Benjamin v. Schuller

• Decision Date: 01 December 2005
• Docket Number: No. 2:02-CV-668.,2:02-CV-668.
• Citation: 400 F.Supp.2d 1055
• Parties: David BENJAMIN, M.D., Plaintiff, v. David E. SCHULLER, M.D., et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio

400 F.Supp.2d 1055

David BENJAMIN, M.D., Plaintiff, v. David E. SCHULLER, M.D., et al., Defendants.

No. 2:02-CV-668.

United States District Court, S.D. Ohio, Eastern Division.

December 1, 2005.

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Gary Douglas Greenwald, Shayne & Greenwald, Scott J. Stitt, Clark Perdue Arnold & Scott Co. LPA, Columbus, OH, for Plaintiff.

Kathleen M. Trafford, Monique Bradley Lampke, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, Columbus, OH, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

MARBLEY, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment of Defendants, members of The James Board of Trustees,¹ and members of The Ohio State University Hospitals Board of Trustees.² In this civil rights action, David Benjamin, M.D. ("Plaintiff') alleges that his clinical privileges were revoked at The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State University (collectively, "The James") and at The Ohio State University Medical Center (the "Medical Center") in violation of his federal due process and equal protection rights. For the reasons set forth herein, Defendants' Motion is GRANTED.

II. BACKGROUND³

A. Facts

As this matter is before the Court on Defendants' Motion, the Court relies on the facts set forth in the non-movant's complaint (the "Complaint").

Plaintiff is an Iraqi-born Israeli and a naturalized citizen of the United States. On July 1, 1990, Plaintiff was appointed to the staff of The James, a state-assisted comprehensive cancer facility. In conjunction with his appointment to The James staff, Plaintiff was granted medical staff privileges at both The James and the Medical Center, one of the Ohio State University ("OSU") Hospitals. Also in conjunction with The James appointment, Plaintiff was appointed to the faculty of The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health (the "College of Medicine"). Plaintiff was tenured at the College of Medicine in July 1992. Because of these appointments, Plaintiffs employment fell under the auspices of The James, the Medical Center (through the Department of Internal Medicine's Division of Hematology and Oncology), and the College of Medicine. In addition, Plaintiff was employed by DMF of Ohio, Inc. ("DMF"), the corporation that handles the private practice of medicine for physicians employed by the Medical Center's Department of Internal Medicine.

At all relevant times prior to July 1, 1999, Ernest Mazzaferri, M.D. was Chairman of Internal Medicine at the Medical Center, as well as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and President of DMF. At all relevant times prior to August 1, 1997, James Ungerleider, M.D. was Acting Director of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the Medical Center and an employee of DMF.⁴

Between his 1990 appointment and 1996, Plaintiff alleges a number of instances of "threats, intimidation, and harassment" at The James and the Medical Center based upon his Israeli national origin, all of which he contends were designed to force him to leave The James, the Medical Center, and the College of Medicine. Plaintiff alleges that the threats, intimidation, and harassment took the form of negative performance reviews. He argues that Defendants did not conduct these review in accordance with standard procedure, and that they did not offer Plaintiff adequate opportunity to defend himself. At Mazzaferri's request, William Bay, M.D., Chairman of the Medical Center's Clinical Quality Management Committee ("QA Committee"), conducted a peer review of Plaintiffs patient care between December 11, 1996, and February 21, 1997. Bay concluded that there was no evidence that Plaintiff had provided negligent or substandard care, though there were some areas of concern. Again at Mazzaferri's behest, Bay conducted a second, more extensive review, concluding in a May 16, 1997 report, that, while there was still no evidence of negligence, Plaintiffs patient care was "inconsistent with [that of] a board certified hematologist and oncologist providing care at a university medical center."

In March 1997, at Mazzaferri's request, Ungerleider assembled a faculty review panel from the Medical Center's Division of Hematology and Oncology to review Plaintiffs performance. According to Plaintiff, Ungerleider selected each member of the faculty review panel with significant input from Mazzaferri and/or each member was significantly conflicted by his relationship with Mazzaferri. The faculty review panel concluded that Plaintiff "did not meet the standards expected of an academic hematologist and oncologist." The faculty review panel was then asked to conduct a more extensive review of Plaintiff s performance. Plaintiff alleges that, at Mazzaferri's request, Bay prepared an inaccurate summary of the panel's findings after its second review.

