Greenlee v. Board of Medicine

• Decision Date: 03 February 1993
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 91-3331 LFO.
• Citation: 813 F. Supp. 48
• Parties: Max C. GREENLEE, Jr., M.D., Plaintiff, v. The BOARD OF MEDICINE OF the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, and Warren J. Strudwick, Sr., M.D., Vivian W. Pinn-Wiggins, M.D., William E. Brown, M.D., Richard Guy, M.D., John Lynch, M.D., Reed Tucker, M.D., and Ellen Davis, individually and in their official capacities as members of the Dist. of Columbia Board of Medicine, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

813 F. Supp. 48

Max C. GREENLEE, Jr., M.D., Plaintiff, v. The BOARD OF MEDICINE OF the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, and Warren J. Strudwick, Sr., M.D., Vivian W. Pinn-Wiggins, M.D., William E. Brown, M.D., Richard Guy, M.D., John Lynch, M.D., Reed Tucker, M.D., and Ellen Davis, individually and in their official capacities as members of the Dist. of Columbia Board of Medicine, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 91-3331 LFO.

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

February 3, 1993.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Carl V. Angelis, Washington, DC, for plaintiff.

John Payton, Corp. Counsel, DC, Martin L. Grossman, Deputy Corp. Counsel, DC, Civ. Div., Melvin W. Bolden, Jr., Chief, Sp. Litigation Section, Thomas Koger, Asst. Corp. Counsel, DC, Washington, DC, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM

OBERDORFER, Senior District Judge.

Plaintiff, Max Greenlee, is a doctor with a medical degree from the State University of New York, Downstate ("SUNY"). Between July 1987 and July 1990, plaintiff was denied a license to practice medicine in the District of Columbia by defendants, the District of Columbia Board of Medicine ("Board") and the Board's individual members. He therefore brings this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking damages for lost wages and injury to his professional development.

On cross-motions for summary judgment, the parties agree that no material facts are in dispute. See Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 153, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1606, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). The case, therefore, is ripe for a decision on the merits. Because plaintiff has failed to state a cause of action under either the equal protection clause or the due process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the accompanying order denies plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment and grants defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment.

I.

The D.C. Board of Medicine was established by the Health Occupations Revision Act, D.C.Code § 2-3301.1 et seq. ("Revision Act"), and operates as an entity within the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, a department of the executive branch of the Government of the District of Columbia. The Board is responsible for evaluating the qualifications and supervising the examinations of applicants for licensure to practice medicine in the District. D.C.Code § 2-3304.8.

Under the Revision Act, the Board is allowed to grant licensure on a number of grounds. Where the applicant demonstrates to the Board's satisfaction that she or he is licensed or certified to practice medicine and is in good standing under the laws of another state with requirements which, in the Board's opinion, are substantially similar to those required for licensure in the District, the Board may grant licensure through "endorsement." Alternatively, an applicant may obtain a license by establishing to the Board's satisfaction that she meets the requirements for licensure established in the District, or by passing an examination administered by the Board ("examination"). Finally, the Board may waive the examination requirement if the applicant otherwise is qualified under the D.C. Revision Act and rules. See D.C.Code §§ 2-3305.3, 2-3305.4, 2-3305.7, 2-3305.6, 2-3305.8.

On July 22, 1987, plaintiff, a licensed doctor in the State of New York and a diplomate of the National Board Examination, applied for a license to practice medicine in the District of Columbia on the basis of endorsement.

Following an initial review of plaintiff's application, on October 7, 1987, the Board voted preliminarily to deny the license. In October 1987, the Board decided to seek additional information regarding Greenlee's employment history to supplement the application.

On or about February 10, 1988, the Board issued a Notice of Intent to Deny License ("Notice"). The Notice informed plaintiff of the Board's intent to deny his application, stating plaintiff had failed to satisfy the Board that he was professionally qualified to be issued a license based on endorsement. The Charge and Specifications for the intended denial indicated that plaintiff had failed to complete three previous residency programs. The evaluation from plaintiff's most recent year-long residency at the Interfaith Medical Center described plaintiff's performance as satisfactory only, and indicated that plaintiff had "only an average knowledge of medicine" and had "certain specific deficiencies in that knowledge." Def.Ex. 5.

