Robbins v. Ong

• Decision Date: 08 June 1978
• Docket Number: No. CV477-229.,CV477-229.
• Citation: 452 F. Supp. 110
• Parties: Dr. Frank T. ROBBINS and Robbins Clinic, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. Dr. Antonio ONG, Dr. Cecilia Ong, Dr. Victor Bautista, Dr. Grace Bautista, Dr. Ruben Silan, Dr. Chen Shih, Dr. Wu Jeng, Dr. Humberto Munoz, the Hospital Authority of Liberty County and William J. Verross, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Georgia

452 F. Supp. 110

Dr. Frank T. ROBBINS and Robbins Clinic, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. Dr. Antonio ONG, Dr. Cecilia Ong, Dr. Victor Bautista, Dr. Grace Bautista, Dr. Ruben Silan, Dr. Chen Shih, Dr. Wu Jeng, Dr. Humberto Munoz, the Hospital Authority of Liberty County and William J. Verross, Defendants.

No. CV477-229.

United States District Court, S. D. Georgia, Savannah Division.

June 8, 1978.

Bobby L. Hill and Jack P. Friday, Jr., Savannah, Ga. (Hill, Jones & Associates, Savannah, Ga.), for plaintiffs.

Walter C. Hartridge, II and John G. Lientz, Savannah, Ga. (Bouhan, Williams & Levy, Savannah, Ga.), J. William Gibson and Herbert P. Schlanger, Atlanta, Ga. (Hansell, Post, Brandon & Dorsey, Atlanta, Ga.), for the Hospital Authority and William J. Verross.

William P. Franklin, Jr., Savannah, Ga. (Oliver, Maner & Gray, Savannah, Ga.), and John T. Woodall, Savannah, Ga. (Kennedy & Sognier, Savannah, Ga.), for defendant doctors.

ORDER ON PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

LAWRENCE, District Judge.

In this suit plaintiffs claim that the defendants have conspired for three years to deprive the plaintiff, Dr. Robbins, and, as a consequence, Robbins Clinic, Inc., from the medical practice in Liberty County, Georgia. They also allege that the defendant physicians and the Authority have entered into a combination in restraint of trade by not renewing Robbins' hospital privileges. The Chairman of the Hospital Authority is alleged to be a part of the conspiracy.

Dr. Robbins further contends that the Authority denied him due process in the consideration and denial of his application for renewal of his privileges.

Jurisdiction is predicated on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1337, and 1343 for constitutional deprivations and alleged antitrust violations.

This Court entered a temporary restraining order on November 10, 1977, under which the Hospital Authority was restrained from revoking or refusing to renew Dr. Robbins' hospital privileges. An evidentiary hearing on the application for a preliminary injunction was held on December 9 and 10, 1977. The question of whether to grant preliminary injunctive relief is the only issue immediately before this Court.

I

Dr. Robbins contends that the defendant physicians have conspired against him by refusing to follow established referral policies. He also contends that the doctors and the Hospital Authority have and are conspiring to deny the renewal of privileges.

The evidence indicates that prior to 1974, Dr. Robbins and one or two other physicians were the only medical practitioners in Liberty County. Some time in 1974, what the plaintiff characterizes as "foreign" doctors started practice in Liberty County. Eight of these physicians are defendants in this action.

The record reflects a history of incidents involving Dr. Robbins and the Hospital administration. Three were considered by the Authority at a meeting on September 9, 1976. They involved interruption of a training class, failure to be "readily available" while on emergency room call, and refusal to care for another doctor's patient. The members of the Authority thereafter met and reviewed the recommendation of the Medical Staff that Dr. Robbins' privileges be revoked. Dr. Robbins was represented by counsel at this meeting.

After reviewing the evidence, the Authority sent Dr. Robbins a letter dated November 4, 1976. (Defendants' Ex. 3). It stated:

"The Authority is seriously disturbed by the obvious conflicts between Dr. Robbins and other members of the Medical and Dental Staff. Cooperative attitudes are essential to the proper and efficient operation of any entity, and this is especially true in the case of a hospital. The Authority intends to pay close attention to any influence which might be considered detrimental to hospital operations. Uncooperative attitudes demonstrated by any member of the Medical and Dental Staff or any employee of the hospital will not be tolerated.

"While the Authority expresses its extreme disappointment in the conduct and attitude of Dr. Robbins disclosed in the transcript of record, it is the decision of the Authority to deny the recommended revocation of Dr. Robbins' privileges at the hospital, but the Authority expects Dr. Robbins, all other members of the Medical and Dental Staff and all employees of the hospital henceforth to work together in harmony and in a cooperative spirit, in order that the hospital may continue to offer to the public that quality of care which the public has a right to demand."

