Larsen v. Carle Foundation

• Decision Date: 21 November 2008
• Docket Number: No. 4-08-0149.,4-08-0149.
• Citation: 898 N.E.2d 728
• Parties: L. Royce LARSEN, M.D., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The CARLE FOUNDATION, d/b/a Carle Foundation Hospital, The Carle Surgicenter-Danville, and The Carle Surgicenter-Champaign, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

898 N.E.2d 728

L. Royce LARSEN, M.D., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The CARLE FOUNDATION, d/b/a Carle Foundation Hospital, The Carle Surgicenter-Danville, and The Carle Surgicenter-Champaign, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 4-08-0149.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District.

November 21, 2008.

Justice TURNER delivered the opinion of the court:

In June 2007, plaintiff, L. Royce Larsen, M.D., filed a second-amended complaint alleging breach of contract against defendants, Carle Foundation, d/b/a Carle Foundation Hospital, Carle Surgicenter-Danville, and Carle Surgicenter-Champaign. In January 2008, plaintiff filed a motion for partial summary judgment, which the trial court denied. At trial, the court granted defendants' motion for a "directed verdict," more properly denominated a directed judgment.

On appeal, plaintiff argues the trial court erred in (1) denying his motion for partial summary judgment, (2) granting defendants' motion for directed judgment, and (3) ignoring his right to a fair hearing. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a physician specializing in general surgery. Prior to December 2005, plaintiff was a member in good standing of defendants' staff and had privileges at the hospital and surgicenters. Medical staff privileges were subject to renewal every two years. A physician seeking to continue his privileges was required to submit a renewal application. Plaintiff's privileges were due to expire on December 3, 2005.

In June 2007, plaintiff filed a second-amended complaint against defendants, alleging, inter alia, breach of contract. Plaintiff claimed he made a timely application for reappointment to the medical staff and clinical privileges and supplied all necessary information. He also claimed defendants sent a letter to him on or about November 22, 2005, requesting additional information be submitted by November 28, 2005. Plaintiff alleged defendants' demand was unauthorized by the Carle Foundation Hospital medical staff bylaws, rules, and regulations (bylaws). Plaintiff claimed he supplied the requested information, albeit after the stated deadline. Plaintiff stated his application for reappointment was denied as incomplete on December 1, 2005, and thus his medical staff membership and clinical privileges expired without renewal on December 3, 2005. Since then, plaintiff has been unable to practice medicine and surgery at defendants' facilities. Plaintiff claimed defendants' refusal to renew his privileges constituted an "adverse action," of which he received no formal notice, and defendants failed or refused to afford him a fair hearing as provided by the bylaws.

In his breach-of-contract claim, plaintiff alleged defendants' action in requiring additional information and denying his application for renewal was a direct and material breach of the terms and conditions of the bylaws and the Hospital Licensing Act (Act) (210 ILCS 85/1 through 16 (West 2006)). Further, plaintiff alleged defendants denied him a fair hearing and other appeal rights. Plaintiff claimed he had suffered damages as a direct and proximate result of defendants' breach of contract.

In January 2008, plaintiff filed a motion for partial summary judgment pursuant to section 2-1005 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1005 (West 2006)), stating there remained only an issue of law as to whether defendants' actions constituted a breach of contract and violation of state law. Plaintiff claimed the bylaws and the Act conferred upon defendants an obligation to afford plaintiff a fair hearing when it failed to grant him a renewal of the staff membership and clinical privileges. The trial court denied the motion.

At the bench trial, G. Lynn Palmer testified she worked for Carle Clinic and managed plaintiff's office. She had worked for plaintiff for over 17 years and assisted him in filling out the biennial renewal application. She stated the office received plaintiff's renewal application form and a letter from Carle Foundation Hospital dated August 1, 2005. She set the form aside and noted it would normally take her five or six weeks to complete the application. The letter indicated the application was to be returned by August 23, 2005. Palmer did not return the application by that date, but she considered it a request and not a deadline. Although Palmer testified she did not see a memo from the medical staff coordinator that the application had not been received and needed to be submitted by October 3, 2005, to meet the deadlines of the application process, Palmer stated she complied with that deadline.