Based on the reviews by Bay and the faculty review panel, Mazzaferri directed the QA Committee to conduct a hearing on June 11, 1997 to review Plaintiffs patient care. Also in June 1997, Mazzaferri recommended that re-authorization of Plaintiff's clinical privileges at the Medical Center, determined on a biannual basis, be denied. Because of Mazzaferri's negative recommendation, the Medical Center's Credentials Committee conducted a review of Plaintiff's patient care. During the pendency of the reviews by the QA Committee and the Credentials Committee, Mazzaferri initiated a third review by establishing an Internal Medicine Clinical Quality Management Committee ("Internal Medicine Committee").

On August 6, 1997, the Internal Medicine Committee recommended that the Division of Hematology and Oncology supervise all of Plaintiffs clinical activities. On August 13, 1997, the QA Committee adopted the Internal Medicine Committee's recommendation. On August 22, 1997, Mazzaferri rejected the recommendation of the QA Committee. Also on August 22, 1997, Bay reported to the Credentials Committee that, based on Mazzaferri's rejection of the proposed corrective plan, the QA Committee had no alternative but to recommend that Plaintiff be denied clinical staff privileges at the Medical Center. Both the Internal Medicine Committee and the QA Committee eventually formally concluded that Plaintiff's patient care "does not meet the Standards of Care of a board-certified Hematologist/Oncologist at a tertiary care medical center."

On August 1, 1997, Clara Bloomfield, M.D. succeeded Ungerleider as Director of the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Plaintiff claims that Bloomfield "recognized that the peer review process conducted to date with respect to Plaintiff did not comply with the customs, policies and procedures, and Bylaws of the Medical Center and/or The James." He alleges that, in an effort to "circumvent any legal problems" arising with respect to the past peer review of Plaintiff, Bloomfield "joined the conspiracy to effectuate" Plaintiff's expedited departure from The James, the Medical Center, and the College of Medicine. Plaintiff alleges that she did so by: (1) instituting formal corrective action against Plaintiff at The James; (2) coercing Plaintiff into "accepting a nominal severance" in exchange for his resignation; (3) reducing Plaintiffs income from his private practice; and (4) "freezing Plaintiff out from activities and responsibilities of the Division of Hematology and Oncology."

In September 1997, the charges against Plaintiff were transferred from the Medical Center to The James, and The James began to take formal corrective action against Plaintiff. Bloomfield assigned Mazzaferri the task of nominating the members of The James Investigative Committee, and Mazzaferri did so. Mazzaferri directed The James Investigative Committee to limit its review to the Medical Center QA Committee's evaluation of Plaintiff. On November 24, 1997, the James Investigative Committee concurred with the QA Committee's assessment that Plaintiff did not meet the standard of an academic hematologist/oncologist. The James Investigative Committee recommended that Bloomfield not assign Plaintiff any patient care at either The James or the Medical Center.

Plaintiff refused to resign or settle the charges against him. In February 1998, Bloomfield engaged Raymond Weiss, M.D. to conduct an outside review of Plaintiffs patient care. Plaintiff alleges that Weiss was biased against him, and that the two had various conflicts of interest. The cases selected for Weiss's review were selected because they suggested that Plaintiff had deviated from acceptable medical standards. Weiss's outside review concurred with The James Investigative Committee's findings.

On June 29, 1998, Bloomfield recommended to David Schuller, M.D., Director of The James, that Plaintiffs clinical privileges be suspended immediately for failing to meet the standard expected of an academic hematologist/oncologist.

On July 1, 1998, DMF declined to renew Plaintiffs employment contract, rendering Plaintiff unable to meet his requirements under the College of Medicine's Practice Plan, which requires all physicians to be employed by an approved private practice corporation. Plaintiff thus became responsible for of establishing and maintaining his own private practice at both The James and the Medical Center. Mazzaferri ordered non-renewal of Plaintiffs employment contract, and denied a subsequent request by Schuller that Plaintiffs employment be reinstated. Instead, Mazzaferri demanded that Schuller reconsider Plaintiffs relationship with The James.

Plaintiff specifically identifies various instances of "significant harassment" beginning in July 1998, purportedly all for the purpose of coercing him to leave the Medical Center and The James. First, Plaintiff alleges that Barbara Nesbitt, the administrator in 1990 for then-Director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology Dr. Balcerzak, called attention to Plaintiffs Israeli accent and stated "this is not the Middle East and we...