At a meeting on July 19, 1977, the Authority again discussed Dr. Robbins' status at the Hospital. He was present. The specific item under discussion was Dr. Robbins' refusal to allow a new Registered Nurse, Nina Garcia, to work in the operating room with him. Dr. Robbins explained his view of the incident. After he left the meeting, the Authority considered a recommendation not to renew Dr. Robbins' privileges.

According to the minutes of that meeting (Plaintiffs' Ex. 8), Mr. Verross stepped down as Chairman and recommended that Dr. Robbins' privileges not be renewed. It appears that he had prepared a list of thirteen incidents involving plaintiff. None of them involved medical competence. He had also prepared a written recommendation to the Authority which stated:

"RECOMMENDED ACTION AFTER CONSIDERATION BY THE HOSPITAL AUTHORITY OF THE DATA HERE PRESENTED.

Dr. Frank T. Robbins' privileges in general practice, general surgery and emergency room are valid through November 30, 1977.

Therefore, I recommend that the Authority put Dr. Frank T. Robbins on notice that if he applies for renewal of privileges at Liberty Memorial Hospital, effective December 1, 1977, the Authority will not grant him privileges in Liberty Memorial Hospital, asserting that we must take this action for the common good of the public and the hospital. In the Authority's considered judgment, Dr. Robbins' personality and demonstrated behavior during the last two years indicates that he cannot, or at least will not, change his behavior for the better.

This is not to say I recommend that the Authority find him, or even imply that he is, an incompetent physician. Quite the contrary. He is an extremely able physician who unfortunately cannot confine his actions to being a good doctor, or to get along with most of his fellow men.

I do not recommend the suspension of, or even call for the consideration of, Dr. Robbins' license to practice medicine. All thirteen recorded incidents are of a nonmedical nature. Dr. Robbins has the opportunity to use the next four months to rearrange his practice at places other than Liberty Memorial. It is in the best interests of many people of Liberty County who are Robbins' patients that he continue to operate his clinic in Hinesville. I do not call for this unusual decision by the Liberty County Hospital Authority in an arbitrary or capricious manner. In my opinion, Dr. Robbins has amply illustrated that he cannot get along with the Administrator and other hospital management, he cannot get along with the Medical Staff, nor can he act in a civilized manner towards a majority of the nurses and other professional technicians of Liberty Memorial Hospital. For many years when there were only Drs. Fraser and Robbins to provide medical service to the citizens of Liberty County, I urged the staff, and management, and the Authority, to turn the other cheek, so to speak, in behalf of all the sick people of Liberty County. Now that an adequate number of competent physicians are practicing in Liberty County, and are on our Medical Staff, there is no justification for this Authority to ask the management, or the Medical Staff, or the hospital staff to put up with Dr. Robbins' behavior any longer. We owe this to the persons who have suffered, and to those professionals who will come with us in the future."

After a discussion, the Authority unanimously adopted the recommendation. Chairman Verross sent Dr. Robbins a letter dated July 19, 1977 (Plaintiffs' Ex. 2) which stated that the Authority had "reviewed a twenty-six month record of your offensive and unsatisfactory behavior." It concluded that it was "the considered decision of the Hospital Authority that if you apply for renewal of . . . privileges at Liberty Memorial Hospital, effective December 1, 1977, you will not be granted said privileges."

On October 5, 1977, the Credentials Committee, consisting of two of the defendant doctors, recommended that Dr. Robbins' privileges not be renewed. The reason given was that his "personality and behavior have become incompatible" with the Authority, a majority of the medical and hospital staff, and the hospital management "to the prejudice of good order and efficient functioning of the hospital." (Plaintiffs' Ex. 3).

The medical staff voted to accept this recommendation on October 6th. Authority Tr. 27-33. This suit was filed a few days later.

On October 25th Dr. Robbins was notified of the decision of the medical staff. The letter informed him that a hearing on the decision would be held before the Authority on November 16th at which time he could have counsel present. The letter listed seven incidents which would be reviewed at the hearing. Five of them were included in Mr. Verross' list. Two of the seven incidents occurred after the meeting of the Authority on July 19, 1977.

The hearing before the Authority lasted three days. The transcript thereof is nearly eight hundred pages long.

On December 8th, the Authority issued an opinion. (See Court's Ex. 2). It found that Dr. Robbins had acted improperly in all of the seven incidents set forth in the letter of October 25th. It was specifically found that Dr. Robbins threw a scrub brush outside the operating room and shouted abusively. Second, Dr. Robbins refused to permit Nina Garcia, a qualified hospital employee, to be present while he was in the operating room. Third, he was unwarranted in interrupting a nurses' training session. Fourth, he...