On November 22, 2005, plaintiff received a letter indicating his application for reappointment to the medical staff and clinical privileges had been reviewed by the credentials committee on November 17, 2005. The letter stated the committee sought additional information from three facilities at which he performed surgical cases and asked that the information be provided no later than November 28, 2005. Palmer testified she typed the letters to get the needed information on November 28.

Plaintiff testified his formal employer is Carle Clinic and he had been working with the clinic for 20 years. He never practiced at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. Plaintiff stated that as a surgeon with staff privileges he is required to renew his privileges through an application process. Plaintiff testified he signed his application on August 25, 2005. He signed it again when the application was ready to be forwarded on September 28, 2005. He received a letter from Dr. Napoleon Knight, the vice president of medical affairs for Carle Foundation Hospital, on November 22, 2005, requesting additional information by November 28. Plaintiff responded by letter on November 28, 2005, noting the difficulty in supplying the requested information given the Thanksgiving holiday (Thursday, November 24, 2005). Plaintiff also sent letters to various health-care facilities to comply with Knight's request. Plaintiff testified to letters sent by various facilities in response to his request for information.

On December 1, 2005, plaintiff received a letter from Dr. Knight, informing him the requested information had not been received by November 28, 2005, and thus plaintiff's privileges would expire on December 3, 2005. The letter indicated plaintiff would have to make arrangements to reschedule any procedures at another facility at which he had privileges. Plaintiff testified he sought a fair hearing in regard to the denial of his staff privileges but he did not receive one.

Following the close of plaintiff's evidence, defense counsel moved for directed judgment. The trial court found plaintiff's evidence failed to establish a prima facie case. The court dismissed the second-amended complaint. This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Summary Judgment

Plaintiff argues the trial court erred in denying his motion for partial summary judgment. "In general, when a motion for summary judgment is denied and the case proceeds to trial, the order denying the motion for summary judgment merges with the judgment entered and is not appealable." Labate v. Data Forms, Inc., 288 Ill.App.3d 738, 740, 224 Ill.Dec. 530, 682 N.E.2d 91, 92 (1997).

In the case sub judice, plaintiff filed a motion for partial summary judgment, claiming there were no genuine issues of material fact as to the actions of the parties. Plaintiff argued only questions of law remained as to whether defendants' actions constituted a breach of contract and violation of state law. The trial court denied the motion and conducted a bench trial on plaintiff's second-amended complaint. Thus, plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment merges with the January 2008 directed finding. Accordingly, we will not address plaintiff's argument on this issue.

B. Directed Judgment

Plaintiff argues the trial court erred in granting defendants' motion for directed judgment at the close of plaintiff's evidence. We disagree.

Section 2-1110 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1110 (West 2006)) provides that "[i]n all cases tried without a jury, defendant may, at the close of plaintiff's case, move for a finding or judgment in his or her favor."

"In ruling on this motion, a court must engage in a two-prong analysis. [Citation.] First, the court must determine, as a matter of law, whether the plaintiff has presented a prima facie case. A plaintiff establishes a prima facie case by proffering at least `some evidence on every element essential to [the plaintiff's underlying] cause of action.' [Citation.] If the plaintiff has failed to meet this burden, the court should grant the motion and enter judgment in the defendant's favor. [Citation.] Because a determination that a plaintiff has failed to present a prima facie case is a question of law, the circuit court's ruling is reviewed de novo on appeal. [Citations.]

If, however, the circuit court determines that the plaintiff has presented a prima facie case, the court then moves to the second prong of the inquiry. In its role as the finder of fact, the court must consider the totality of the evidence presented, including any evidence which is favorable to the defendant. * * * After weighing the quality of all of the evidence, both that presented by the plaintiff and that presented by the defendant, the court should determine, applying the standard of proof required for the underlying cause, whether sufficient evidence remains to establish the plaintiff's prima facie case. If the circuit court finds that sufficient evidence has been presented to establish the plaintiff's prima facie case, the court should deny the defendant's motion and proceed with the trial. [Citation.] If, however, the court determines that the evidence warrants a finding in favor of the defendant, it should grant the defendant's motion and enter a judgment dismissing the action. [Citation.] A reviewing court will not reverse the circuit court's ruling on appeal unless it is...