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Ohio Bd. of Pharmacy, 2026-Ohio-2663.]", "paragraph_id": "para_1" }, { "text": "IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO", "paragraph_id": "para_2" }, { "text": "ELEVENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT", "paragraph_id": "para_3" }, { "text": "TRUMBULL COUNTY", "paragraph_id": "para_4" }, { "text": "WARREN RECOVERY GROUP, INC.", "paragraph_id": "para_5" }, { "text": "d.b.a SHAKER FAMILY RECOVERY,", "paragraph_id": "para_6" }, { "text": "Appellant,", "paragraph_id": "para_7" }, { "text": "- vs -", "paragraph_id": "para_8" }, { "text": "THE STATE OF OHIO,", "paragraph_id": "para_9" }, { "text": "OHIO BOARD OF PHARMACY,", "paragraph_id": "para_10" }, { "text": "Appellee.", "paragraph_id": "para_11" }, { "text": "CASE NO. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_12" }, { "text": "Administrative Appeal from the", "paragraph_id": "para_13" }, { "text": "Court of Common Pleas", "paragraph_id": "para_14" }, { "text": "Trial Court No. 2025 CV 00427", "paragraph_id": "para_15" }, { "text": "OPINION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY", "paragraph_id": "para_16" }, { "text": "Decided: July 13, 2026", "paragraph_id": "para_17" }, { "text": "Judgment: Affirmed", "paragraph_id": "para_18" }, { "text": "Michael J. McGee and James R. LaPolla, Harrington, Hoppe & Mitchell, Ltd., 108 Main", "paragraph_id": "para_19" }, { "text": "Avenue, S.W., Suite 500, Warren, OH 44481 (For Appellant).", "paragraph_id": "para_20" }, { "text": "Andy Wilson, Ohio Attorney General, State Office Tower, 30 East Broad Street, 16th", "paragraph_id": "para_21" }, { "text": "Floor, Columbus, OH 43215, Henry G. Appel and Breeanna R. Wells, Assistant Attorney", "paragraph_id": "para_22" }, { "text": "Generals, 30 East Broad Street, 26th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215 (For Appellee).", "paragraph_id": "para_23" }, { "text": "SCOTT LYNCH, J.", "paragraph_id": "para_24" }, { "text": "{¶1} Appellant, Warren Recovery Group, Inc., appeals the denial of its", "paragraph_id": "para_25" }, { "text": "administrative appeal in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas. Warren Recovery", "paragraph_id": "para_26" }, { "text": "Group is an outpatient mental health treatment facility located in Warren, Ohio, also", "paragraph_id": "para_27" }, { "text": "classified as an Office Based Opioid Treatment Program (OBOT). Warren Recovery", "paragraph_id": "para_28" }, { "text": "Group treats those with mental health and addiction disorders through medical", "paragraph_id": "para_29" }, { "text": "management. This appeal arose from the decision of defendant-appellee, the Ohio Board", "paragraph_id": "para_30" }, { "text": "of Pharmacy, to permanently revoke its Terminal Distributor of Dangerous Drugs (TDDD)", "paragraph_id": "para_31" }, { "text": "PAGE 2 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_32" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_33" }, { "text": "license and impose a monetary penalty in the amount of $2,500.00. For the following", "paragraph_id": "para_34" }, { "text": "reasons, we affirm the decision of the court below.", "paragraph_id": "para_35" }, { "text": "Procedural and Substantive History", "paragraph_id": "para_36" }, { "text": "{¶2} On February 3, 2025, an administrative hearing to take disciplinary action", "paragraph_id": "para_37" }, { "text": "against Warren Recovery Group was held before the Board of Pharmacy. Agent Joseph", "paragraph_id": "para_38" }, { "text": "Sidoti and Compliance Specialist Rachel Tormasi testified on behalf of the Board. Dr.", "paragraph_id": "para_39" }, { "text": "Deborah Watson, Director of Behavioral Health and the Clinical Director, and D’Andre", "paragraph_id": "para_40" }, { "text": "Bowers, Chief Executive Officer, the Managing Director and the Coordinator of Care,", "paragraph_id": "para_41" }, { "text": "testified on behalf of Warren Recovery Group. The Board of Pharmacy summarized the", "paragraph_id": "para_42" }, { "text": "hearing testimony as follows:", "paragraph_id": "para_43" }, { "text": "{¶3} On or about May 8, 2023, Board of Pharmacy agents conducted an", "paragraph_id": "para_44" }, { "text": "inspection at Warren Recovery Group. At the time of the inspection, the clinic owner,", "paragraph_id": "para_45" }, { "text": "Bowers, was present. The Responsible Person, Dr. J.D. LaBash, was not present. The", "paragraph_id": "para_46" }, { "text": "agents noted multiple violations of the Ohio Revised and Administrative Codes.", "paragraph_id": "para_47" }, { "text": "{¶4} Warren Recovery Group was acting as a patient pick-up station for patient-", "paragraph_id": "para_48" }, { "text": "specific prescriptions. The staff stated that they stored patient-specific medications in", "paragraph_id": "para_49" }, { "text": "order to help patients who had transportation issues with picking up their prescriptions.", "paragraph_id": "para_50" }, { "text": "When medications were not picked up by patients, these were repackaged as “facility", "paragraph_id": "para_51" }, { "text": "inventory.”", "paragraph_id": "para_52" }, { "text": "{¶5} Warren Recovery Group’s drug stock or “inventory” was kept in a locked", "paragraph_id": "para_53" }, { "text": "cabinet to which Bowers and other staff, none of whom were licensed as prescribers or", "paragraph_id": "para_54" }, { "text": "pharmacists, had access. As there was no prescriber onsite during the inspection,", "paragraph_id": "para_55" }, { "text": "PAGE 3 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_56" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_57" }, { "text": "Bowers himself provided the agents access to the drug stock using a passcode shared", "paragraph_id": "para_58" }, { "text": "with