effect immediately and can have collateral consequences for employment and credentialing.
