Opinion ID: 1852209
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did the Commission Deny Almeida Due Process of Law?

Text: The second issue before this Court is whether the Commission denied Almeida due process by not requiring the Board to produce written statements taken by the Board's attorney during the investigation of reports by those persons who had complained of Almeida's conduct and who ultimately filed complaints against him. `It has been generally recognized that there is no basic constitutional right to prehearing discovery in administrative proceedings.' Ex parte Alabama Dep't of Envtl. Mgmt., 627 So.2d 927, 930 (Ala.1993) (quoting Dawson v. Cole, 485 So.2d 1164, 1168 (Ala.Civ.App.1986)). Such a matter is within the discretion of the administrative agency hearing the matter. See Ex parte Civil Serv. Bd., 571 So.2d 1125 (Ala.1990). Nevertheless, `the denial of prehearing discovery as applied in a particular case' could result in a due process violation. State Oil & Gas Bd. of Alabama v. Anderson, 510 So.2d 250, 256 (Ala.Civ.App.1987)(quoting Dawson, 485 So.2d at 1168)(emphasis omitted). According to its order denying Almeida's motion to compel production of statements and prior testimony of complaining parties and other witnesses, the Commission denied that request on the basis that the statements were the work product of the Board's attorneys and were therefore not discoverable. This ruling of the Commission is in accordance with Rule 26(b)(3), Ala. R. Civ. P., which provides that materials produced in anticipation of litigation are not discoverable by an adverse party, unless that party can show a substantial need for those materials and can show that he or she cannot obtain the substantial equivalent of the materials without undue hardship. Ex parte State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 386 So.2d 1133, 1136 (Ala.1980). The Commission's order also complies with Ala. Admin. Code (Medical Licensure Commission) § 545-X-3-.04(1), which states: The Commission may provide by order in a contested case that each party provide to the other parties a list of all witnesses to be called at the hearing and copies of all documents to be entered into evidence at the hearing. The Commission may authorize the parties to submit the testimony of witnesses by deposition upon oral examination in the manner prescribed in the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. The Commission may provide by order for such other limited discovery by the parties as is deemed necessary and prudent by the Commission or the hearing officer to ensure that the hearing is fairly conducted under the law; provided, however, that the parties shall not be permitted to prolong or unnecessarily delay the proceedings in contested cases for discovery purposes. However, no party to a hearing shall be entitled to discover the contents of any investigative files, records, including investigative reports, statements, summaries, or other materials compiled and accumulated by the investigators, attorneys or staff of the Commission, or the Board of Medical Examiners, pursuant to its ordinary and usual investigative function unless the document or statement in lieu of the actual witness is to be offered into evidence at the hearing.  (Emphasis added.) The record reveals that Almeida was aware of the identity of the complaining witnesses, that Almeida had the opportunity to depose those persons, and that the Commission ordered that the tape-recorded statements made by those parties during the Board's investigation be transcribed and made available to Almeida. Therefore, Almeida had ample opportunity to obtain the substantial equivalent of those statements without undue hardship. Furthermore, Almeida does not contend that the written statements were offered into evidence. Consequently, we do not find a due-process violation by the Commission in this aspect of the case.