Feygina v. Hallmark Health System, Inc.

31 Mass. L. Rptr. 279
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedJuly 12, 2013
DocketNo. MICV201103449
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 31 Mass. L. Rptr. 279 (Feygina v. Hallmark Health System, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Feygina v. Hallmark Health System, Inc., 31 Mass. L. Rptr. 279 (Mass. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Salinger, Kenneth W., J.

The parties agree that under their written employment agreement Hallmark Health Medical Associates, Inc: (“HHMA”) owes Alla Feygina, M.D., an additional $255,755.82 in compensation for calendar year 2010. The undisputed facts establish that HHMA never made an unconditional tender of any part of the additional compensation that it owes Dr. Feygina, and thus has breached its legal obligation to pay this amount. Feygina is entitled to summary judgment in her favor as a matter of law on her claims for breach of contract and violation of the Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L.c. 149, §§148 & 150. HHMA owes Feygina $255,755.82 as direct damages for breach of contract and an additional $57,057 in consequential damages because HHMA’s delay in tendering payment caused Feygina to incur a substantially higher federal income tax liability. Under the Wage Act, Feygina is entitled to collect liquidated damages equal to three times her unpaid wages, or a total of $767,267.46, plus reasonable attorneys fees and costs.

The Court concludes, however, that—unlike treble damages provisions in other statutes—the liquidated damages now mandated by the Wage Act are compensatory, not punitive, in nature. They will in fact fully compensate Feygina for all harm caused by HHMA’s violation of its obligations to pay Feygina. Thus, Feygina is not entitled to recover both treble damages under the Wage Act and additional amounts as compensation for her increased income tax liability or as prejudgment interest to compensate for the loss of use of the wages owed to her by HHMA. That would be duplicative and give Feygina an unfair windfall.

Finally, the Court concludes that Defendants’ motions to compel further discovery, its request that no decision be made on the cross motions for summary judgment until that additional discovery is completed, [280]*280and its motion to strike portions of Dr. Feygina’s affidavit are all without merit.

1. Undisputed Material Facts

Some of Defendants’ responses in the joint statement of facts purport to dispute alleged facts without reference to any admissible evidence. The Court deems those facts to be undisputed for purpose of evaluating the motion for summary judgment. Cf. Dziamba v. Warner & Stackpole, 56Mass.App.Ct. 397, 401 (2002). A statement of material facts served under Superior Court Rule 9A(b}(5) is an offer of proof, not merely a request for admissions. The responding party must do more than assert that a statement is “disputed.” It must also point to admissible evidence that contradicts the statement. “[M]ere assertions of the existence of disputed facts without evidentiary support cannot defeat [a] summary judgment motion.” Bergendahl v. Massachusetts Elec. Co., 45Mass.App.Ct. 715, 718-19 (1998), cert, denied, 528 U.S. 929 (1999).

The following are undisputed facts or reasonable inferences drawn from those facts. In evaluating the cross motions for summary judgment, the Court “must . . . draw all reasonable inferences” from the evidence presented “in favor of the nonmoving parly,” as a jury or judicial fact finder would be free to do at trial. Godfrey u. Globe Newspaper Co., Inc., 457 Mass. 113, 119 (2010). It has done so.

Feygina was employed by HHMA as a physician from 1998 to December 31, 2010. HHMA operates physician practices and employs physicians like Feygina and other staff to see and care for patients. HHMA is not a hospital. Prior to November 6, 2009, HHMA was known as Ell Pond Medical Associates, Inc.

Feygina and HHMA entered into a written employment contract for calendar year 2010. Although the contract was not signed by HHMA until September 2010, it took effect on January 1, 2010, and provided that Feygina would b e employed by HHMA for one year, i.e. through December 31, 2010. HHMA promised to pay Feygina a “base salary” at the rate $175,000 per year for the period beginning January 1, 2010, a higher base salary at the rate $200,000 per year beginning October 1, 2010, and additional “incentive compensation” equal to “100% of excess revenue over expenses in a calendar year if [Feygina’s] practice breaks even or has a surplus.” For the purpose of calculating whether Feygina’s practice had a surplus, and therefore whether Feygina was entitled to receive incentive compensation on top of her base salary, revenue was defined as “physician collections, including patient service revenue and HMO withhold returns.” Thus, for this purpose the revenues of Feygina’s practice included incentive payments that were withheld by managed care organizations and paid later if certain cost or quality benchmarks were met. Feygina had specially negotiated this incentive compensation provision; other HHMA physicians were not compensated on this basis. HHMA had similarly agreed to pay Feygina incentive compensation in and for prior years. HHMA’s past practice, for the years 2003 through 2009, was to pay Feygina the full amount of incentive compensation she was owed by April 30 of the following year, after HHMA was able to calculate the expenses and collect all revenues of Feygina’s practice for the prior calendar year.

Although Feygina was paid the full amount of base salary that she was owed for 2010, she has never been paid the incentive compensation owed to her by HHMA for 2010. The amount of Feygina’s incentive compensation for 2010 could not be calculated until 2011, when HHMA knew the full amount of the expenses and revenues of Feygina’s practice for 2010. By early 2011, HHMA was able to calculate the expenses allocable to Feygina’s practice for 2010.

On August 10, 2011, HHMA calculated that it owed Feygina $ 167,399.00 in incentive compensation based on revenues for 2010 that HHMA said had been received by that date.

On September 23, 2011, HHMA sent Feygina a pay check in the amount of $111,870.61, which represents a gross payment of $167,399.00 less deductions for taxes and other withholdings. HHMA seemed to indicate that this tender was subj ect to the condition that Feygina accept the proffered payment as a full accord and satisfaction of any and all incentive compensation that HHMA owed her for 2010. The cover letter from HHMA’s general counsel stated in the first paragraph that this check was being sent to Feygina “as full and final payment of Hallmark Health’s contractual obligation to Dr. Feygina.” In addition, the stub attached to the check itself said “FULL AND FINAL PAYMENT.” On the other hand, the cover letter stated on the second page that “[a]ny future payments paid on behalf of Dr. Feygina for dates of service following the termination of Dr. Feygina’s employment will be paid directly to her,” and that HHMA “has accounted for all managed care incentives, to date, and will direct any future payments directly to Dr. Feygina.”

Five days later, on September 28, 2011, Feygina’s attorney wrote to HHMA’s counsel seeking clarification as to whether HHMA intended to make the payment it had tendered to Feygina subject to the condition that she accept it as full and final payment of all amounts owed to her. Feygina said that she would accept the check as a partial payment of what HHMA owed her in incentive compensation for 2010, but that she would not accept the check as a full and final payment because Feygina contended that it did not include all amounts that she was or would be owed as incentive compensation for 2010, and she was unwilling to waive her claim for all compensation owed by HHMA under the parties’ employment agreement.

HHMA never responded to this inquiry,1

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Bluebook (online)
31 Mass. L. Rptr. 279, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/feygina-v-hallmark-health-system-inc-masssuperct-2013.