Genova v. Banner Health

896 F. Supp. 2d 993, 2012 WL 2863009, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95643
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJuly 11, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 11-cv-01139-RBJ-MJW
StatusPublished

This text of 896 F. Supp. 2d 993 (Genova v. Banner Health) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Genova v. Banner Health, 896 F. Supp. 2d 993, 2012 WL 2863009, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95643 (D. Colo. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

R. BROOKE JACKSON, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on defendants’ motion for summary judgment [docket # 52], In addition to considering the parties initial briefs, the Court heard oral argument and has permitted, received and considered supplemental briefs following argument.

[995]*995Facts

Ron Genova, M.D. is an emergency medicine specialist. At times relevant to this lawsuit he was part of an emergency department practice group known as the North Colorado Emergency Physicians, P.C. (“NCEP”). NCEP contracted with defendant Banner Health (“Banner”), which does business as the North Colorado Medical Center (“the hospital”) to serve as the sole emergency medicine physicians in the hospital’s emergency department.

This lawsuit arises out of an incident that began on the night of January 21, 2010. Dr. Genova was an on-duty emergency room physician at the hospital that evening. He alleges that at approximately 10:30 p.m. he was informed by an administrative representative and a charge nurse that the hospital was facing a potentially serious overcrowding situation. Amended Complaint [# 23] at ¶ 41. The administrative representative indicated that all inpatient hospital beds and emergency department beds were full. Id. ¶ 42. The nurse indicated that there were four ambulances out on calls, and that the hospital and emergency department had no physical capacity to take another patient. Id. The nurse recommended that emergency department be place on “divert.” Id. ¶ 45. This means that ambulances would be diverted to other hospitals.

Dr. Genova recommended that the administrative representative implement the hospital’s plan named “Code Purple.” Id. ¶ 46. This plan was designed to “maintain patient safety when the hospital population is at a critical level, and “[t]o provide a mechanism that will decompress patient volume....” Code Purple [#55-4] at 1. Dr. Genova alleges that the administrative representative agreed this would be appropriate but refused to implement the plan because she believed that Banner’s Chief Executive Officer, defendant Rick Sutton, would not divert ambulances. Amended Complaint ¶47. Dr. Genova then called Mr. Sutton and recommended that the plan be implemented. He alleges that Mr. Sutton ignored his concerns. Id. ¶ 50.

There is no dispute that the hospital was busy that night. However, the parties do dispute the nature of the phone conversation between Dr. Genova and Mr. Sutton, and they also dispute whether “Code Purple” was necessary. Mr. Sutton claims that Dr. Genova was frustrated and angry, and that he threatened to take actions that would jeopardize patient safety. He claims that Dr. Genova said that “we are going to go out. We’re going to go on EMS divert. We’re going to go tell people in the waiting room they need to go home. We are going to turn the lights off, lock the doors. We are going to close this down because we need to be on divert. I’m the captain of the ship.” Sutton Depo. [# 52-3] at 45. Defendants also claim that Mr. Sutton called Dr. Cam pain, the medical director of NCEP, to assess the situation that night. Dr. Campain called another emergency department physician who was at the hospital, Dr. Hutchison, to find out what was happening. Dr. Hutchison replied, “[y]ou know, we’re busy, but we’re getting through it.” Hutchison Depo. [# 52-6] at 192. Dr. Campain told Mr. Sutton that neither ambulance divert nor ambulance advisory1 was necessary. Sutton Depo. at 46-47. In contrast, Dr. Genova alleges that Mr. Sutton was concerned about losing patients to competing hospitals, and as a result, he refused to implement the Code Purple plan and divert [996]*996ambulances to other hospitals. Amended Complaint ¶¶ 50, 73.

Dr. Genova alleges that as a result of Dr. Genova’s expressions of concern and recommendations to Mr. Sutton that evening, Banner forced NCEP to forbid him from taking any further emergency room shifts in the hospital. This effectively deprived him of his sole source of income. Id. ¶ 76. Dr. Genova filed this lawsuit, asserting three claims: (1) breach by Banner of its contract with NCEP; (2) tortious interference by both defendants with Dr. Genova’s contract with NCEP; and (3) violation by both defendants of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd.

Standard

The Court may grant summary judgment if “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The moving party has the burden to show that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The nonmoving party must “designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. A fact is material “if under the substantive law it is essential to the proper disposition of the claim.” Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 664, 670 (10th Cir.1998) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). A material fact is genuine if “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The Court will examine the factual record and make reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment. Concrete Works of Colorado, Inc. v. City and County of Denver, 36 F.3d 1513, 1517 (10th Cir.1994).

Conclusions

First Claim: Breach of Contract

Banner argues that it had no contract with Dr. Genova. Plaintiff responds that he can assert breach of the contract between Banner and NCEP because (1) NCEP acted as his agent; (2) his contract with NCEP makes him a party to the contract; and (3) he is a third party beneficiary of the Banner-NCEP contract. The Court need not address the first or second theory.

NCEP is a group of emergency room physicians who, like Dr. Genova, are either employed or retained by the group. Banner-NCEP contract [# 52-2] at 14, ¶ 3.1. The group fulfills its obligations under the contract solely through the services of the “group physicians” and allied health professionals, collectively known as the “group practitioners.” Id. In return, Banner’s obligations are to the group. In the contract’s recitals Banner expresses its desire to provide the group an exclusive arrangement. Id. This is intended to help the group realize economies resulting from Banner’s general administrative expertise and to relieve the group from nonmedical demands place upon professional time. Id. The beneficiaries of the economies and saving of professional time are the group practitioners.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
896 F. Supp. 2d 993, 2012 WL 2863009, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95643, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/genova-v-banner-health-cod-2012.