S.G. v. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services
S.G. v. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services
Opinion of the Court
Appellant, S.G., sought the administrative expunction of her name from the Central Child Abuse Registry (Registry) pursuant to section 415.504(4)(d)3, Florida Statutes. At proceedings before Hearing Officer Claude Arrington, HRS introduced into evidence a dependency order entered by the circuit court in a parallel proceeding; however, HRS failed to argue collateral estoppel or res judicata. The hearing officer concluded that HRS did not satisfy its statutory burden of proof and recommended that the agency expunge S.G.’s name from the Registry. In entering a final order, the agency relied on Rule 10M-29.018, Florida Administrative Code, and concluded that the circuit court dependency order compelled a finding of neglect. The agency rejected the hearing officer’s recommendation and denied S.G.’s request.
As appellant correctly informs us, HRS repealed Rule 10M-29.018 several weeks before it entered its final order relying upon the rule. Regardless of whether an argument might be made to support application of the repealed rule, the agency erred in relying on the dependency order which was
REVERSED.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.