other staff.", "paragraph_id": "para_59" }, { "text": "{¶6} The cabinet contained several medications that had been repackaged as", "paragraph_id": "para_60" }, { "text": "“facility inventory,” including controlled substances and non-controlled dangerous drugs.", "paragraph_id": "para_61" }, { "text": "All but one of the medications were expired at the time of the inspection. The cabinet", "paragraph_id": "para_62" }, { "text": "contained other patient-specific medications dispensed through a local pharmacy.", "paragraph_id": "para_63" }, { "text": "{¶7} Warren Recovery Group did not complete an annual inventory of drug stock.", "paragraph_id": "para_64" }, { "text": "{¶8} One of Warren Recovery Group’s employees was missing an FBI/BCI", "paragraph_id": "para_65" }, { "text": "background check. Although Warren Recovery Group produced the criminal record", "paragraph_id": "para_66" }, { "text": "check following the inspection, it was not present onsite at the time of the inspection.", "paragraph_id": "para_67" }, { "text": "{¶9} The Board of Pharmacy commented on the foregoing violations as follows:", "paragraph_id": "para_68" }, { "text": "The practice violations found at the May 8, 2023 inspection were", "paragraph_id": "para_69" }, { "text": "significant. Specifically, the inspection revealed medication vials that", "paragraph_id": "para_70" }, { "text": "did not belong to the clinic, some of which held expired medications,", "paragraph_id": "para_71" }, { "text": "that were labeled as “facility inventory.” Mr. Bowers told a Board", "paragraph_id": "para_72" }, { "text": "agent that the vials were labeled so they could be re-dispensed to", "paragraph_id": "para_73" }, { "text": "patients. Additionally, during his testimony, Mr. Bowers insisted that", "paragraph_id": "para_74" }, { "text": "– despite the observations made by the Board agent and the plain", "paragraph_id": "para_75" }, { "text": "letter of the law – his clinic was in fact in compliance with the Annual", "paragraph_id": "para_76" }, { "text": "Inventory for Controlled Substances requirement because he", "paragraph_id": "para_77" }, { "text": "conducted weekly drug counts.", "paragraph_id": "para_78" }, { "text": "{¶10} It was discovered and documented by Board of Pharmacy agents that the", "paragraph_id": "para_79" }, { "text": "TDDD license displayed in the lobby of the facility had been altered and was not the same", "paragraph_id": "para_80" }, { "text": "license issued by the Board. The license identified the Responsible Person as “D’Andre", "paragraph_id": "para_81" }, { "text": "Bowers, Managing Director.”", "paragraph_id": "para_82" }, { "text": "{¶11} The Board of Pharmacy commented:", "paragraph_id": "para_83" }, { "text": "Mr. Bowers testified that a staff member likely attached a copy of his", "paragraph_id": "para_84" }, { "text": "signature to the TDDD license …, and it was not “incorrect” because", "paragraph_id": "para_85" }, { "text": "he is the “responsible person” for Warren Recovery Group, Inc., even", "paragraph_id": "para_86" }, { "text": "PAGE 4 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_87" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_88" }, { "text": "though he is not the “Responsible Person” – as the Board defines", "paragraph_id": "para_89" }, { "text": "the term – for the TDDD license. The license specifically directs the", "paragraph_id": "para_90" }, { "text": "Responsible Person to “[p]rint, sign, and keep this license in a readily", "paragraph_id": "para_91" }, { "text": "retrievable location.” It defies logic that the Board would not intend", "paragraph_id": "para_92" }, { "text": "that the “responsible person” as legally defined by the Board would", "paragraph_id": "para_93" }, { "text": "be the individual responsible for signing the license. Additionally,", "paragraph_id": "para_94" }, { "text": "when questioned about the TDDD license, Mr. Bowers testified that", "paragraph_id": "para_95" }, { "text": "the license was not improperly signed, rather it was improperly read", "paragraph_id": "para_96" }, { "text": "by the agent, further demonstrating a willingness [by Bowers] to", "paragraph_id": "para_97" }, { "text": "reiterate falsehoods.", "paragraph_id": "para_98" }, { "text": "{¶12} On July 6, 2023, Board of Pharmacy agents interviewed Dr. LaBash, the", "paragraph_id": "para_99" }, { "text": "Responsible Person at Warren Recovery Group for the TDDD license. He told agents", "paragraph_id": "para_100" }, { "text": "that he works in addiction medicine, primarily telemedicine, although he tries to be", "paragraph_id": "para_101" }, { "text": "physically present at Warren Recovery Group at least once a month. Following the May", "paragraph_id": "para_102" }, { "text": "8, 2023 inspection, he no longer allows the delivery of patient-specific medications to", "paragraph_id": "para_103" }, { "text": "Warren Recovery Group.", "paragraph_id": "para_104" }, { "text": "{¶13} On July 24, 2023, Board of Pharmacy agents spoke with Bowers. He", "paragraph_id": "para_105" }, { "text": "represented to the agents that the medications identified during the inspection had been", "paragraph_id": "para_106" }, { "text": "destroyed on May 10, 2023, and that a medication destruction form had been completed", "paragraph_id": "para_107" }, { "text": "at a later date.", "paragraph_id": "para_108" }, { "text": "{¶14} On July 25, 2023, Dr. LaBash advised agents that he was not involved in", "paragraph_id": "para_109" }, { "text": "the destruction of any medications following the May 8, 2023 inspection.", "paragraph_id": "para_110" }, { "text": "{¶15} On August 1, 2023, Board of Pharmacy agents, including Sidoti, went to Dr.", "paragraph_id": "para_111" }, { "text": "LaBash’s residence