Uwaydah v. Superior Court CA2/1

Filed 1/28/16 Uwaydah v. Superior Court CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

MUNIR UWAYDAH, B259674 Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County v. Super. Ct. No. BS143440)

THE SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Defendant and Respondent;

MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA, Real Party in Interest and Respondent.

APPEAL from the denial of a petition for a writ of mandate in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Joanne B. O’Donnell, Judge. Reversed. Bonne, Bridges, Mueller, O’Keefe & Nichols, Peter R. Osinoff, and Edward Idell for Plaintiff and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gloria L. Castro, Assistant Attorney General, Robert McKim Bell and Peggie Bradford Tarwater, Deputy Attorneys General, for Real Party in Interest and Respondent Medical Board of California No appearance for Defendant and Respondent Superior Court of Los Angeles County. ____________________________________________

Appellant Munir Uwaydah, a physician, challenges the trial court’s denial of his petition for a writ of mandamus against respondent Medical Board of California (the Board). The Board placed Uwaydah on probation, one of the terms of which was that Uwaydah could not remain outside California for a total of two years. When a Lebanese religious court confiscated Uwaydah’s passport, he was unable to leave Lebanon for more than two years. Because of this absence from California the Board, without a hearing, revoked Uwaydah’s probation and canceled his medical license. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW In 2009, the Board filed a disciplinary action against Uwaydah, accusing him of negligence in allowing a physician assistant to begin performing surgery in Uwaydah’s absence, and dishonesty in falsifying practice protocol documents related to his performance with the physician assistant. The Board also accused Uwaydah of dishonesty for participating in a scheme involving the purchase of a $1 million CT scanner for a clinic in Saudi Arabia, in which a federal court found him personally liable for fraud. (General Elec. Medical Systems Europe, Inc. v. Prometheus Health Imaging, Inc. (6th Cir. 2006) 205 Fed.Appx. 418, 421.) Uwaydah and the Board reached a settlement agreement, effective October 1, 2010, which included a disciplinary order against Uwaydah. The disciplinary order placed Uwaydah on probation for a period of two years subject to certain terms and conditions. Uwaydah was required to reside and practice in California, and to notify the Board if he left the state or stopped practicing for more than 30 days. The order provided that Uwaydah’s license “shall be automatically cancelled if [Uwaydah’s] periods of temporary or permanent residence or practice outside California total two years.” In June 2010, Uwaydah traveled to Lebanon to address a family matter. He signed the settlement agreement with the Board in July. Thereafter, a Lebanese religious court which was considering the family matter ordered Uwaydah, a citizen of both Lebanon and the United States, to remain in Lebanon and to surrender both of his passports, which he did. Through counsel, Uwaydah informed the Board of his situation, and explained that it was impossible for him to return to California until his passport was returned to