Franzon v. Massena Memorial Hosp.
| Citation | 485 F.Supp.2d 148 |
| Decision Date | 07 May 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 7:97-CV-150 (GLS/RFT).,7:97-CV-150 (GLS/RFT). |
| Parties | Olof FRANZON, M.D. and Women's Medical & Surgical Health Care, P.C., Plaintiffs, v. MASSENA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL; Board of Managers of Massena Memorial Hospital; Medical Executive Committee of Massena Memorial Hospital; Jayant J. Jhaveri, M.D.; James B. Watson; Christine Rowe-Button, M.D.; Sateesh K. Goswami, M.D.; Melchiore L. Buscemi, M.C.; Edward Burke, M.D.; Kenneth Maxik, M.D.; Tae-Sik Choi, M.D.; Lois Nicandri; and Tina Corcoran, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York |
Fischer & Mandell, LLP, Mitchell G. Mandell, Esq., of counsel, New York, NY, for Plaintiffs.
Thuillez, Ford Law Firm, Donald P. Ford, Jr., Esq., of counsel, Albany, NY, for Massena Memorial Hospital, Board of Managers of Massena Memorial Hospital, Medical Executive Committee of Massena Memorial Hospital, James B. Watson, Melchiore Buscemi, MD, Kenneth Maxik, Tai-Sik Choi, MD, Lois Nicandri and Tina Corcoran.
D'Agostino, Krackeler, Law Firm, Christine K. Krackeler, Esq., of counsel, Menands, NY, for Jayant J. Jhaveri, M.D.
Donohue, Sabo Law Firm, Alvin 0. Sabo, Esq., of counsel, Albany, NY, for Christine Rowe — Button, M.D.
Smith, Sovik Law Firm, James D. Lantier, Esq., of counsel, Syracuse, NY, for Sateesh K. Goswami, M.D.
O'Connor, O'Connor Law Firm, Terence P. O'Connor, Esq., of counsel, Albany, NY, for Edward Burke, M.D.
Olof Franzon alleges, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, that defendants violated his First Amendment rights when they refused to renew his hospital privileges after he publicly criticized hospital policies. This ten-year old litigation has been the subject of several prior Memorandum — Decision and Orders. See e.g., Franzon v. Massena Memorial Hospital, 89 F.Supp.2d 270 (N.D.N.Y.2000) (); Franzon v. Massena Memorial Hospital, 189 F.R.D. 220 (N.D.N.Y.1999) (); Franzon v. Massena Memorial Hospital, 32 F.Supp.2d 528 (N.D.N.Y.1998) (); Franzon v. Massena Memorial Hospital, 977 F.Supp. 160 (N.D.N.Y.1997) ().1
After defendants filed individual motions for summary judgment and an appeal of a magistrate decision, see Dkt. Nos. 545, 551, 559, 571, 578, 587, 593, 621, 629, 638, the court held a hearing on November 18, 2004. At that hearing, the parties presented oral arguments, and the court delivered a partial oral ruling. See Dkt. No. 656. The court's oral ruling effectively denied the appeal of the magistrate judge's decision and dismissed causes of action two, three, and four pursuant to Franzon's oral concessions. See id. The court reserved decision on the remaining claims in Franzon's amended complaint and granted the parties additional time to supplement the record. See id. On November 24, the court dismissed the fourth, fifth, and sixth causes of action.2 See Dkt. No. 658.
On January 1, 2005, Franzon filed a voluminous supplemental Statement of Material Facts. See Dkt. Nos. 671, 672, 673, 674. Defendants Jhaveri and Goswami have moved to strike these filings, see Dkt. Nos. 677, 679, because they fail to comply with Local Rule 7.1.
As such, the current status of this litigation is the following. Still pending are defendants' motions for summary judgment insofar as they seek to dismiss Franzon's First Amendment claim and dispose of this lawsuit in its entirety. In addition, the court will also address the additional filings, including Franzon's supplemental Statement of Material Facts and those motions seeking to strike it from the record.
For the reasons that follow, the motions for summary judgment on behalf of defendants MMH, MMH Board of Managers, MMH Executive Committee, Dr. Melchiore Buscemi, James B. Watson, Dr. Jhaveri, and Dr. Burke are denied insofar as they address Franzon's First Amendment claim; the motions for summary judgment on behalf of defendants Lois Nicandri, Dr. Rowe-Button, Dr. Goswami, Tina Corcoran, Dr. Choi, and Kenneth Maxik are granted; and the motions to strike are granted in part and denied in part.
