Vakharia v. Little Co. of Mary Hosp., 94 C 5599.
| Decision Date | 07 March 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 94 C 5599.,94 C 5599. |
| Citation | 917 F. Supp. 1282 |
| Parties | Usha VAKHARIA, M.D., Plaintiff, v. LITTLE COMPANY OF MARY HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CARE CENTERS, David J. Roth, M.D., Chidambaram Srinivasan, M.D., Susan Carpo, M.D., Norma Cadayona, M.D., Hae Chang Lee, M.D., Tenkasi Subramanian, M.D., Joon Suk Yu, M.D., Manual U, M.D., Jarema Skirnyk, M.D., Southwest Anesthesia Associates, S.C., Evergreen Anesthesia and Pain Management Services, S.C., Kent F.W. Armbruster, M.D., Bernard P. Flaherty, M.D., Martin J. Phee, M.D., Lourdes D. Floro, M.D., Robert J. Bruno, M.D., Jose M. Cava, M.D., William J. Farrell, M.D., George F. Hogan, M.D., Michael M. Stachowski, M.D., Alice M. Stratigos, M.D., Douglas Webster, D.O., Frederick E. Wohlberg, M.D., Leo J. Knaff, M.D., James A.K. Lambur, M.D., George Miller, III, D.O., Sister Kathleen McIntyre, L.C.M., Claus Von Zychlin, John Prout, Frank J. Schaffer, George J. Cullen, Leo E. Hennessy, Sister M. Damian Young, L.C.M., Richard M. Farell, M.D., Vincent Gavin, James Keane, Mary Ellen McGuire, Thomas E. Murray, Ed.D., Thomas S. Patricoski, M.D., Michael B. Schneider, Sister Sharon Ann Walsh, L.C.M., Albert C. Baldermann, Michael R. Callahan, and Professional Staff of Little Company of Mary Hosp. and Health Care Centers. Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
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Allen E. Shoenberger, Chicago, IL, for plaintiff.
Laurence H. Lenz, Jr., Harry John Secaras, Paul A. Haskins, Katten, Muchin & Zavis, Chicago, IL, for defendants.
Before the court are the motions of the above-named Defendants to dismiss the Complaint of Plaintiff Dr. Usha Vakharia ("Vakharia"). For the following reasons, the motions are granted in part and denied in part.
In an effort to state a claim, Plaintiff has thrown everything but the proverbial kitchen sink into her Amended Complaint ("Complaint").1 Naming an estimated 500 Defendants in 178 paragraphs spread over fifty-one pages, the document struggles to allege simple discrimination, antitrust, and breach of contract and bylaws claims.
Vakharia is a 49-year-old Asian Indian medical doctor practicing since 1974. She is licensed to practice in Illinois and is Board certified in anesthesiology.
The Defendants include Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Centers ("the Hospital"), and its entire Professional Staff ("Staff"). Defendant Southwest Anesthesia Associates, S.C. ("Southwest"), "is or was" a corporation "involved in the supply of anesthesia services" at the Hospital. Defendant Evergreen Anesthesia and Pain Management Services, S.C. ("Evergreen"), is a corporation involved in the same activity as Southwest.
Also named are Doctors David Roth ("Roth"), Chidambaram Srinivasan ("Srinivasan"), Susan Carpo ("Carpo"), Norma Cadayona ("Cadayona"), Hae Chang Lee ("Lee"), Tenkasi Subramanian ("Subramanian"), Joon Suk Yu ("J. Yu"), Manual Yu ("M. Yu"), and Jarema Skirnyk ("Skirnyk"), who were staff anesthesiologists at all times relevant to the Complaint. Doctor Kent Armbruster ("Armbruster") has served as the Hospital's Medical Director since 1993. Doctor Bernard Flaherty ("Flaherty") was president of the Staff in 1992 and 1993. Doctor Martin Phee ("Phee") is the current president of the Staff. Defendant Sister Kathleen McIntyre ("McIntyre") was President of the Hospital at all relevant times until June 1994. Defendant Claus von Zychlin ("Zychlin") was the Executive Vice President or the President of the Hospital at all relevant times since March 1993. Defendant John Prout ("Prout") was Executive Vice President through Fall 1992. Defendant Michael Callahan ("Callahan") is an attorney who counsels the Hospital regarding termination of physician staff membership and privileges.
