Skip to Content
The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Section 84A: Violations; investigation by board of registration in embalming and funeral directing; hearing; notice; review of decision

Section 84A. Whenever the board shall have reason to believe that any person or establishment to whom a certificate has been issued to practice or operate under section eighty-three, as the case may be, has violated any of the provisions of sections eighty-three to eighty-seven, inclusive, or any rule or regulation prescribed, or whenever written complaint, charging any registered person with the violation of any provision of the said sections is filed with the board, it shall conduct an investigation, and if from such investigation it shall appear that there is reasonable ground for belief that the accused may have been guilty of the violations charged, the board shall set a time and place for a public hearing to determine whether or not the certificate shall be revoked or suspended. Any member of the board shall have the right to administer oaths to witnesses.

No action to suspend, revoke or cancel any certificate shall be taken by the board until the accused or his counsel has been furnished with a statement of the charges against him, or it, and a notice of the time and place of hearing thereof; the furnishing of the charges and such notice to be given said accused at least fifteen days prior to the date of hearing. The accused may be represented at such hearing by counsel. If upon such hearing the board finds the charges to be true, it may revoke or suspend the certificate of the accused.

Any person or establishment aggrieved by the decision of the board to revoke or suspend his or its certificate may, within ten days after such action, bring a petition in the district court within the judicial district of which he resides, hereinafter called the court addressed to the justice of the court, praying that the action of the board may be reviewed by the court. The bringing of such a petition within such period shall operate to continue the registration in full force and effect pending the decision of the court. After such notice to the board as the court deems necessary, it shall review such action, hear the witnesses, and shall affirm the decision of the board unless it shall appear that it was made without proper cause or in bad faith, in which case the decision of the board shall be reversed. The court shall hear such petition within thirty days after the bringing thereof. The appeal from the decision of the board provided by this section is in the alternative to that provided by section sixty-four, and a decision of the court upon a petition brought under this section shall be final and conclusive.