Feldman v. Jackson Memorial Hospital

Decision Date17 March 1981
Docket NumberNo. 79-758-Civ.-JWK.,79-758-Civ.-JWK.
Citation509 F. Supp. 815
PartiesMark H. FELDMAN pro se, Plaintiff, v. JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, etc., et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

Mark H. Feldman, pro se.

J. Elisabeth Middlebrooks, Richard B. Adams, A. Blackwell Stieglitz, Miami, Fla., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM ORDER ON MOTION TO DISMISS

KEHOE, District Judge.

Mark H. Feldman, a licensed podiatrist, has filed this pro se action against multiple defendants, including many physicians, hospitals and medical administrators located in the southern Florida geographical area. Central to plaintiff's cause is his allegation that the defendants have willfully and maliciously acted to prevent him from practicing podiatry1 in certain public and private hospitals by denying him membership on the medical staff normally granted licensed physicians. Plaintiff alleges that the defendants' actions have amounted to a conspiracy in restraint of trade and that they have deprived him of his constitutionally guaranteed civil rights.

Plaintiff's original 54 page Complaint was dismissed without prejudice on the grounds that it was repetitious, redundant and violated rules 8 and 10 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff was subsequently permitted to amend his Complaint and filed an Amended Complaint considerably abridged to 14 pages. The defendants have responded to the Amended Complaint by renewing their original joint motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b) and adopting the arguments (with some supplementation) contained therein. They contend that, notwithstanding its newly condensed format, the Amended Complaint remains incurably defective since, inter alia, the Court lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter of the action, and it fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

The Court reserved ruling on the matter until the defendants had an opportunity to depose the plaintiff in order to ascertain more fully the specific allegations underlying his cause of action. Plaintiff has now been deposed and accordingly, the motion to dismiss is ripe for consideration by the Court.

I. THE STANDARD BY WHICH THE AMENDED COMPLAINT MUST BE MEASURED

Plaintiff's Amended Complaint is directed against numerous parties, among them various doctors, medical administrators, public and private hospitals.2 Plaintiff alleges: (a) that certain defendant physicians conspired with the defendant hospitals to prevent him from competing in the medical marketplace by arbitrarily rejecting his application to practice podiatry in those hospitals; (b) that the defendants conspired to ruin plaintiff's podiatry practice and drive him out of business; (c) that the defendants interfered with plaintiff's right to practice his chosen profession and to contract with patients regarding medical services; (d) that the defendants maliciously discriminated against him solely because he is a podiatrist and not a physician; and (e) that the defendants generally violated his civil rights. Plaintiff seeks a judgment from the Court which would primarily rule that he cannot be denied membership on the staff of the defendant hospitals, that would allow him the use of the medical facilities of those hospitals, and that would enjoin the defendants from controlling or regulating the practice of podiatry in any way. Plaintiff also seeks compensatory and punitive damages totaling 50 million dollars.

Plaintiff invokes the Court's jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1343, 2201, 2202, 15 U.S.C. §§ 15, 26, and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985 and 1986. The Court has jurisdiction to decide all of the issues raised by the motion to dismiss.

When determining a motion to dismiss, of course, the Court is obliged to construe all of the material allegations contained in the Amended Complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff with those allegations accepted as true. See, e. g., Jenkins v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 89 S.Ct. 1843, 23 L.Ed.2d 404 (1969); Voter Information Project v. City of Baton Rouge, 612 F.2d 208 (5th Cir. 1980); 5 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil § 1363 (1969). Moreover, dismissal of an action on a barebones pleading should always be carefully and deliberately considered since it is a precarious option with a high mortality rate. Voter Information Project, supra; Barber v. M/V "Blue Cat," 372 F.2d 626 (5th Cir. 1967).

Plaintiff has proceeded pro se with his action from its inception despite the Court's admonition that the assistance of counsel would be highly beneficial in this case, a cause involving several subtle and complex issues of law. In considering the motion to dismiss, however, the Court has not penalized plaintiff for proceeding in his own behalf where the law mandates that pro se pleadings are to be held to a less stringent standard than those drafted by an attorney. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972); Craft v. Texas Board of Pardons & Paroles, 550 F.2d 1054 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 926, 98 S.Ct. 408, 54 L.Ed.2d 285 (1977); Shaw v. Briscoe, 541 F.2d 489 (5th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 933, 97 S.Ct. 1556, 51 L.Ed.2d 778 (1977); Bruce v. Wade, 537 F.2d 850 (5th Cir. 1976); Williams v. McCall, 531 F.2d 1247 (5th Cir. 1976); Cook v. Whiteside, 505 F.2d 32 (5th Cir. 1974).3 Indeed, the Court finds plaintiff's Amended Complaint to be rather skillfully drafted when considering the complex issues raised and the fact that plaintiff has no prior legal experience.

