Minnesota Ass'n of Nurse Anesthetists v. Unity Hosp., No. 94-4017
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | Before WOLLMAN and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judges, and BOGUE; MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD |
| Citation | 59 F.3d 80 |
| Parties | 131 Lab.Cas. P 58,056 MINNESOTA ASSOCIATION OF NURSE ANESTHETISTS; Gayle McKay, Ladonna Schweer; John Okonek; Bernadine Okonek; Annette Atchison; Fred Benjamin; Bart Barry; Faye Leatherman; Sue Milbach; Sandra Henschke; Judith A. Schmidt; Gary Hagen, Appellees, v. UNITY HOSPITAL; Mercy Hospital; William MacNally, President and Chief Executive Officer of Unity and Mercy Hospitals; Allina Health System Corp.; Mark Sperry, M.D.; Gary Baggenstoss, M.D.; John Murphy, in his capacity as Vice President of Unity and Mercy Medical Centers; James Cumming, M.D.; John Rydberg, M.D.; Midwest Anesthesia, P.A.; Thelma M. Albay, M.D.; Minda Castillejos, M.D.; Teri Heil, M.D.; Sang Hong, M.D.; Ted Janossy, M.D.; Raymond Kloepper, II, M.D.; John Magdsick, M.D.; Thomas Maggs, M.D.; Thomas Polta, M.D.; John Roseberg, M.D.; Jai Suh, M.D.; Jeffrey Yue, M.D.; Mark Eggen, M.D.; Metropolitan Anesthesia Network; Allen Tank; Theodore Grindal, Esq.; Craig Johnson, M.D., both individually and in his capacity as President of the Minnesota Society of Anesthesiologists; St. Cloud Hospital; John Frobenius, Chief Executive Officer of St. Cloud Hospital; Linda Chimielewski, Vice President Hospital Operations of St. Cloud Hospital; Anesthesia Associates of St. Cloud, Ltd.; Gary Boeke, M.D.; Philip F. Boyle, M.D.; L. Michael Espeland, M.D.; Alan Espelien, M.D.; Paul J. Halverson, M.D.; Lanse C. Lang, M.D.; A. Wade McMillan, M.D.; William H. Rice, M.D.; Allan Reitz, M.D.; Annette E. Zwick, M.D., Appellants. |
| Decision Date | 29 June 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 94-4017 |
Page 80
Ladonna Schweer; John Okonek; Bernadine Okonek; Annette
Atchison; Fred Benjamin; Bart Barry; Faye Leatherman;
Sue Milbach; Sandra Henschke; Judith A. Schmidt; Gary
Hagen, Appellees,
v.
UNITY HOSPITAL; Mercy Hospital; William MacNally,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Unity and Mercy
Hospitals; Allina Health System Corp.; Mark Sperry, M.D.;
Gary Baggenstoss, M.D.; John Murphy, in his capacity as
Vice President of Unity and Mercy Medical Centers; James
Cumming, M.D.; John Rydberg, M.D.; Midwest Anesthesia,
P.A.; Thelma M. Albay, M.D.; Minda Castillejos, M.D.;
Teri Heil, M.D.; Sang Hong, M.D.; Ted Janossy, M.D.;
Raymond Kloepper, II, M.D.; John Magdsick, M.D.; Thomas
Maggs, M.D.; Thomas Polta, M.D.; John Roseberg, M.D.; Jai
Suh, M.D.; Jeffrey Yue, M.D.; Mark Eggen, M.D.;
Metropolitan Anesthesia Network; Allen Tank; Theodore
Grindal, Esq.; Craig Johnson, M.D., both individually and
in his capacity as President of the Minnesota Society of
Anesthesiologists; St. Cloud Hospital; John Frobenius,
Chief Executive Officer of St. Cloud Hospital; Linda
Chimielewski, Vice President Hospital Operations of St.
Cloud Hospital; Anesthesia Associates of St. Cloud, Ltd.;
Gary Boeke, M.D.; Philip F. Boyle, M.D.; L. Michael
Espeland, M.D.; Alan Espelien, M.D.; Paul J. Halverson,
M.D.; Lanse C. Lang, M.D.; A. Wade McMillan, M.D.;
William H. Rice, M.D.; Allan Reitz, M.D.; Annette E.
Zwick, M.D., Appellants.
Eighth Circuit.
Decided June 29, 1995.
Page 81
John Dwyer French, Minneapolis, MN, argued (Jay D. Christiansen, Elizabeth L. Taylor and Richard A. Duncan, on brief), for appellant.
