Decker v. IHC Hospitals, Inc.

982 F.2d 433, 1992 WL 384933
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided December 29, 1992·No. Nos. 91-4160, 91-4161·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

TACHA, Circuit Judge.

Defendants appeal a district court order denying their Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss on the grounds of statutory immunity and plaintiff’s failure to exhaust his administrative remedies. We dismiss the appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction.

Dr. Joseph F. Decker initiated this action after the Logan Regional Hospital restricted his clinical privileges. He names as defendants the hospital’s owner, IHC Hospitals, Inc., the hospital’s administrator, Charles Doane, and five doctors who participated in the peer review process that led to the restriction of his privileges: Drs. Daines, Broadbent, Jensen, Friess, and Swallow (“Physician Defendants”). In his amended complaint, Dr. Decker asserts twelve claims for relief alleging the breach of various contractual and common law tort duties; violations of the Sherman Act, RICO, and the federal extortion statute; violations of similar Utah statutes; and conspiracy to deprive Dr. Decker of his civil rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985. He seeks compensatory, treble, and punitive damages, as well as costs and attorneys fees.

All defendants moved pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) to dismiss the case on two grounds: (1) Dr. Decker failed to exhaust his administrative remedies under the hospital’s bylaws; and (2) the defendants are immune from liability under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (HCQIA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 11101-52. The Physician Defendants moved separately to dismiss on the additional ground that they are immune from liability under the Utah Medical Practice Act (Utah MPA), Utah Code Ann. §§ 58-12-26 to -43 (1990 & Supp.1992).

The district court denied without prejudice both motions to dismiss. All the defendants appealed the denial of the motion to dismiss based on the exhaustion doctrine and the HCQIA. The Physician Defendants appealed the denial of their motion to dismiss based on the Utah MPA. The appeals were consolidated.

Dr. Decker filed with this court a motion to dismiss for lack of appellate jurisdiction.1 He argues that the district court order denying the motions to dismiss is not a “final” order that is appealable under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. The defendants argue that the HCQIA establishes immunity from suit and therefore the collateral order doctrine, as applied in Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985), [435]*435permits immediate appeal in this case. The Physician Defendants argue that the Utah MPA also establishes immunity from suit and therefore permits immediate appeal. We hold that neither the HCQIA nor the Utah MPA establishes immunity from suit, and we therefore dismiss the appeal.2

In general, an order denying a motion to dismiss is not final because it “ensures that litigation will continue in the District Court.” Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. v. Mayacamas Corp., 485 U.S. 271, 275, 108 S.Ct. 1133, 1136, 99 L.Ed.2d 296 (1988). Such an order is therefore not appealable unless it falls within the small class of orders that are final for purposes of § 1291 under the collateral order doctrine established in Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 69 S.Ct. 1221, 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949). The Supreme Court has articulated a three-pronged test to determine whether an order that does not finally resolve a case is nonetheless appealable under the collateral order doctrine:

First, the order must “conclusively determine the disputed question.” Second, the order must “resolve an important issue completely separate from the merits of the action.” Third and finally, the order must be “effectively unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment.” If the order at issue fails to satisfy any one of those requirements, it is not appealable under the collateral order exception to § 1291.

Gulfstream Aerospace, 485 U.S. at 276, 108 S.Ct. at 1136 (citations omitted) (quoting Coopers & Lybrand v. Livesay, 437 U.S. 463, 468, 98 S.Ct. 2454, 2457, 57 L.Ed.2d 351 (1978)).

In Mitchell v. Forsyth, the Supreme Court held that a district court order denying a government official’s motion to dismiss that is grounded on an assertion of the qualified immunity established in Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), is immediately appealable under the Cohen doctrine. Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 530, 105 S.Ct. at 2817. The court reasoned that because Harlow provides “an immunity from suit rather than a mere defense to liability,” id. 472 U.S. at 526, 105 S.Ct. at 2815, the denial of a motion to dismiss meets each prong of the Cohen test. Most importantly, the court concluded that such an order meets the third prong because the immunity from suit “is effectively lost if a case is erroneously permitted to go to trial.” Id.

Federal courts thus permit appeals of orders denying motions to dismiss where the motions are based on immunity from suit. See, e.g., Helstoski v. Meanor, 442 U.S. 500, 99 S.Ct. 2445, 61 L.Ed.2d 30 (1979) (holding that the Speech and Debate Clause establishes immunity from suit and permitting immediate appeal); Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651, 97 S.Ct. 2034, 52 L.Ed.2d 651 (1977) (holding that the Double Jeopardy Clause establishes immunity from suit and permitting immediate appeal); Eng v. Coughlin, 858 F.2d 889 (2d Cir.1988) (holding that the 11th Amendment establishes immunity from suit and permitting immediate appeal). Where, however, the basis of the motion to dismiss is not an immunity from suit, the courts hold that an order denying the motion is not immediately appealable. See, e.g., Lauro Lines S.R.L. v. Chasser, 490 U.S. 495, 109 S.Ct. 1976, 104 L.Ed.2d 548 (1989) (holding that a contractual forum selection clause did not establish immunity from suit and affirming dismissal of appeal); Van Cauwenberghe v. Biard, 486 U.S. 517, 108 S.Ct. 1945, 100 L.Ed.2d 517 (1988) (holding that immunity from civil process does not constitute immunity from suit and affirming dismissal of appeal); Brown v. Grabowski, 922 F.2d 1097 (3d Cir.1990) (holding that the New Jersey Tort Claims Act does not establish immunity from suit and dismissing appeal), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 111 S.Ct. 2827, 115 L.Ed.2d 997 (1991);

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Decker v. IHC Hospitals, Inc., 982 F.2d 433, 1992 WL 384933 (10th Cir. 1992).

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Decker v. Ihc Hospitals, Inc.
982 F.2d 433 (Tenth Circuit, 1992)