Snavely v. Dept. of Social Services

Filed 1/19/07  Snavely v. Dept. of Social Services CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b).  This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

                        Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Corey S. Cramin, Judge.  Affirmed.

                        Law Offices of Vincent W. Davis & Associates, Vincent W. Davis, Ilia Serpik, and Denise M. Hippach for Plaintiff and Appellant.

                        Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Thomas R. Yanger, Assistant Attorney General, John H. Sanders and Carol W. Schultz, Deputy Attorneys General for Defendant and Respondent.

                        Based on allegations of a sexual molestation, the Director of the Department of Social Services (the Department) served Brian Snavely with an order of immediate exclusion from any licensed day care facility.  Snavely was forced to leave his home, which was also a child day care.  After several months of further investigation, the Department held a hearing and decided a formal exclusion order was warranted.  Snavely challenged the permanent exclusion order by filing a petition for a writ of mandate.  This appeal concerns the trial court's denial of Snavely's petition.  He does not argue the evidence was insufficient to support the trial court's ruling.  Rather, he contends the Department lost jurisdiction over the case because it failed to follow the mandatory timelines for the accusation and hearing delineated in Health and Safety Code section  1596.8897.  (All further statutory references are to the Health and Safety Code, unless otherwise indicated.)  We find his appeal lacks merit and affirm the judgment. 

I

                        Twenty-four-year-old Snavely was a Scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts of America.  He began dating one of the scouts' mothers.  When the relationship soured, the mother accused Snavely of molesting her 11-year-old child during a camping trip nearly one year earlier, in July 2001. 

                        In April 2002, the mother and Snavely were interviewed by Officer Kelly Core from the Irvine Police Department.  The investigation was closed with an initial finding of â€