and spoke with him. Dr. LaBash advised that sometime around July", "paragraph_id": "para_112" }, { "text": "28, 2023, Bowers had brought him several bottles of pills. He put the pills in his compost", "paragraph_id": "para_113" }, { "text": "bin to render them non-retrievable. When presented with the medication destruction form,", "paragraph_id": "para_114" }, { "text": "Dr. LaBash acknowledged that he had initialed portions of the form but denied that the", "paragraph_id": "para_115" }, { "text": "signature on the form was his.", "paragraph_id": "para_116" }, { "text": "PAGE 5 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_117" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_118" }, { "text": "{¶16} Sidoti observed pills in the compost bin although their identity could not be", "paragraph_id": "para_119" }, { "text": "determined. The disposing of controlled substances and non-controlled dangerous drugs", "paragraph_id": "para_120" }, { "text": "in Dr. LaBash’s compost bin was improper. It was also improper for these substances to", "paragraph_id": "para_121" }, { "text": "have been transported to Dr. LaBash’s home from Warren Recovery Group by Bowers,", "paragraph_id": "para_122" }, { "text": "a non-licensed healthcare professional.", "paragraph_id": "para_123" }, { "text": "{¶17} Sidoti observed and photographed empty pill bottles in Dr. LaBash’s kitchen", "paragraph_id": "para_124" }, { "text": "trashcan. The bottles matched the bottles observed in the cabinet at Warren Recovery", "paragraph_id": "para_125" }, { "text": "Group during the May 2023 inspection. Sidoti also observed several pill bottles that had", "paragraph_id": "para_126" }, { "text": "not been noted during the inspection. These bottles or vials had been repackaged and", "paragraph_id": "para_127" }, { "text": "marked as “facility inventory.” The patient labels, including personally identifiable patient", "paragraph_id": "para_128" }, { "text": "information, on the medication vials were still legible and, therefore, in violation of the", "paragraph_id": "para_129" }, { "text": "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.", "paragraph_id": "para_130" }, { "text": "{¶18} With regard to the foregoing testimony, the Board of Pharmacy concluded:", "paragraph_id": "para_131" }, { "text": "The Board finds Mr. Bowers’ testimony that the drug destruction,", "paragraph_id": "para_132" }, { "text": "required by the May 8, 2023 Inspection Report, occurred on May 10,", "paragraph_id": "para_133" }, { "text": "2023, contrary to fact. Even if the Board disregards Dr. LaBash’s", "paragraph_id": "para_134" }, { "text": "statements made to the Board agent on July 25, 2023 and/or August", "paragraph_id": "para_135" }, { "text": "1, 2023, that he was not involved in the drug destruction or signing", "paragraph_id": "para_136" }, { "text": "any forms after the May 8, 2023 inspection, and further, that the", "paragraph_id": "para_137" }, { "text": "drugs were brought to his house sometime around July 28, 2023", "paragraph_id": "para_138" }, { "text": "(and rendered non-retrievable at that time), the evidence is clear.", "paragraph_id": "para_139" }, { "text": "The vials found in Dr. LaBash’s trash on August 1, 2023 by the Board", "paragraph_id": "para_140" }, { "text": "agent – and the condition of the pills observed in the compost bin …", "paragraph_id": "para_141" }, { "text": "– rebut Mr. Bowers’ testimony and support the conclusion that the", "paragraph_id": "para_142" }, { "text": "drugs were destroyed earlier that week. The Board finds it", "paragraph_id": "para_143" }, { "text": "incredulous that drugs destroyed, and vials disposed of, in May 2023", "paragraph_id": "para_144" }, { "text": "would still be observable in Dr. LaBash’s compost bin and trashcan", "paragraph_id": "para_145" }, { "text": "nearly three months later. Further, regardless of whether Dr. LaBash", "paragraph_id": "para_146" }, { "text": "signed the document stating that the drugs were destroyed on May", "paragraph_id": "para_147" }, { "text": "10, 2023 as Mr. Bowers contends or whether Mr. Bowers – or", "paragraph_id": "para_148" }, { "text": "another agent of Warren Recovery – falsified Dr. LaBash’s signature", "paragraph_id": "para_149" }, { "text": "on the document, the Board concludes that the drug destruction", "paragraph_id": "para_150" }, { "text": "PAGE 6 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_151" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_152" }, { "text": "document was falsified or backdated to lead the Board to believe that", "paragraph_id": "para_153" }, { "text": "the drugs were destroyed earlier than their actual destruction date.", "paragraph_id": "para_154" }, { "text": "{¶19} Although not cited as a violation, the Board of Pharmacy noted the following", "paragraph_id": "para_155" }, { "text": "based on Bowers’ hearing testimony:", "paragraph_id": "para_156" }, { "text": "The in-hearing review of Warren Recovery Group, Inc.’s website,", "paragraph_id": "para_157" }, { "text": "warrenfamilyrecovery.com, and Mr. Bowers’ professional biography", "paragraph_id": "para_158" }, { "text": "on the website, concerned the Board. At the time of the hearing, Mr.", "paragraph_id": "para_159" }, { "text": "Bowers’ biography displayed “D’Andre Bowers” with credentials", "paragraph_id": "para_160" }, { "text": "below his name listing “EMT, CPhT, STNA, MA, QMHS/QBHS.” Mr.", "paragraph_id": "para_161" }, { "text": "Bowers’ testimony regarding his professional licenses, registrations,", "paragraph_id": "para_162" }, { "text": "and/or credentials was false. When asked about each credential, he", "paragraph_id": "para_163" }, { "text": "testified that he either has the license or registration or that Ohio", "paragraph_id": "para_164" }, { "text": "does