Herbert J. Stern, Roseland, NJ, argued (William S. Rosen, on brief), for appellee.
Before WOLLMAN and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judges, and BOGUE, Senior District Judge. *
MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.
Plaintiffs, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), alleged a wide-ranging conspiracy between hospital administrators, doctors, and others in violation of federal and state competition laws and the Minnesota whistleblower statute, Minn.Stat. Sec. 181.932. The district court below granted a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs under the whistleblower statute barring the defendants from discharging, threatening to discharge, or penalizing any of the plaintiff CRNAs, or others, because of their participation in this lawsuit.
We dissolve the preliminary injunction.
Page 82
I.
Anesthesia may be administered by medical doctor anesthesiologists (MDAs) or CRNAs. Until recently, the CRNAs here worked as staff for the hospitals where they practiced, namely, Unity Hospital, Mercy Hospital, and St. Cloud Hospital. Pursuant to a 1991 audit, an insurance company discovered some evidence of double-billing at Unity and Mercy Hospitals. Some time thereafter, some CRNAs, in meetings with hospital administrators, alleged that MDAs were engaged in these fraudulent billing practices. The hospitals say that, in 1993, they decided that the structure of anesthesia staffing should be changed to promote greater efficiency, and the next year they did in fact change the employment status of the CRNAs to independent contractors.
The district court noted that the "crux of plaintiffs' claims is that defendants have terminated or threatened to terminate CRNAs not as a result of good faith efforts to reduce costs but, rather, in retaliation for their disclosure to the defendant hospitals of the fraudulent billing practices attributable to defendant MDAs." Minnesota Assoc. of Nurse Anesthetists v. Unity Hospital, No. 3-94-1446, at 5 (D.Minn. filed Nov. 17, 1994) (Order). Plaintiffs asked for injunctive relief restraining the defendants from taking adverse action against the plaintiffs or anyone who might come forward with information to support the plaintiffs' cause. Id.
The district court noted, and sought to apply, this circuit's framework for analyzing requests for preliminary injunctive relief that is set forth in Dataphase Sys., Inc. v. CL Sys., Inc., 640...
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...link. See Kipp v. Mo. Highway and Transp. Comm'n, 280 F.3d 893, 897 (8th Cir.2002); Minn. Assoc. of Nurse Anesthetists v. Unity Hosp., 59 F.3d 80, 83 (8th Cir.1995) ("Long intervals between the conduct that is said to motivate an employer and the adverse employment decision complained of te......
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...Dist. , 696 F.3d 771, 776 (8th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Minn. Ass'n of Nurse Anesthetists v. Unity Hosp. , 59 F.3d 80, 83 (8th Cir. 1995) ). A movant need not prove it is more likely than not to prevail, but "need only show a reasonable probability of success, ......
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...of the claim. Livestock Mktg. Ass'n, 132 F.Supp.2d at 824 (citing [819 F.Supp.2d 913] Minn. Ass'n of Nurse Anesthetists v. Unity Hosp., 59 F.3d 80, 83 (8th Cir.1995)). While no single factor is dispositive, each must be examined as to whether it weighs for or against granting the injunction......
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...preliminary injunction, ‘likelihood of success on the merits is most significant.’ ” Minnesota Ass'n of Nurse Anesthetists v. Unity Hosp. , 59 F.3d 80, 83 (8th Cir.1995) (quoting S & M Constructors, Inc. v. Foley Co. , 959 F.2d 97, 98 (8th Cir.), cert. denied , 506 U.S. 863, 113 S.Ct. 184, ......
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Murphy v. M.C. Lint, Inc., No. 4:04CV90364.
...link. See Kipp v. Mo. Highway and Transp. Comm'n, 280 F.3d 893, 897 (8th Cir.2002); Minn. Assoc. of Nurse Anesthetists v. Unity Hosp., 59 F.3d 80, 83 (8th Cir.1995) ("Long intervals between the conduct that is said to motivate an employer and the adverse employment decision complained of te......
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First Premier Bank v. United States Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau, Civ. 11–4103–KES.
...of the claim. Livestock Mktg. Ass'n, 132 F.Supp.2d at 824 (citing [819 F.Supp.2d 913] Minn. Ass'n of Nurse Anesthetists v. Unity Hosp., 59 F.3d 80, 83 (8th Cir.1995)). While no single factor is dispositive, each must be examined as to whether it weighs for or against granting the injunction......
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Temple v. Horses, CIV. 15-5062-JLV
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