Helpin v. Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania

969 A.2d 601
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 1, 2009
StatusPublished
Cited by63 cases

This text of 969 A.2d 601 (Helpin v. Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Helpin v. Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, 969 A.2d 601 (Pa. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION BY

BENDER, J.

¶ 1 The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Marjorie Jeffcoat, in her Individual and Official Capacities, Thomas Freitag, in his Official and Personal Capacities, and Lawrence M. Levin, in his Official and Personal Capacities (collectively “Penn”), appeal the judgment entered in favor of Mark L. Helpin (Dr. Helpin) on his claims of breach of contract and constructive discharge after removal from his position as director of the pediatric dental clinic operated by the University at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Dr. Helpin cross-appeals, contending that the trial court erred in declining to award pre-judgment interest on the award in question, some $4,040,000. Following careful considerations of the parties’ respective arguments, we find that neither demonstrated reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

¶ 2 The trial court, the Honorable Marlene Lachman, provided the following factual and procedural history in her Opinion Pursuant to Pa.R.A.P.1925(a) dated June 30, 2008. We find the trial court’s recitation consistent with the record and accordingly reproduce it here:

This case revolves around the employment relationship between Plaintiff Dr. Mark L. Helpin and the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Dental Medicine (“Dental School”) operated by Defendants the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania (“Penn”), Dr. Marjorie Jeffcoat, and Dr. Lawrence M. Levin. [606]*606Plaintiff claims that Penn constructively discharged him by reassigning him from the Dental School dental clinic at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (“CHOP”) to a different Penn dental clinic in Bryn Mawr.
Following a three-week trial between June 4 and June 22, 2007, the jury found in favor of the Plaintiff on Count Two of his Amended Complaint alleging breach of contract. In so doing the jury determined (1) that Penn breached its employment contract with Plaintiff by constructively discharging him without “just cause,” and (2) that Penn breached the terms of a 1989 contract with Plaintiff whereby Plaintiff was to receive 50% of the net profits from the operation of Penn’s dental clinic at CHOP. The jury awarded Plaintiff $4.04 million in damages.
Penn filed a post-trial motion seeking a judgment notwithstanding the verdict [JNOV] or a new trial. Plaintiff filed his own “Motion for Post-Trial Relief and to Award Interest.” This Court denied all of the post-trial motions and entered judgment on the jury’s verdict on December 10, 2007. Penn filed a timely notice of appeal and Plaintiff conditionally cross-appealed.
The focal point of this case is Plaintiffs Exhibit P-1, which will be referred to as “the offer letter.” The offer letter is on the letterhead of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and is dated September 1, 1989. In the letter[,] Raymond J. Fonseca, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, offered Plaintiff a faculty appointment as Assistant Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Clinician Educator track and designation as Director of the Division of Pediatric Dentistry in the Departmental Dental Care Systems. Plaintiff was to be named chairman if the Dental School created a separate Department of Pediatric Dentistry. Plaintiff was expected to spend 80% of his time reestablishing Penn’s relationship with [CHOP]. Plaintiffs start date was October 1, 1989[,] and his starting salary was $60,000. The letter stated in part:
In the future, patient care activities at CHOP will offer you the opportunity for bonuses and salary increases, with 50% of CHOP Dental’s net operations available to you for such increments. I envision that a large portion of your future salary will, in fact, be derived from the net operations and success you will have at CHOP. I assure you this financial and salary/bonus arrangement will continue even if you no longer serve as Director or Chairman.
Despite this letter, Penn actually gave Plaintiff only an appointment as a Lecturer of Pedodontics/Dental Care Systems in the Academic Support Staff for a period of three years. This appointment was in a September 25, 1989 letter.... On October 7,1991, Plaintiff was reappointed to this position for a period of one year.
In September 1992[,] Plaintiff received an appointment as an Assistant Professor of Dental Care Systems and Pediatric Dentistry in the Standing Faculty-Clinical Educator-of the Dental School for a period of three years. This position continued to be “subject to the stipulations given in Guidelines for Appointment and Promotions, January 8, 1995, or as amended.”
Effective July 1, 1996, Plaintiff was promoted to Associate Professor of Dental Care Systems and Pediatric Dentistry in the Standing Faculty — Clinician Educator — of the Dental School. Plaintiff testified that it was not until he attained this appointment that he had a continu[607]*607ing appointment. He was therefore covered under the University policy that he would have a job for life unless Penn had just cause for termination pursuant to the University Handbook or he was not able to generate enough income to offset his salary or expenses.
On July 1, 2003, Defendant Dr. Marjorie Jeffcoat replaced Dr. Fonseca as Dean of the School of Dental Medicine. In November 2003[,] she removed Plaintiff as Chair of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, combined that Department with the Department of Restorative Dentistry and appointed Peter Berthold as Chair. In December 2003, Dean Jeff-coat and Dr. Berthold told Plaintiff he was being reassigned with the Dental School’s Dental Network away from CHOP and to the Penn dental clinic in Bryn Mawr, effective January 2004.
Effective July 2004, Plaintiffs new compensation letter reduced his compensation. Like all previous letters, it was based on the number and nature of billable procedures performed. Because Plaintiff was in the Bryn Mawr boondocks instead of at CHOP, his billable procedures diminished, resulting in a decrease in compensation.
In September 2004, Plaintiff gave notice of his intention to resign from the Penn faculty effective the end of 2004. He contended that his resignation was forced due to (1) the intolerable conditions surrounding his reassignment from the CHOP Dental Clinic to Bryn Mawr, and (2) the reduction of his overall compensation because the practice component of his salary was no longer linked to CHOP Dental Clinic net operations.
Plaintiff accepted new employment as of January 2005 with the Carolinas Medical Center. Plaintiff relocated to North Carolina. In June 2005, Plaintiff voluntarily left Carolinas for personal reasons.
Plaintiff then accepted a position at Temple University as Director of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry.

Trial Court Opinion, 6/3/0/08, at 1-4 (internal citations omitted).

¶3 On appeal, Penn challenges Judge Lachman’s refusal to grant JNOV on the assertion that the evidence adduced was not legally sufficient to sustain the causes of action Dr. Helpin pled. Penn argues, in the alternative, that it is entitled to a new trial due, among other things, to two of the trial court’s rulings on the evidence, the first admitting the damages testimony of Dr.

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Bluebook (online)
969 A.2d 601, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/helpin-v-trustees-of-the-university-of-pennsylvania-pasuperct-2009.