not require the license or registration in order to qualify for each", "paragraph_id": "para_165" }, { "text": "professional status. Upon further questioning, he testified he", "paragraph_id": "para_166" }, { "text": "received the required training and/or the qualifications in technical", "paragraph_id": "para_167" }, { "text": "school. Mr. Bowers falsely testified that emergency medical", "paragraph_id": "para_168" }, { "text": "technicians (EMTs) do not require licensure or certification in Ohio.", "paragraph_id": "para_169" }, { "text": "But see ORC Chapter 4765 (First Responders, Emergency Medical", "paragraph_id": "para_170" }, { "text": "Technicians). And, despite using the CPhT (Certified Pharmacy", "paragraph_id": "para_171" }, { "text": "Technician) credential on his website, Mr. Bowers acknowledged", "paragraph_id": "para_172" }, { "text": "that he had applied for – but then abandoned – his application for", "paragraph_id": "para_173" }, { "text": "CPhT registration with this Board. The willingness to blatantly lie to", "paragraph_id": "para_174" }, { "text": "the Board – about publicly available information such as professional", "paragraph_id": "para_175" }, { "text": "licensing credentials – including the Board’s own registration for a", "paragraph_id": "para_176" }, { "text": "CPhT – shows a clear and reckless disregard for the truth and puts", "paragraph_id": "para_177" }, { "text": "his clinic clients and public at risk.", "paragraph_id": "para_178" }, { "text": "{¶20} On February 7, 2025, the Board issued its Order to permanently revoke", "paragraph_id": "para_179" }, { "text": "Warren Recovery’s TDDD license and impose a $2,500 monetary penalty.", "paragraph_id": "para_180" }, { "text": "{¶21} On February 18, 2025, Warren Recovery Group filed an administrative", "paragraph_id": "para_181" }, { "text": "appeal in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas. Warren Recovery Group argued", "paragraph_id": "para_182" }, { "text": "that the Board of Pharmacy’s decision was not supported by reliable, probative, and", "paragraph_id": "para_183" }, { "text": "substantial evidence, pointing out that the Board considered several instances of hearsay,", "paragraph_id": "para_184" }, { "text": "in particular Dr. LaBash’s statements to Agent Sidoti in July and August 2023. It also", "paragraph_id": "para_185" }, { "text": "PAGE 7 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_186" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_187" }, { "text": "argued that the Board’s decision and sentence to revoke the TDDD license and impose", "paragraph_id": "para_188" }, { "text": "a fine was excessive.", "paragraph_id": "para_189" }, { "text": "{¶22} In an October 16, 2025 Judgment Entry, the trial court rejected both", "paragraph_id": "para_190" }, { "text": "assignments. The court found that “the Board did consider hearsay evidence” but that", "paragraph_id": "para_191" }, { "text": "“this hearsay evidence did not form the crux of the Board’s decision as Warren Recovery", "paragraph_id": "para_192" }, { "text": "asks this Court to find.” Rather, the Board’s decision emphasized Bowers’s lack of", "paragraph_id": "para_193" }, { "text": "credibility:", "paragraph_id": "para_194" }, { "text": "The Board focused on Mr. Bowers’ assurance that certain drugs", "paragraph_id": "para_195" }, { "text": "were destroyed on May 10, 2023 as required after the Board’s", "paragraph_id": "para_196" }, { "text": "inspection. However, Mr. Sidoti testified that he personally observed", "paragraph_id": "para_197" }, { "text": "these drugs and their containers in Dr. La[B]ash’s trash in August", "paragraph_id": "para_198" }, { "text": "2023. The Board found it incredulous that these drugs would have", "paragraph_id": "para_199" }, { "text": "been destroyed in May 2023 as Mr. Bowers claimed. The Board’s", "paragraph_id": "para_200" }, { "text": "credibility determination combined with the egregious nature of the", "paragraph_id": "para_201" }, { "text": "facts and violations led to a revocation of the license and the", "paragraph_id": "para_202" }, { "text": "imposition of a monetary penalty. … The Court has reviewed the", "paragraph_id": "para_203" }, { "text": "evidence in the record, the transcript of the proceedings before the", "paragraph_id": "para_204" }, { "text": "Board, and the Parties’ briefs. The Court finds that the decision of", "paragraph_id": "para_205" }, { "text": "the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to revoke Warren Recovery’s TDDD", "paragraph_id": "para_206" }, { "text": "license and impose a $2,500 monetary fine is supported by reliable,", "paragraph_id": "para_207" }, { "text": "probative, and substantial evidence.", "paragraph_id": "para_208" }, { "text": "Assignments of Error", "paragraph_id": "para_209" }, { "text": "{¶23} On November 13, 2025, Warren Recovery Group filed a Notice of Appeal.", "paragraph_id": "para_210" }, { "text": "On appeal, it raises the following assignments of error:", "paragraph_id": "para_211" }, { "text": "[1.] The lower court erred when it found that the Board’s decision was", "paragraph_id": "para_212" }, { "text": "based upon reliable, probative and substantial evidence, as such the", "paragraph_id": "para_213" }, { "text": "court gave too much deference to the Board’s findings and", "paragraph_id": "para_214" }, { "text": "conclusions.", "paragraph_id": "para_215" }, { "text": "[2.] The trial court erred when it gave complete deference to the", "paragraph_id": "para_216" }, { "text": "Board’s decision.", "paragraph_id": "para_217" }, { "text": "[3.] The trial court erred and abused its discretion when it ruled that", "paragraph_id": "para_218" }, { "text": "the Board’s decision and sentence that was