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Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case. ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: J. BART McMAHON Louisville, Kentucky DAVID E. JOSE LIBBY Y. MOTE Krieg DeVault LLP Indianapolis, Indiana ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: STEVE CARTER Attorney General of Indiana FRANCES H. BARROW Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
GREGORY L. BROWN, ) ) Appellant-Petitioner, ) ) vs. ) ) MEDICAL LICENSING BOARD OF INDIANA, ) ) Appellee-Respondent. )

No. 49A02-0612-CV-01109

APPEAL FROM THE MARION SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable Kenneth Johnson, Judge Cause No. 49D02-0608-PL-34229

June 29, 2007

MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

BAKER, Chief Judge

Appellant-petitioner Gregory L. Brown appeals from the trial court's dismissal of his petition for judicial review of appellee-respondent Medical Licensing Board of Indiana's (Board) request for relief from a default order terminating his license to practice medicine in Indiana. Brown argues, among other things, that the trial court erroneously ruled on the Board's motion to dismiss before his time to respond thereto had passed and that he should have been entitled to seek relief analogous to that provided by Indiana Trial Rule 60(B) even though he was litigating in an administrative setting. Finding that even if the trial court ruled on the motion precipitously such error was harmless, and finding that even if Brown was entitled to seek something akin to Rule 60(B) relief he has failed to establish that such relief was warranted, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. FACTS Brown was licensed to practice medicine in Indiana and Kentucky until he surrendered his Kentucky license on November 10, 2004. Prior to that time, he had become addicted to pain medications and had been obtaining the medications outside of the proper channels--e.g., by writing prescriptions for his parents, his partner, and friends and filling the prescriptions for his own use. The State of Indiana learned of the suspension of Brown's Kentucky medical license and, on February 21, 2005, the State filed a petition for summary suspension of his Indiana medical license with the Board. The petition requested a ninety-day suspension. On the day the petition was filed, the Board issued a notice of a hearing on the petition and set the hearing for February 24, 2005. Brown did not appear at the hearing but notified the State

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that he would not appear and that he did not object to a ninety-day suspension of his license. Thus, on April 5, 2005, the Board issued a non-final summary suspension order. On April 12, 2005, the State filed a complaint against Brown before the Board, based on the same issues underlying the ninety-day suspension, namely, Brown's narcotics abuse, his failure to complete rehabilitation programs, and the surrender of his Kentucky medical license. On April 14, 2005, the Board issued a hearing notice and set the matter for hearing on April 28, 2005. The hearing notice indicated that the purposes of the hearing were to determine whether the ninety-day suspension should be renewed and whether a "disciplinary sanction" should be imposed on Brown's medical license. Appellee's App. p. 17. Brown did not appear at the April 28, 2005, hearing but indicated to the State that he would not appear and requested another ninety-day suspension of his license and continuance of the final hearing. The Board agreed to an additional ninety-day suspension and set a hearing for June 23, 2005, which the Board emphasized was a "final hearing . . . ." Id. at 28 (emphasis in original). Even though Brown received notice of the June 23, 2005, hearing, he did not appear. Therefore, on July 11, 2005, the Board issued a notice of proposed default, ordering as follows: In accordance with Indiana Code

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