On May 12, 1988, the Board conducted a hearing on the stated Charge and Specifications, pursuant to D.C.Code § 2-3305.19(a). At the hearing, plaintiff testified on his own behalf, introduced exhibits into evidence, and examined witnesses whom he had subpoenaed. Although plaintiff properly had requested that the Board subpoena two witnesses regarding his previous employment history, neither was present. Based in part on letters and questionnaires gathered by the Board from plaintiff's previous employers, the following evidence was presented at the hearing regarding plaintiff's education and employment history.

Plaintiff commenced his undergraduate studies in 1961 at Howard University, withdrew in 1967, was readmitted in 1969, and graduated in 1972. In 1974, he commenced medical school at the State University of New York, Downstate ("SUNY"), a fully accredited school of medicine. While attending medical school, plaintiff received a grade of honors in one course and a grade of satisfactory in all others. Plaintiff testified that after graduating from medical school, he was "`burnt out' and he felt that ... he did not have to push as hard from then on." Def.Ex. 4, Transcript of May 12, 1988 Hearing, at 20-21.

Plaintiff commenced his first residency at Howard University Hospital on June 28, 1979. On December 12, 1979, he was terminated from that residency for "failure to report to duty and inability to perform satisfactorily in the Department of Surgery." Def.Ex. 11, Letter from Dr. La Salle D. Leffall dated December 12, 1979. A subsequent letter by Dr. Clive O. Callendar to the Maryland Board of Medical Examiners stated Greenlee "admitted at the time that he had lost interest and the particular motivation necessary for completion of his internship." Def.Ex. 13. At the May 12 hearing, plaintiff testified that his performance during the first five months of the residency was entirely satisfactory, and the problems that arose were limited to plaintiff's absence from work during the early part of December 1979. Def.Ex. at 34.

Further information was presented at the hearing concerning plaintiff's second unsuccessfully attempted residency at the Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii. Plaintiff commenced that residency in August 1980 and resigned on the advice of his superiors in March 1981. In an August 27, 1987 letter to the Board, Dr. Peter J. Garcia explained that

Dr. Greenlee was a motivated, honest, conscientious doctor who tried hard but who was limited by an insufficient data base, difficulty synthesizing information and, perhaps, a lack of organization. We felt that the approximately two years he was out of medicine after medical school placed him at a severe disadvantage. He had difficulty from the beginning, and we tried to help bring his work up to acceptable levels, but without consistent success. Max resigned from the internship under honorable conditions in March (on our advice), and was discharged from the Army. While I believe he profited from his time at Tripler, we can give him no credit for academic purposes.

Def.Ex. 17. Plaintiff conceded that once again he had been "burned out" when he was asked to resign. He testified, however, that his resignation resulted from his refusal to testify, against the Army's request, in a matter of alleged child abuse. Def.Ex. 4 at 9.

Plaintiff's third unsuccessful residency lasted approximately two weeks, between July 1 and July 16, 1982, at St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. Plaintiff's performance in this residency was not evaluated, due to its brevity. Plaintiff, however, testified that he "was not equipped, at that time, to deal" with the "many other things which go on in a hospital, which have nothing to do with medicine." Def. Ex. 4 at 53-55.

Plaintiff received his license to practice medicine in the State of New York on June 3, 1985. He began his final residency in internal medicine at Interfaith Medical Center on July 1, 1986, four years after he left St. Agnes. Interfaith's residency is a post-graduate clinical training program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

In a letter to the Board dated January 5, 1988, regarding Greenlee's performance at Interfaith, Dr. Edward A. Geis, Associate Director of Internal Medicine at Interfaith, wrote that the faculty

considered Greenlee's overall performance to range from low satisfactory to high satisfactory. In certain clinical areas and with certain tasks, his work was felt to be somewhat slow. His medical knowledge is average, but with certain specific deficiencies especially in Intensive Cardiology. His work habits, responsibility, and interpersonal skills are good to very good.

Def.Ex. 20. Dr. Paul Montner, Chief of Critical Care, and Dr. Gerald M. Greenberg, Chief of Pulmonary Medicine at Interfaith, both wrote the Board in support of plaintiff's licensure application. Greenberg characterized plaintiff as a dedicated, conscientious physician, who related well to patients, families, and co-workers, and who demonstrated the highest level of personal integrity and ethical standards. Plaintiff's Request for Admissions 1.d. Interfaith offered Greenlee a second year medical residency. Greenlee declined the offer for further post-graduate medical training in order to commence practice.

Plaintiff concluded his residency at Interfaith on June 30, 1987. On July 1, 1987, plaintiff was declared a diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners, having fulfilled the requirements for...