imposed was not against", "paragraph_id": "para_219" }, { "text": "PAGE 8 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_220" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_221" }, { "text": "the manifest weight of the evidence as such evidence was not", "paragraph_id": "para_222" }, { "text": "supported by reliable, probative, and substantial evidence.", "paragraph_id": "para_223" }, { "text": "Standard of Review in Administrative Appeals to the Court of Common Pleas", "paragraph_id": "para_224" }, { "text": "{¶24} “Any party adversely affected by any order of an agency issued pursuant to", "paragraph_id": "para_225" }, { "text": "an adjudication may appeal from the order of the agency to the court of common pleas of", "paragraph_id": "para_226" }, { "text": "the county … in which the place of business of the licensee is located or the county in", "paragraph_id": "para_227" }, { "text": "which the licensee is a resident.” R.C. 119.12(A) and (B)(1). “The court may affirm the", "paragraph_id": "para_228" }, { "text": "order of the agency complained of in the appeal if it finds, upon consideration of the entire", "paragraph_id": "para_229" }, { "text": "record and any additional evidence the court has admitted, that the order is supported by", "paragraph_id": "para_230" }, { "text": "reliable, probative, and substantial evidence and is in accordance with law.” R.C.", "paragraph_id": "para_231" }, { "text": "119.12(N).", "paragraph_id": "para_232" }, { "text": "{¶25} The Supreme Court of Ohio has commented on “reliable, probative, and", "paragraph_id": "para_233" }, { "text": "substantial evidence” as follows: “(1) ‘Reliable’ evidence is dependable; that is, it can be", "paragraph_id": "para_234" }, { "text": "confidently trusted. In order to be reliable, there must be a reasonable probability that the", "paragraph_id": "para_235" }, { "text": "evidence is true. (2) ‘Probative’ evidence is evidence that tends to prove the issue in", "paragraph_id": "para_236" }, { "text": "question; it must be relevant in determining the issue. (3) ‘Substantial’ evidence is", "paragraph_id": "para_237" }, { "text": "evidence with some weight; it must have importance and value.” (Citation omitted.)", "paragraph_id": "para_238" }, { "text": "Bartchy v. State Bd. of Edn., 2008-Ohio-4826, ¶ 39; Capital Care Network of Toledo v.", "paragraph_id": "para_239" }, { "text": "Ohio Dept. of Health, 2018-Ohio-440, ¶ 25 (“where the agency’s decision is supported by", "paragraph_id": "para_240" }, { "text": "sufficient evidence and the law, the common pleas court lacks authority to review the", "paragraph_id": "para_241" }, { "text": "agency’s exercise of discretion, even if its decision is ‘admittedly harsh’”) (citation", "paragraph_id": "para_242" }, { "text": "omitted).", "paragraph_id": "para_243" }, { "text": "Standard of Review in Administrative Appeals to the Court of Appeals", "paragraph_id": "para_244" }, { "text": "{¶26} In an administrative appeal from the trial court, “[t]he appellate court is to", "paragraph_id": "para_245" }, { "text": "PAGE 9 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_246" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_247" }, { "text": "determine only if the trial court has abused its discretion.” Bartchy at ¶ 41. It has been", "paragraph_id": "para_248" }, { "text": "“recognized that a trial court abuses its discretion when its decision is ‘so palpably and", "paragraph_id": "para_249" }, { "text": "grossly violative of fact or logic that it evidences not the exercise of will but", "paragraph_id": "para_250" }, { "text": "the perversity of will, not the exercise of judgment but the defiance of judgment, not the", "paragraph_id": "para_251" }, { "text": "exercise of reason but instead passion or bias.’” (Citation omitted.) State v. J.B., 2026-", "paragraph_id": "para_252" }, { "text": "Ohio-1405, ¶ 24 (Brunner, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).", "paragraph_id": "para_253" }, { "text": "{¶27} The Supreme Court of Ohio has emphasized that “an appellate court’s role", "paragraph_id": "para_254" }, { "text": "is more limited than that of a trial court reviewing the same order.” (Citation omitted.)", "paragraph_id": "para_255" }, { "text": "Bartchy at ¶ 41. “It is incumbent on the trial court to examine the evidence,” but “[s]uch", "paragraph_id": "para_256" }, { "text": "is not the charge of the appellate court.” (Citation omitted.) Id. “Absent an abuse of", "paragraph_id": "para_257" }, { "text": "discretion on the part of the trial court, a court of appeals must affirm the trial court’s", "paragraph_id": "para_258" }, { "text": "judgment.” Id.", "paragraph_id": "para_259" }, { "text": "First Assignment of Error: Reliance on Hearsay", "paragraph_id": "para_260" }, { "text": "{¶28} In the first assignment of error, Warren Recovery Group argues that the trial", "paragraph_id": "para_261" }, { "text": "court abused its discretion in affirming the Board of Pharmacy’s decision inasmuch as it", "paragraph_id": "para_262" }, { "text": "relied on hearsay rather than reliable, probative, and substantial evidence. “Throughout", "paragraph_id": "para_263" }, { "text": "the administrative hearing, the Board relied extensively on hearsay evidence and treated", "paragraph_id": "para_264" }, { "text": "that hearsay as substantive proof of the allegations asserted. This reliance was not", "paragraph_id": "para_265" }, { "text": "supported by independent, competent evidence and, because hearsay constituted the", "paragraph_id": "para_266" }, { "text": "primary – if not exclusive – basis for the Board’s case, it deprived Appellant of due process", "paragraph_id": "para_267" }, { "text": "of law.” Appellate Brief of Appellant at 6.", "paragraph_id": "para_268" }, { "text": "Hearsay