HARRISBURG – The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has overruled the preliminary objections of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, State Board of Cosmetology in a license dispute filed by two women seeking to become licensed estheticians.
Courtney Haveman and Amanda Spillane sought declaratory and injunctive relief and filed a petition with the court in December 2018. The ruling states they were denied limited cosmetology licenses from the board on the basis of poor moral character because of past criminal conduct. Both completed programs at the Bucks County School of Beauty Culture.
"Petitioners’ claims are adequately developed, and petitioners allege they will suffer hardship if judicial review of these claims is denied; thus, the claims are ripe for consideration," Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer wrote in the Dec. 9 opinion.
"Petitioners also have standing to bring this declaratory judgment because they have a substantial, direct, and immediate interest in pursuing the current petition challenging the constitutionality of the good moral character requirement in Section 5 of the Beauty Culture Law.
"Because petitioners seek declaratory and injunctive relief on a facial constitutional challenge and are not appealing the board’s denial of their license applications, the claims are not barred by a failure to exhaust administrative remedies, collateral estoppel, or res judicata and the petition is not untimely."
The judge directed the board to file an answer to the petition.
The opinion notes the petitioners have not been guilty of criminal conduct for a number of years: Spillane’s incidents of criminal conduct occurred between 2005 and 2011 and Haveman’s incidents took place between 2011 and 2013. The petitioners argued that the failure to issue them licenses is unconstitutional as they are not currently engaged in criminal conduct.
The board filed preliminary objections stating that the relief the petitioners' relief was barred by the doctrines of ripeness, standing, failure to exhaust administrative remedies, res judicata, collateral estoppel, untimeliness or statute of limitations.