Stop-N-Go of Wadsworth v. Liquor Control, Unpublished Decision (5-4-2000)
Stop-N-Go of Wadsworth v. Liquor Control, Unpublished Decision (5-4-2000)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Appellant, Stop-N-Go of Wadsworth, Inc., appeals from a decision of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas affirming an order of appellee, the Liquor Control Commission.On October 13, 1997, counsel for appellant submitted a form to the Department of Public Safety admitting the charges of selling and furnishing beer to a minor in violation of R.C.
On appeal, appellant asserts one assignment of error:
THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS ERRED WHEN IT FOUND THAT THE ORDER OF THE LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION WAS SUPPORTED BY RELIABLE, PROBATIVE AND SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE AND WAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH LAW.
On June 29, 1997, Cindy Dye contacted the Orrville Police Department to report that a Stop-N-Go employee named Tom had sold her minor daughter, Jackie Duncan, beer on June 28, 1997. She agreed to allow the Orrville Police Department to enlist her daughter to attempt another controlled purchase at Stop-N-Go. On June 30, 1997, the police outfitted Duncan with a radio transmitter and gave her three dollar bills that had been photocopied. Duncan entered Stop-N-Go, and Tom Holbert, an employee of appellant, sold her a twenty-two ounce bottle of Budweiser beer. Duncan was fifteen years old at the time. After the purchase, the police arrested Holbert and recovered the money, beer, receipt and the tape from the radio transmitter. Subsequently, appellant fired Holbert.
Appellant's single assignment of error essentially asserts that the common pleas court erred by affirming the order of the Liquor Control Commission in that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the sanction of revocation. We are compelled to disagree.
Under R.C.
The common pleas court suggested that the penalty of revocation was unduly harsh under the circumstances, but the court concluded that it had no authority to modify the penalty, which the Liquor Control Commission was authorized to impose under R.C.
As this court indicated in McCartney Food Market, Inc.v. Liquor Control Comm. (June 22, 1995), Franklin App. No. 94APE10-1576, unreported:
It is thus apparent from repeated interpretations and application of R.C.
119.12 , when considering appeals from decisions of the liquor control commission, that a court does not have the authority to modify the penalty or sanction imposed against a licensee if there is substantial, probative, and reliable evidence of violation of the applicable statutes. The cases we have referenced unequivocally hold that once there is a proper determination of a violation of law by the commission, it has within its discretion the authority to impose various penalties, including revocation, and this aspect of the commission's decision cannot be altered on appeal.
As the trial court found, appellant did admit to the violations of R.C.
Consequently, we conclude that the common pleas court did not abuse its discretion in affirming the order of the Liquor Control Commission. Appellant's single assignment of error is overruled, and the decision of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
_____________________________ JUDGE KENNEDY
BRYANT and LAZARUS, JJ., concur.
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