Admissible in Administrative Proceedings", "paragraph_id": "para_269" }, { "text": "{¶29} “The rules of evidence, including the hearsay rule, do not control", "paragraph_id": "para_270" }, { "text": "PAGE 10 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_271" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_272" }, { "text": "administrative hearings.” HealthSouth Corp. v. Testa, 2012-Ohio-1871, ¶ 13. “[E]vidence", "paragraph_id": "para_273" }, { "text": "that would be excluded as hearsay in a civil or criminal case may be admitted and", "paragraph_id": "para_274" }, { "text": "considered under the relaxed standards of administrative proceedings.” Id. “[T]he crucial", "paragraph_id": "para_275" }, { "text": "question in determining whether an administrative agency acted improperly in considering", "paragraph_id": "para_276" }, { "text": "hearsay evidence is not whether such evidence was in fact considered, but whether such", "paragraph_id": "para_277" }, { "text": "evidence was considered in an arbitrary fashion.” Marra v. Auburn Twp. Zoning", "paragraph_id": "para_278" }, { "text": "Inspector, 2020-Ohio-6678, ¶ 35 (11th Dist.).", "paragraph_id": "para_279" }, { "text": "{¶30} Warren Recovery Group contends, contrary to the decision of the trial court,", "paragraph_id": "para_280" }, { "text": "that Dr. LaBash’s statements to Agent Sidoti were “central to the Board’s case.” On the", "paragraph_id": "para_281" }, { "text": "contrary, we agree with the trial court that these statements “did not form the crux of the", "paragraph_id": "para_282" }, { "text": "Board’s decision.”", "paragraph_id": "para_283" }, { "text": "{¶31} First of all, a substantial number of the violations noted by the Pharmacy", "paragraph_id": "para_284" }, { "text": "Board were unrelated to Dr. LaBash’s statements. The following violations were", "paragraph_id": "para_285" }, { "text": "sufficiently attested without recourse to statements by Dr. LaBash: the improper storage", "paragraph_id": "para_286" }, { "text": "of medication accessible to unauthorized persons; the repackaging of patient-specific", "paragraph_id": "para_287" }, { "text": "medicines as “facility inventory”; the failure to complete the annual inventory form; the", "paragraph_id": "para_288" }, { "text": "retention of expired medication; and the alteration of the TDDD license.", "paragraph_id": "para_289" }, { "text": "{¶32} Dr. LaBash’s statements were relevant to two particular violations: the", "paragraph_id": "para_290" }, { "text": "falsification of the medication destruction form and the failure to destroy the medicines as", "paragraph_id": "para_291" }, { "text": "required following the inspection. Although relevant to these violations, Dr. LaBash’s", "paragraph_id": "para_292" }, { "text": "statements were not crucial. Dr. LaBash denied that the signature on the medication", "paragraph_id": "para_293" }, { "text": "destruction form that purported to be his was, in fact, his signature. Regardless of", "paragraph_id": "para_294" }, { "text": "PAGE 11 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_295" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_296" }, { "text": "whether Dr. LaBash’s signature was forged or not, the crucial issue is that the form falsely", "paragraph_id": "para_297" }, { "text": "claimed the medicines were destroyed on May 10, 2023.", "paragraph_id": "para_298" }, { "text": "{¶33} Dr. LaBash was also reported to have stated that the medicines were", "paragraph_id": "para_299" }, { "text": "delivered to his home and/or destroyed around July 28, 2023. However, Agent Sidoti’s", "paragraph_id": "para_300" }, { "text": "testimony that the pills remained in the compost bin and their containers in the kitchen", "paragraph_id": "para_301" }, { "text": "trash on August 1 is compelling eyewitness testimony that the medicines in question were", "paragraph_id": "para_302" }, { "text": "not destroyed on May 10. Given this corroboration, there was nothing arbitrary about any", "paragraph_id": "para_303" }, { "text": "consideration that may have been given to Dr. LaBash’s statements.", "paragraph_id": "para_304" }, { "text": "{¶34} Warren Recovery Group faults the Board of Pharmacy for not using its", "paragraph_id": "para_305" }, { "text": "subpoena power to secure Dr. LaBash’s presence at the hearing. We note, however,", "paragraph_id": "para_306" }, { "text": "that, according to the hearing transcript, it was Bowers’s decision not to require Dr.", "paragraph_id": "para_307" }, { "text": "LaBash’s attendance: “I didn’t bring him here today because Dr. LaBash has a", "paragraph_id": "para_308" }, { "text": "colonoscopy, actually, that he has to get done, so we wish him the luck with his surgery", "paragraph_id": "para_309" }, { "text": "that he has going on.” Queried about the possibility of Dr. LaBash rescheduling the", "paragraph_id": "para_310" }, { "text": "procedure, Bowers responded: “He has to have surgery. So I was put in a position to", "paragraph_id": "para_311" }, { "text": "where, what am I going to tell you – to skip surgery?”", "paragraph_id": "para_312" }, { "text": "{¶35} Finally, Warren Recovery Group objects that Agent Sidoti testified to", "paragraph_id": "para_313" }, { "text": "statements made by a local pharmacist at a pharmacy that used to deliver patient-specific", "paragraph_id": "para_314" }, { "text": "medications to Warren Recovery Group regarding “compliance issues.” Again, we find", "paragraph_id": "para_315" }, { "text": "nothing improper about the consideration of these statements. As with Dr. LaBash’s", "paragraph_id": "para_316" }, { "text": "statements, they were not the crux of the Board’s decision. Consultation with the", "paragraph_id": "para_317" }, { "text": "pharmacist was relevant