Ezekwo v. NYC Health & Hospitals Corp.
| Decision Date | 01 August 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 1400,D,1400 |
| Citation | 940 F.2d 775 |
| Parties | 56 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 40,903 Dr. Ifeoma EZEKWO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NYC HEALTH & HOSPITALS CORPORATION; Harlem Hospital Center; Columbia University, College of Physicians And Surgeons; Dr. Linsy R. Farris, Defendants-Appellees. ocket 90-9076. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Michael H. Sussman, Goshen, N.Y., for plaintiff-appellant.
Fred Kolikoff, Office of the Corp. Counsel, New York City (Victor A. Kovner, Corp. Counsel of the City of New York, Larry A. Sonnenshein, Michael Pleters, Office of the Corp. Counsel, New York City, of counsel), for defendants-appellees.
Before TIMBERS, MESKILL and PRATT, Circuit Judges.
Dr. Ifeoma Ezekwo (Ezekwo), a medical doctor, appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Metzner, J., entered We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand the case to the district court for the limited purpose of calculating damages.
on November 20, 1990. Following a bench trial, the district court ordered the dismissal of Ezekwo's claims for relief under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 and the entry of judgment in favor of the appellees, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, Harlem Hospital Center, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Dr. Linsy R. Farris (collectively "defendants"). Ezekwo alleged that: (1) she was denied the position of "Chief Resident" because she exercised her First Amendment rights, (2) she possessed a constitutionally protected property interest in the position of "Chief Resident" which she was denied without due process, and (3) the defendants violated her right to due process by interfering with a protected liberty interest. The district court concluded that Ezekwo's written and verbal communications to her supervisors were not protected by the First Amendment and that her liberty interest had not been unconstitutionally infringed. Additionally, the district court held that Ezekwo possessed a legitimate claim of entitlement to the position of Chief Resident that rose to the level of a protected property interest. The court concluded, however, that the decision to deny Ezekwo the position of Chief Resident was based on academic criteria and that she had been afforded all the process that she was due.
Dr. Ezekwo is a female medical doctor and a native of Nigeria. In March 1985, she was accepted into the ophthalmology residency program at Harlem Hospital Center (HHC). HHC is a unit of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. Pursuant to a contract with the Health and Hospitals Corporation, HHC's ophthalmology department is administered and staffed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. HHC patients are treated at a clinic located within the hospital and at an off-site clinic, the Sydenham Neighborhood Family Care Center.
Ezekwo began her residency program at HHC in July 1985. Dr. R. Linsy Farris (Farris) was the chief of HHC's ophthalmology department and director of the residency program. Dr. Milton Delerme was coordinator of the program and in charge of the residents. HHC's residency program requires three years of training and consists of nine residents--three for each training year. Residents in the program learn to diagnose and to treat eye disorders through lectures and the treatment of patients. Thirteen "attending physicians" supervise and provide guidance to the residents on a day-to-day basis.
The brochure, which HHC made available to prospective residents at the time Ezekwo was accepted, described the program and stated that each HHC resident would serve as "Chief Resident" for four months during his or her third year. The position of Chief Resident carried with it administrative and organizational responsibilities. Specifically, the Chief Resident was responsible for scheduling surgeries and lectures, and establishing work assignments. In addition, the resident who assumed the position received an increased salary and the designation of Chief Resident was of some future professional value. HHC's practice was to rotate third year residents through the position of Chief Resident. The sequence of rotation was based on alphabetical order in one year and then, in the following year, reverse alphabetical order. Appointment to the position of Chief Resident was never based on academic merit or any formal evaluative process.