Also named are members of the Hospitals Medical Executive Committee ("MEC"): Armbruster, Flaherty, Phee, Lourdes Floro ("Floro"), Robert Bruno ("Bruno"), Jose Cava ("Cava"), William Farrell ("Farrell"), George Hogan ("Hogan"), Michael Stachowski ("Stachowski"), Alice Stratigos ("Stratigos"), Douglas Webster ("Webster"), Frederick Wohlberg ("Wohlberg"), Leo Knaff ("Knaff"), James Lambur ("Lambur"), George Miller III ("Miller"). Vakharia names the following members of the Hospital's Board of Directors ("Board") as well: Flaherty, Phee, Cava, Lambur, McIntyre, Zychlin, and Doctors Richard Farell ("Farell"), Thomas Murray ("Murray"), Thomas Patricoski ("Patricoski"), Michael Schneider ("Schneider") as well as Sister Damian Young ("Young"), Sister Sharon Ann Walsh ("Walsh"), Frank Schaffer ("Schaffer"), George Cullen ("Cullen"), Leo Hennessy ("Hennessy"), Vincent Gavin ("Gavin"), James Keane ("Keane"), Mary Ellen McGuire ("McGuire"), and Albert Baldermann ("Baldermann").
Generally, Vakharia complains of Defendants' action, or inaction, in processing her application for full anesthesiology privileges at the Hospital and in selecting an exclusive provider group for anesthesiology services. Vakharia states that the Hospital, after determining its need for physicians, screens potential applicants through a pre-application process. After the pre-application process, the Hospital provides applications. The Board regulates credentialling, and the Staff regulates privileges under the bylaws.
Before the Hospital selected Evergreen as its exclusive provider of anesthesiology services in February 1994, Hospital anesthesiologists were engaged in an employment relationship with the Hospital, and entered contracts with individual patients assigned to the anesthesiologists by the Hospital.
Vakharia repeatedly alleges that, at all relevant times, the Hospital had a need for anesthesiologists. This need was manifested by numerous alleged complaints and scheduling problems.
Vakharia completed pre-application papers for active privileges in both the Obstetrical and Gynecological ("OB/GYN") and Surgical sections of the Hospital's Anesthesiology Department ("Department") in February 1992. In March 1992, the Hospital granted Vakharia temporary privileges in only the OB/GYN section and provided her with a copy of the Professional Staff Bylaws ("Bylaws") and the Department Rules and Regulations ("Rules"). Vakharia states that Roth played a role in the denial of her Surgical section privileges.
Vakharia alleges that in August 1992 she "reapplied" for active privileges in the Surgical and OB/GYN sections. The Hospital and Roth failed to process this application within sixty days, which Vakharia contends was in violation of the Bylaws. Vakharia contends that the Board and the MEC knew of her reapplication, yet failed to insure that it was processed within the prescribed time period despite the Hospital's shortage of anesthesiologists.
Also in August 1992, Roth, then Chair of the Department, attempted to organize a group of anesthesiologists, known as Southwest, to exclusively provide anesthesiology services to the Hospital. Vakharia contends that Roth did so in order to force the anesthesiologists to surrender their privileges without the protection of the appeals process provided by the bylaws, to lower their pay, and to eventually terminate them from the Staff. Vakharia avows that Roth began to recruit white males to replace female foreign anesthesiologists, like Vakharia, in violation of the Bylaws and the Rules. Vakharia states that Roth slated her for removal not only because of her race, but also because of her age. Vakharia avows that he did so as part of an illegal agreement with the Hospital, the Board, the MEC, Prout, and McIntyre, and that every Defendant knew of the scheme. One such white male was Dr. Mark Krause, who was granted privileges in the Surgical section in violation of the Bylaws and the Rules. As part of his attempt to form an exclusive provider group, Roth presented pro forma employment contracts to all members of both Department sections, to which many anesthesiologists objected. Prout and the Hospital attempted to force all anesthesiologists to join the group.
In September 1992, the Hospital and Prout did not directly respond to an exclusive provider contract offered by a second group of anesthesiologists, consisting mostly of Asian females. That second group informed Roth that they intended to vote him out as Department Chair at a bi-yearly election which was due to be held in October 1992. Roth attempted to solicit the support of the second group for Southwest. When refused, Roth told one member of the second group, "When I take over the Department, I am going to give you a one-way ticket to the Philippines"; Roth also said that he would terminate the female Asian anesthesiologists from the Surgical section. McIntyre instructed the Department to postpone the election in violation of the Bylaws. By December 1992, the election had been held and a non-Defendant anesthesiologist, Dr. Padma Rao ("Rao"), became the Chair of the Department.
In January 1993, all Department members "indicated a desire to cooperate" with a group being formed by Rao, and Armbruster encouraged Department members to work together as a team. In February 1993, McIntyre also encouraged Rao to form a group to negotiate an anesthesiology contract with the Hospital.
Also at that time, Vakharia asked Rao about the status of her re-application. Vakharia declares that Rao initiated processing of Vakharia's application, as well as the application of Srinivasan (an Asian male) in February 1993. Vakharia states that Srinivasan's application was approved that same month, and that he immediately began on regular rotation in the Surgical section. In March 1993, Rao raised Vakharia's reapplication for consideration at the Department meeting. At the meeting, the Department continued consideration of the reapplication until the next monthly meeting. On March 29, McIntyre extended Vakharia's interim privileges to include Surgical,...
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