Following the guidance of these fundamental principles, the Court has conducted a careful review of the Amended Complaint and concludes that plaintiff is unable to state a claim upon which relief can be granted as to that portion of the Amended Complaint asserting violations of his civil rights. As for the remainder of the Amended Complaint alleging antitrust violations, the Court concludes that it would be premature to dismiss at the present stage of the proceedings. A discussion of the rationale behind this determination is in order.

II. GENERAL PLEADING REQUIREMENTS

Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a) enunciates the general standard that a pleading must meet in order to withstand a motion to dismiss. The pleader is entitled to considerable latitude regarding the mode of stating his claim for relief, provided the pleading gives reasonable notice of the claim or claims asserted. The Court considers the Amended Complaint amply sufficient to meet the general notice requirements of Rule 8 by adequately setting forth a claim and giving the defendants fair notice of its basis. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); 5 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil §§ 1216, 1217, 1286 (1969).4

III. SHERMAN ACT ALLEGATIONS

The Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., was enacted in 1890 to prohibit combinations and conspiracies in restraint of trade Section 1, and to regulate monopolies Section 2. Federal jurisdiction is predicated upon an allegation that the actions of the defendant have some nexus or connection with interstate commerce. Before the federal court can acquire jurisdiction, a plaintiff must show that the defendant's actions substantially and adversely affect interstate commerce. Failure to satisfy this threshold jurisdictional prerequisite will result in the dismissal of the complaint.

The general scope of the Sherman Act encompasses the entire regulatory power granted Congress under the Commerce Clause. Apex Hosiery Company v. Leader, 310 U.S. 469, 60 S.Ct. 982, 84 L.Ed. 1311 (1940). Although the act includes more than simply a restraint on trade motivated by a desire to limit interstate commerce, federal enforcement must turn initially on whether or not the acts alleged in the complaint could likely have a substantial and adverse effect upon interstate commerce. Hospital Building Company v. Trustees of Rex Hospital, 425 U.S. 738, 96 S.Ct. 1848, 48 L.Ed.2d 338 (1976); Gulf Oil Corp. v. Copp Paving Co., 419 U.S. 186, 95 S.Ct. 392, 42 L.Ed.2d 378 (1974); Burke v. Ford, 389 U.S. 320, 88 S.Ct. 443, 19 L.Ed.2d 554 (1967). If so, even a wholly intrastate activity may be regulated by the Sherman Act where that activity would place an unreasonable burden on the "free and uninterrupted flow of interstate commerce." Rex Hospital, supra, 96 S.Ct. at 1853. As one commentator described the jurisdictional test to be applied in determining the sufficiency of a Sherman Act complaint:

The test applies when the challenged conduct is not "in commerce;" it will nevertheless be subject to the Act if it materially affects interstate commerce. In deciding these issues, quantitative factors become pertinent. It is necessary not only that there be a logical causal connection between the activity and the flow of commerce, it is also necessary that the flow of commerce be affected in some substantial way; if the impact is trivial, the Sherman Act does not apply. Thus, the only commercial activities beyond the reach of the Sherman Act are those which are local in the double sense that they are neither within nor have any significant effect on the flow of interstate commerce. footnotes omitted

L. Sullivan, The Law of Antitrust (1977), § 233 at 710.

Plaintiff's allegations respecting interstate commerce are contained in paragraphs 24 through 28 of the Amended Complaint:

24. A significant number of patients, actual and potential of the plaintiff and defendant doctors and hospitals, are covered by the Federal Medicare and State Medicaid Programs. Treatment of those patients generates millions of dollars of interstate revenue.
25. Defendant hospitals annually receive millions of dollars from insurance companies located outside of Florida for medical and surgical services provided by defendant hospitals and doctors to non permanent nonresident patients.
26. Defendant doctors and hospitals purchase millions of dollars of supplies and equipment from sources
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    • United States
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