Olof Franzon is a licensed physician in the State of New York and a board certified obstetrician/gynecologist. See MMH3 SMF ¶ 4; Dkt. No. 569. Dr. Franzon was the sole stockholder in Women's Medical and Surgical Health Care, P.C. See id. at ¶ 5; see also Rowe-Button SMF ¶ 3; Dkt. No. 555. From March 1 through August 1998, Dr. Burke was the Medical Director of Massena Medical Hospital (MMH). See Burke SMF ¶ 1; Dkt. No. 622. As Medical Director, he was a non-voting member of all hospital committees and a voting member on the Credentials Committee. See id. At all relevant times, Dr. Rowe-Button was the Chief of Radiology and a member of the Medical Executive Committee4 at MMH. See Rowe-Button SMF ¶ 4; Dkt. No. 555. From June 14, 1995 to December 17, 1999, Kenneth Maxik was employed as the Senior Director of Administrative Services at MMH. See Maxik SMF ¶ 1; Dkt. No. 583. As Senior Director of Administrative Services, Maxik attended the open sessions of the Board of Managers at MMH. See id. at ¶ 2. Dr. Choi is a Board Certified obstetrician/ gynecologist with hospital privileges at MMH. See Choi SMF ¶ 5; Dkt. No. 589. Dr. Choi was not a participating member of any hospital committee concerned with the credentialing of Dr. Franzon. See id. From 1994-1997, Mr. James Watson was the Chief Executive Officer of MMH. See Watson SMF ¶ 1; Dkt. No. 574. Christine Corcoran has been the Director of Public Relations at MMH since August, 1990. See Corcoran SMF ¶ 1; Dkt. No. 594. She attends open sessions of the Board of Managers, but she was not a member of any hospital board or committee dealing with Dr. Franzon's credentials. See id. at ¶¶ 2, 6. At all relevant times, Lois Nicandri was a member of the Community Relations Committee that allocated monies to MMH for advertising. See MMH SMF ¶ 115; Dkt. No. 569. At all relevant times, Melchiore Buscemi was a member of the Medical Executive Committee. See id. at ¶ 110.
In January 1993, Dr. Franzon was granted unrestricted privileges to practice at MMH. See MMH SMF ¶ 45; Dkt. No. 569. Initial appointments granting medical privileges at MMH are for a six month period, and reappointments are for a maximum of two years. See id. at ¶ 70.
Beginning in September 1995, Dr. Franzon openly advocated for the addition of nurse-midwifery to those services offered by MMH. See id. at ¶ 45. Dr. Franzon also openly spoke about MMH quality of care issues, billing practices, and the anesthesiology department. See id. at ¶¶ 59-67.
In November 1995, and after publicly advocating nurse midwifery, Dr. Franzon applied to renew his hospital privileges at MMH. See MMH SMF ¶ 46; Dkt. No. 569. As part of that application, he applied for privileges to supervise Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists ("CRNAs"). See id. Although Dr. Franzon stated in an open meeting of the Board of Managers that he signed the application to supervise CRNAs because "that is the only way we can work here," he claimed two days later that he was not qualified to supervise CRNAs. See id. at ¶¶ 48, 49.
Based on Dr. Franzon's initial willingness to supervise CRNAs, Watson wrote Dr. Franzon, asking him to accept the responsibility of supervising CRNAs. See MMH SMF 1150; Dkt. No. 569. Dr. Franzon signed the Watson letter, dated February 26, 1996, acknowledging his current competence and accepting responsibility to supervise CRNAs. See id. at ¶ 51. Franzon's handwritten statement on the returned acknowledgment specifically stated,
I am as qualified as any other surgeon in this hospital to supervise CRNAs, possibly more so, considering two months of anesthesia training during my residency. I can tell you people right now that I nor anyone else of the surgeons know how to deal with anesthetic complications. A letter will follow to clarify my statement.
Id. On March 8, Dr. Franzon wrote to Watson a second time, stating in pertinent part:
You requested or more accurately coerced me to sign a letter where I admit to be `currently competent to supervise CRNAs' and also that I take the responsibility for this supervision CRNAs. [sic] In my opinion, all surgeons, unless they spend at least one month a year working with an anesthesiologist, are inadequately trained to supervise a nurse anesthetist.
Id. at ¶ 52. This letter was also sent to Dr. Schwam, Chief of Anesthesiology. See id. Consequently, Dr. Schwam communicated his desire to withdraw his prior recommendation for approval of Franzon's application to supervise CRNAs. See MMH SMF ¶ 54; Dkt. No. 569.
On March 18, 1996, the MMH Board of Managers renewed Franzon's hospital privileges for a six month period. See id. at ¶ 57. However, the Board denied Franzon's request to supervise CRNAs. See id. By letter, the Board notified Franzon of its decision, stating in part:
Dr. Franzon's request to supervise CRNAs is denied based on lack of approval from the Chief of Anesthesiology [Schwam] and Chief of Staff for concerns related to Dr. Franzon's unwillingness to accept unequivocal responsibility for supervision in accordance with polices and procedures of the Anesthesiology Service.
The reason for the Board's decision limit the term of reappointment to six months is based on the recommendation of the Medical Staff that you fail to satisfy Bylaws criteria for working cooperatively and harmoniously with members of the Medical Staff, Hospital...
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