Cullen v. Medical Board of California CA4/1

Filed 1/3/25 Cullen v. Medical Board of California CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

JEFFREY A. CULLEN, M.D., D083228

Plaintiff and Appellant,

v. (Super. Ct. No. 37-2023- 00009310-CU-WM-CTL) MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Timothy Taylor, Judge. Appeal Dismissed. Davis, Grass, Goldstein & Finlay, Gabriel M. Benrubi, for Plaintiff and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Gloria L. Castro, Assistant Attorney General, Alexandra M. Alvarez, and Christine A. Rhee, Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendant and Respondent.

Jeffrey A. Cullen (Cullen) appeals the superior court’s judgment denying his petition for an alternative writ of mandate challenging the decision of the Medical Board of California (Board) to restrict his medical

license and place him on probation. The Board filed a motion to dismiss Cullen’s appeal on the ground that this Court does not have jurisdiction to hear it. The Board argued that, under Business and Professions Code section 2337, our only avenue to review the superior court’s judgment is through a petition for extraordinary writ. We agree with the Board, grant the Board’s motion, and dismiss Cullen’s appeal.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Cullen has been certified by the Board as a physician and surgeon since 2010. From 2016 to 2020, a federally qualified health center employed Cullen to provide care for underserved communities, including patients with substance abuse problems and those taking addictive, controlled medications. In September 2021, the Board charged Cullen with gross, and repeated, acts of negligence while treating four patients, between 2016 and 2018, who suffered from addiction or chronic pain. Cullen filed a notice of defense. After a 2022 hearing, an administrative law judge found some of the Board’s allegations against Cullen true. The judge ordered Cullen’s medical license revoked, but that the revocation be suspended for three years, during which time Cullen would be on probationary status with certain limiting terms and conditions. On January 24, 2023, the Board adopted the administrative law judge’s decision and order. On March 3, 2023, Cullen petitioned the Superior Court for an alternative writ of mandate vacating the Board’s disciplinary order. On September 21, 2023, after reviewing the administrative hearing record, the trial court denied the alternative writ.