The record indicates that Ezekwo's first year in the residency program went smoothly. During the latter half of her second year and the early stages of her third year, however, she began to direct several verbal complaints to Dr. Farris, the director of the program. Additionally, Ezekwo authored a series of letters and memoranda concerning areas of personal dissatisfaction. Ezekwo's complaints related to, among other things: (1) the failure of attending physicians and lecturers to be present at scheduled times, (2) the manner in which she was treated by Dr. Farris and In a memorandum dated April 10, 1987, Ezekwo challenged the "less than satisfactory" review that she received during her February 25, 1987 evaluation. She asserted that her poor evaluation was the product of "malice, discrimination and conspiracy" and "retaliation" for her outspoken opinions on how to improve the HHC residency program. Ezekwo threatened, "I will escalate this issue." She also advised Dr. Farris that she had filed a grievance against him with the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR), the collective bargaining agent for interns and residents employed by the New York Health and Hospitals Corporation. On the same day, Ezekwo sent a letter to CIR requesting that a grievance be filed. In that letter, she alleged that Dr. Farris discriminated against her on the basis of her race and gender and retaliated against her for her comments about the program. Ezekwo highlighted her own skills and detailed incidents during which she allegedly was treated improperly by Dr. Farris.
the attending physicians, (3) the manner in which Dr. Farris evaluated her performance, (4) her lack of opportunity to perform surgery, (5) the lack of personal attention she received from the attending physicians, (6) the lack of proper hospital maintenance, (7) Dr. Farris' poor management and motivational skills, and (8) the poor teaching methods of the attending physicians.
On June 17, 1987, the end of her second year in the program, Ezekwo received her year end evaluation. In general, this review, like the earlier one, evaluated her performance in a variety of areas. Ezekwo generally received evaluations which ranged from satisfactory to above satisfactory. However, Ezekwo's surgical skills were graded as unsatisfactory. Her overall evaluation was 5.5--slightly above satisfactory. The evaluation was conducted by Doctors Farris and Delerme.
During the month of June 1987, Dr. Delerme met with all of the rising third year residents and advised them that their rotation as Chief Resident would take place in reverse alphabetical order--Solomon, Ezekwo and Castillo. Under this arrangement, Solomon would begin as Chief Resident in July and would continue in that position until the end of October. Ezekwo then would assume the responsibilities from November 1987 until the end of February 1988.
On June 29, 1987, Ezekwo wrote to HHC's equal employment opportunity (EEO) officer alleging that Dr. Farris was discriminating against her on the basis of race and gender. Ezekwo reasserted many of her former complaints and made new allegations including that Dr. Farris had fabricated information in her departmental file and engaged in "smear tactics" aimed at damaging her career as a physician. She again contacted the EEO officer on August 6, 1987, August 15, 1987, and September 25, 1987, concerning this alleged discrimination. In her August 15 letter, Ezekwo alleged discrimination on the basis of gender, race and national origin. She also stated that she was "being deprived the opportunity to learn surgery and specialised [sic] ophthalmic procedures" and was "being given wrong information regarding ophthalmic skills." It was not until October 1, 1987, that Dr. Farris received notification that Ezekwo had filed an EEOC complaint against him.
During June and July of 1987, Dr. Farris began discussing with other supervising physicians the possibility of not making Ezekwo Chief Resident. In August or September, Dr. Farris held a meeting with the attending physicians to discuss whether Ezekwo should succeed Solomon as the Chief Resident as previously scheduled. The consensus was that she should not, but the final decision was left to Dr. Farris. Dr. Farris conducted yet another meeting on October 16, 1987, aproximately two weeks prior to Ezekwo's scheduled date to become Chief Resident. At that meeting, Dr. Farris met with Dr. Delerme and some of the attending physicians, as well as the director of personnel at Columbia. During the course of this meeting, Ezekwo's academic performance, her medical skills, and her memo writing campaign were the focus of discussion. Indeed, the possibility of dismissing her from the program altogether was discussed. That same day the decision Emmanuel R. Solomon has accepted the appointment of Chief Resident in the Department of Ophthalmology to continue during the next four month resident rotation, November 1987 thru February 1988. His appointment represents a change in the previous practice of having every resident in Ophthalmology serve as Chief Resident for a four month rotation. We anticipate this change to improve the residency program as a result of the Chief Resident being selected on the basis of residency training evaluation, test scores and ability demonstrated in administration and leadership.
to go from a rotational system for selecting a Chief Resident to a "merit based" process was made. The change was...
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