Garibaldi v. Applebaum

704 N.E.2d 698, 301 Ill. App. 3d 849, 235 Ill. Dec. 125
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJanuary 21, 1999
Docket1—95—1351, 1—96—1921 cons
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 704 N.E.2d 698 (Garibaldi v. Applebaum) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garibaldi v. Applebaum, 704 N.E.2d 698, 301 Ill. App. 3d 849, 235 Ill. Dec. 125 (Ill. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

JUSTICE CAHILL

delivered the opinion of the court:

We consider for the second time a dispute between a hospital and a doctor on its staff. The hospital had signed a contract in 1992 with a group of doctors, granting the group an exclusive right to perform heart surgery at the hospital. Plaintiff, a heart surgeon on the hospital staff, was not a member of the group. Although the exclusive contract prevented plaintiff from using his clinical privileges, the hospital never gave him written notice that his clinical privileges were revoked.

Plaintiff filed a three-count complaint against the hospital and the group of doctors. In count I he sought to enjoin the hospital from revoking his clinical privileges to perform heart surgery without notice and a hearing under its bylaws, despite the exclusive contract. Counts II and III were based on breach of and tortious interference with contract and sought damages. A chancellor granted the hospital summary judgment on count I, entered a finding under Supreme Court Rule 304(a) (134 Ill. 2d R. 304(a)), and transferred the contract counts to the law division.

On appeal from the ruling on count I, we reversed summary judgment for the hospital, finding that the doctor was entitled to a hearing under the hospital bylaws before the doctor’s clinical privileges could be revoked. See Garibaldi v. Applebaum, 273 Ill. App. 3d 536, 653 N.E.2d 42 (1995) (Garibaldi I).

Here the matter took a twist and turn. While the appeal was pending, the legislature amended the Illinois Hospital Licensing Act. See Pub. Act 88 — 654, eff. January 1, 1995 (amending 210 ILCS 85/10.4 (West 1994)). The amendment directs hospitals that contemplate exclusive contracts to adopt a bylaw that specifically provides for a hearing and notice procedures to a practitioner whose privileges are affected by an exclusive contract. 210 ILCS 85/10.4 (West 1996). The amendment reads in part:

“(b) All hospitals licensed under this Act, except county hospitals!,] *** shall comply with, and the medical staff bylaws of these hospitals shall include rules consistent with, the provisions of this Section in granting, limiting, renewing, or denying medical staff membership and clinic staff privileges.
(2) Minimum procedures with respect to medical staff and clinical privilege determinations concerning current .members of the medical staff shall include the following:
(A) A written notice of an adverse decision by the hospital governing board.
(B) An explanation of the reasons for an adverse decision including all reasons based on the quality of medical care or any other basis, including economic factors.
(C) A statement , of the medical staff member’s right to request a fair hearing on the adverse decision before a hearing panel whose membership is mutually agreed upon by the medical staff and the hospital governing board. ***
;f; sj;
(iii) If a hospital exercises its option to enter into an exclusive contract and that contract results in the total or partial termination or reduction of medical staff membership or clinical privileges of a current medical staff member, the hospital shall provide the affected medical staff member 60 days prior notice of the effect on his or her medical staff membership or privileges. An affected medical staff member desiring a hearing under subparagraph (C) of this paragraph (2) must request the hearing within 14 days after the date he or she is so notified. ***
(D) A statement of the member’s right to inspect all pertinent information in the hospital possession with respect to the decision.
(E) A statement of the member’s right to present witnesses and other evidence at the hearing on the decision.
(F) A written notice and written explanation of the decision resulting from the hearing.
(G) Notice given 15 days before implementation of an adverse medical staff membership or clinical privileges decision based substantially on economic factors.” 210 ILCS 85/10.4 (West 1996).

Neither party argued the impact of the amendment on the case before the court. Nor did the record reveal that a bylaw conforming to the amendment was adopted while this appeal was pending. The case was decided in the trial court and in this court on the hospital bylaws as they were when the original complaint was filed. Before the trial court addressed this court’s opinion on remand, the hospital added a new bylaw (article EX), mandated by the amendment to the Hospital Licensing Act.

The hospital notified plaintiff by letter on October 12, 1995, that a new exclusive contract had been signed and that plaintiff was an “affected practitioner” under the new bylaw. Plaintiff asked for and was given a hearing under the new bylaw. The bylaw states in part:

“The hearing panel may hear evidence on anything pertaining to the exclusive contract, including, without limitation, the way(s) the exclusive contract is expected to improve the quality or uniformity of patient care or to attract additional patients to receive services at the Hospital, or the way the contract relates to specific clinical privileges(s) held by the Affected Practitioner(s) which will become subject to the exclusive contract.
*
If the decision to enter into the exclusive contract is based substantially on economic factors, then the exclusive contract shall take effect on the sixteenth (16th) day after the report of the hearing panel is provided to the Affected Practitioners. Economic factors are reasons which are unrelated to quality of care or the professional competency of services provided at the Hospital.” (Emphasis added.)

The hospital governing board ratified the exclusive contract after the hearing, but rejected a hearing panel’s recommendation to “grandfather” doctors who were in plaintiff’s position. After the hearing, plaintiff was allowed to amend his complaint to address issues raised by the article IX hearing. The hospital again moved to dismiss, and on March 21, 1996, the trial court dismissed “the [ijnjunction [c]ase as [m]oot”: plaintiff had received a hearing under the new bylaw this court had ruled he was entitled to under the old bylaw. Plaintiff appealed this order.

Meanwhile, counts II and III were under consideration in the law division. In a written order entered before our decision in the first appeal, the trial Court granted summary judgment to the hospital on counts II and III. As in the chancery appeal, the amendment to the Hospital Licensing Act and the new bylaw were not argued or briefed in the law division.

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Related

Lo v. Provena Covenant Medical Center
796 N.E.2d 607 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2003)
Garibaldi v. Applebaum
742 N.E.2d 279 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
704 N.E.2d 698, 301 Ill. App. 3d 849, 235 Ill. Dec. 125, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garibaldi-v-applebaum-illappct-1999.