because a number of the repackaged medications had", "paragraph_id": "para_318" }, { "text": "originated from this pharmacy. What the specific “compliance issues” were was not", "paragraph_id": "para_319" }, { "text": "PAGE 12 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_320" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_321" }, { "text": "elaborated by the pharmacist. Accordingly, these statements were not crucial to the", "paragraph_id": "para_322" }, { "text": "violations identified by the Board.", "paragraph_id": "para_323" }, { "text": "{¶36} The first assignment of error is without merit.", "paragraph_id": "para_324" }, { "text": "Second Assignment of Error: Deference to the Board’s Findings", "paragraph_id": "para_325" }, { "text": "{¶37} In the second assignment of error, Warren Recovery Group argues that “the", "paragraph_id": "para_326" }, { "text": "trial court afforded too much [deference] to the Board’s decisions on hearsay evidence”", "paragraph_id": "para_327" }, { "text": "rather than “independently review[ing] the evidence and factual record as presented.”", "paragraph_id": "para_328" }, { "text": "Appellate Brief of Appellant at 11.", "paragraph_id": "para_329" }, { "text": "{¶38} As regards an administrative agency’s factual findings, the Supreme Court", "paragraph_id": "para_330" }, { "text": "of Ohio has stated “the common pleas court must give deference to the agency’s", "paragraph_id": "para_331" }, { "text": "resolution of evidentiary conflicts, but ‘the findings of the agency are by no means", "paragraph_id": "para_332" }, { "text": "conclusive.’” (Citation omitted.) Bartchy, 2008-Ohio-4826, at ¶ 37. “Where the court, in", "paragraph_id": "para_333" }, { "text": "its appraisal of the evidence, determines that there exist legally significant reasons for", "paragraph_id": "para_334" }, { "text": "discrediting certain evidence relied upon by the administrative body, and necessary to its", "paragraph_id": "para_335" }, { "text": "determination, the court may reverse, vacate, or modify the administrative order.”", "paragraph_id": "para_336" }, { "text": "(Citation omitted.) Id. Stated otherwise, “an agency’s findings of fact are presumed to be", "paragraph_id": "para_337" }, { "text": "correct and must be deferred to by a reviewing court unless that court determines that the", "paragraph_id": "para_338" }, { "text": "agency’s findings are internally inconsistent, impeached by evidence of a prior", "paragraph_id": "para_339" }, { "text": "inconsistent statement, rest upon improper inferences, or are otherwise unsupportable.”", "paragraph_id": "para_340" }, { "text": "(Citation omitted.) Id.", "paragraph_id": "para_341" }, { "text": "{¶39} In the present case, Dr. LaBash’s out-of-court statements regarding his", "paragraph_id": "para_342" }, { "text": "signature on the medicine destruction form and the circumstances in which the medicines", "paragraph_id": "para_343" }, { "text": "were destroyed were contradicted by Bowers’s testimony before the Pharmacy Board.", "paragraph_id": "para_344" }, { "text": "PAGE 13 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_345" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_346" }, { "text": "The Board found Bowers to be untrustworthy and largely disregarded his testimony, a", "paragraph_id": "para_347" }, { "text": "fact noted by the trial court. We find no abuse of discretion. Dr. LaBash’s statements", "paragraph_id": "para_348" }, { "text": "were internally consistent, rested upon logical inferences, and were corroborated by", "paragraph_id": "para_349" }, { "text": "Agent Sidoti’s own observations and testimony. There was nothing inherently more", "paragraph_id": "para_350" }, { "text": "unreliable about Dr. LaBash’s out-of-court statements than there was about Bowers’s", "paragraph_id": "para_351" }, { "text": "testimony.", "paragraph_id": "para_352" }, { "text": "{¶40} Were it appropriate for this court to do so, we might take exception with the", "paragraph_id": "para_353" }, { "text": "trial court’s conclusion that “the Board did consider hearsay evidence.” The Board of", "paragraph_id": "para_354" }, { "text": "Pharmacy presents a convincing argument that, as the medical director for Warren", "paragraph_id": "para_355" }, { "text": "Recovery Group and the site responsible person for the TDDD license, Dr. LaBash’s", "paragraph_id": "para_356" }, { "text": "statements do not constitute hearsay. Evid.R. 801(D)(2)(d) (“[a] statement is not hearsay", "paragraph_id": "para_357" }, { "text": "if … [t]he statement is offered against a party and is … a statement by the party’s agent", "paragraph_id": "para_358" }, { "text": "or servant concerning a matter within the scope of the agency or employment, made", "paragraph_id": "para_359" }, { "text": "during the existence of the relationship”). Warren Recovery Group counters: “At the time", "paragraph_id": "para_360" }, { "text": "of the investigation, Dr. LaBash was not acting within the scope of his employment but", "paragraph_id": "para_361" }, { "text": "was instead speaking with investigators in a manner calculated to build a case against", "paragraph_id": "para_362" }, { "text": "Appellant.” Our review, however, is circumscribed to consideration of whether the trial", "paragraph_id": "para_363" }, { "text": "court’s deference to the Board’s findings constituted an abuse of discretion, which it did", "paragraph_id": "para_364" }, { "text": "not.", "paragraph_id": "para_365" }, { "text": "{¶41} The second assignment of error is without merit.", "paragraph_id": "para_366" }, { "text": "Third Assignment of Error: the Board’s Penalty is not Excessive", "paragraph_id": "para_367" }, { "text": "{¶42} In the third assignment of error, Warren Recovery Group argues that “the", "paragraph_id": "para_368" }, { "text": "Board based its far exceedingly severe decision to completely revoke the license on", "paragraph_id": "para_369" }, { "text": "PAGE 14 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_370" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_371" }, { "text": "hearsay evidence that was afforded improper weight, because of his inherent", "paragraph_id": "para_372" }, { "text": "[un]reliability.” Rather, “the Board was more worried about making a spectacle of the", "paragraph_id": "para_373" }, { "text": "Director of the company, than helping a company that is beneficial to the Warren, Ohio", "paragraph_id": "para_374" }, { "text": "area.” Appellate Brief of Appellant at 13.", "paragraph_id": "para_375" }, { "text": "{¶43} As explained above, the purported hearsay statements were not afforded", "paragraph_id": "para_376" }, { "text": "improper weight or found to be inherently unreliable.", "paragraph_id": "para_377" }, { "text": "{¶44} More fundamentally, the Supreme Court of Ohio has determined that, in the", "paragraph_id": "para_378" }, { "text": "context of administrative appeals pursuant to R.C. Chapter 119, “the Court of Common", "paragraph_id": "para_379" }, { "text": "Pleas has no authority to modify a penalty that the agency was authorized to and did", "paragraph_id": "para_380" }, { "text": "impose, on the ground that the agency abused its discretion.” Henry’s Cafe, Inc. v. Bd.", "paragraph_id": "para_381" }, { "text": "of Liquor Control, 170 Ohio St. 233 (1959), paragraph three of the syllabus. As this Court", "paragraph_id": "para_382" }, { "text": "has elaborated:", "paragraph_id": "para_383" }, { "text": "This holding has been reaffirmed by the Ohio Supreme Court and", "paragraph_id": "para_384" }, { "text": "recognized as controlling by the courts of appeal. Dept. of Liquor", "paragraph_id": "para_385" }, { "text": "Control v. Santucci, 17 Ohio St.2d 69, 70, 246 N.E.2d 549 (1969)", "paragraph_id": "para_386" }, { "text": "(“[o]f course, under the decision in the case of Henry’s Cafe * * *, the", "paragraph_id": "para_387" }, { "text": "Court of Common Pleas lacked authority to modify the penalties", "paragraph_id": "para_388" }, { "text": "imposed by the commission”). “Neither a common pleas court nor", "paragraph_id": "para_389" }, { "text": "an appellate court has the authority to modify a penalty imposed by", "paragraph_id": "para_390" }, { "text": "a state agency unless it is unauthorized.” Raig v. Ohio Real Estate", "paragraph_id": "para_391" }, { "text": "Comm[.], 11th Dist. Portage No. 2019-P-0081, 2019-Ohio-5415, ¶", "paragraph_id": "para_392" }, { "text": "11; Deanru, LLC v. Ohio Liquor Control Comm., 10th Dist. Franklin", "paragraph_id": "para_393" }, { "text": "No. 17AP-777, 2018-Ohio-2854, ¶ 12 (“[p]ursuant to [Henry’s Cafe],", "paragraph_id": "para_394" }, { "text": "we have consistently held that we lack authority to modify a penalty", "paragraph_id": "para_395" }, { "text": "lawfully imposed by the commission, even where it is argued that the", "paragraph_id": "para_396" }, { "text": "penalty is unduly harsh”); Jaroscak v. Ohio Bd. of Pharmacy, 9th", "paragraph_id": "para_397" }, { "text": "Dist. Lorain No. 20CA011762, 2021-Ohio-3867, ¶ 21 (“[t]his Court", "paragraph_id": "para_398" }, { "text": "previously has considered arguments [that the permanent revocation", "paragraph_id": "para_399" }, { "text": "of his license is “too harsh a penalty” given his circumstances]” but", "paragraph_id": "para_400" }, { "text": "concluded “we lack authority to modify or decline to follow precedent", "paragraph_id": "para_401" }, { "text": "established by the Ohio Supreme Court”).", "paragraph_id": "para_402" }, { "text": "Gibbons v. Ohio State Dental Bd., 2022-Ohio-2463, ¶ 37 (11th Dist.).", "paragraph_id": "para_403" }, { "text": "PAGE 15 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_404" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_405" }, { "text": "{¶45} In the present case, the Board of Pharmacy is expressly authorized to", "paragraph_id": "para_406" }, { "text": "revoke a TDDD license and impose a monetary penalty for the violation of various", "paragraph_id": "para_407" }, { "text": "statutorily enumerated provisions. R.C. 4729.57(A)(1) and (3).", "paragraph_id": "para_408" }, { "text": "{¶46} The third assignment of error is without merit.", "paragraph_id": "para_409" }, { "text": "{¶47} For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the Trumbull County Court of", "paragraph_id": "para_410" }, { "text": "Common Pleas, denying Warren Recovery Group’s administrative appeal, is affirmed.", "paragraph_id": "para_411" }, { "text": "Costs to be taxed against the appellant.", "paragraph_id": "para_412" }, { "text": "MATT LYNCH, P.J.,", "paragraph_id": "para_413" }, { "text": "JOHN J. EKLUND, J.,", "paragraph_id": "para_414" }, { "text": "concur.", "paragraph_id": "para_415" }, { "text": "PAGE 16 OF 16", "paragraph_id": "para_416" }, { "text": "Case No. 2025-T-0081", "paragraph_id": "para_417" }, { "text": "JUDGMENT ENTRY", "paragraph_id": "para_418" }, { "text": "For the reasons stated in the Opinion of this court, the assignments of error are", "paragraph_id": "para_419" }, { "text": "without merit. The order of this court is that the judgment of the Trumbull County Court", "paragraph_id": "para_420" }, { "text": "of Common Pleas is affirmed.", "paragraph_id": "para_421" }, { "text": "Costs to be taxed against appellant.", "paragraph_id": "para_422" }, { "text": "JUDGE SCOTT LYNCH", "paragraph_id": "para_423" }, { "text": "PRESIDING JUDGE MATT LYNCH,", "paragraph_id": "para_424" }, { "text": "concurs", "paragraph_id": "para_425" }, { "text": "JUDGE JOHN J. 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