Schlein v. Milford Hospital, Civ. No. N-74-169.

• Decision Date: 06 November 1974
• Docket Number: Civ. No. N-74-169.
• Citation: 383 F. Supp. 1263
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: Allen SCHLEIN, M. D. v. The MILFORD HOSPITAL.

383 F. Supp. 1263

Allen SCHLEIN, M. D. v. The MILFORD HOSPITAL.

Civ. No. N-74-169.

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

November 6, 1974.

John J. Coughlin, Milford, Conn., for plaintiff.

Stephen E. Ronai, Milford, Conn., Jeremy G. Zimmermann, New Haven, Conn., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS

NEWMAN, District Judge.

This motion to dismiss requires determination of the contours of state action in the context of a hospital's decision to deny staff privileges to a physician. Plaintiff Allen Schlein is a physician and orthopedic surgeon licensed to practice medicine in Connecticut. He maintains offices in Bridgeport and Milford and is Chief of Orthopedics at Bridgeport's Park City Hospital. Two other Bridgeport hospitals have granted him staff privileges. Plaintiff's practice in the Milford area led him to apply for staff privileges at defendant Milford Hospital, a "private" institution, at least in the sense that it is not owned or operated by a governmental subdivision. After a long series of proceedings the hospital rejected plaintiff's application. Thereafter he brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that the hospital had reached its decision without due process of law and in an arbitrary and capricious manner.

Defendant's motion to dismiss raises the jurisdictional issue of whether the hospital's activities are state action to which Fourteenth Amendment limitations apply. Plaintiff alleges state action on a number of grounds that were considered and rejected in Barrett v. United Hospital, 376 F.Supp. 791 (S.D. N.Y.1974). In an extensive opinion Judge Bauman properly recognized that under this Circuit's exacting view of state action, neither receipt of Hill-Burton funds nor comprehensive state regulation of hospitals is sufficient to impose Fourteenth Amendment limitations on decisions to deny staff privileges. See also Mulvihill v. Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Hospital, 329 F.Supp. 1020 (S.D.N.Y.1971). However, the Barrett decision did not consider the significance of the State's activity in licensing both hospitals and doctors. Plaintiff alleges circumstances, which, if proved at trial, would establish that the hospital's role in relationship to both licensing systems constitutes state action.

Connecticut requires a license for anyone wishing to "establish, conduct, operate or maintain" a hospital. Conn.Gen. Stat. § 19-33. Among the factors to be considered in issuing licenses is the "demonstrable need for such institutions." Conn.Gen.Stat. § 19-36. The State thus determines whether there will be hospitals and how many there will be in a particular area. To date, only the defendant hospital has been licensed in the Milford area.

With respect to physician licensing, Connecticut, like other states, requires doctors to obtain a license before becoming eligible to practice medicine. Conn. Gen.Stat. § 20-8 et seq. While Dr. Schlein's license permits him to practice medicine anywhere in the State, the nature of his profession and, according to his complaint, of his specialty, requires that he enjoy staff privileges at a hospital in order to deliver the full range of services that he is licensed to perform. By deciding whether to extend staff privileges, hospitals determine important aspects of the scope of a physician's license. This determination has substantive and, in this case, geographic implications. The decision to grant staff privileges is quite unlike a hiring decision whereby candidates compete for a limited number of opportunities. Cf. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). Moreover, the denial of staff privileges may seriously...