Administrative law — suspension of osteopathic license upheld

John G. Costino, Jr., D.O. appealed from a final agency decision of the State Board of Medical Examiners revoking his medical license for a minimum period of five years and imposing substantial monetary penalties based upon a finding that Costino fraudulently prescribed Percocet and deliberately falsified medical records to justify the issuance of those prescriptions. The Appellate Division affirmed, rejecting Costino's arguments that the Board: (1) abused its discretion in not remanding the case to the Administrative Law Judge to consider newly-discovered evidence before the Board issued its final decision; (2) made factual findings that were not supported by competent, credible and substantial evidence; and (3) imposed a penalty of license revocation and assessment of costs that were "disproportionate" to any offense he may have committed and "shocking to one's sense of fairness."

Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2011