Williams v. Dr. Med. Ctr. of Modesto, Inc.
| Docket Number | F084700,F085710 |
| Decision Date | 27 March 2024 |
| Citation | 319 Cal.Rptr.3d 741 |
| Parties | R. Michael WILLIAMS, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. DOCTORS MEDICAL CENTER OF MODESTO, INC., et al., Defendants and Respondents. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals |
APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Stanislaus County, Sonny S. Sandhu, Judge. (Stanislaus Super. Ct. No. CV-20-004732)
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, Sean M. Selegue, San Francisco, Samuel E. Sokolsky; Law Offices of James M. Braden and James M. Braden, San Francisco, for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Davis Wright Tremaine, Thomas R. Burke, San Francisco, Terri D. Keville, Los Angeles, Anna R. Buono, Los Angeles, and Miriam R. Swedlow for Defendants and Respondents Doctors Medical Center of Modesto, Inc., Tenet Healthcare Corporation, Warren Kirk, Mark Fahlen, Marny Fern, and Cheryl Harless.
Pollara Law Group, Dominique Pollara, Sacramento, and Frances Bruce for Defendants and Respondents Hospitalists of Modesto Medical Group, Inc., Arun Manoharan, and Li Huang.
This case involves appellant Dr. R. Michael Williams’s ability to practice medicine, have access to his admitted patients, and have privileges at respondent Doctor’s Medical Center of Modesto (DMCM). The trial court granted two separate anti-SLAPP motions,1 one by DMCM, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, Warren Kirk, Dr. Mark Fahlen, Marny Fern, and Cheryl Harless ("DMC Respondents") and the other by respondents Hospitalists of Modesto Medical Group, Dr. Arun Manoharan, and Dr. Li Huang ("Hospitalist Respondents") (collectively "Respondents"). The court also awarded Respondents’ their attorney fees.
Through this appeal, Williams challenges the granting of the anti-SLAPP motions and the awards of attorney fees.2 With respect to the SLAPP orders, Williams contends that the trial court erred by: (1) finding Respondents met their burden of showing that his claims arose from protected activity; (2) estopping him from arguing that his claims did not arise from protected activity by Respondents; and (3) finding that he failed to establish a probability of prevailing on his claims. With respect to attorney fees, Williams contends because he has established that the court erred in granting the anti-SLAPP motions, the derivative award of attorney fees must be reversed. Respondents counter that Williams’s challenge to attorney fees is redundant or moot, and the Hospitalist Respondents have filed a combined motion to dismiss and request for an award of costs as sanctions. We reverse both the granting of the anti-SLAPP motions and the award of attorney fees, deny the motion to dismiss, and deny the request for sanctions.
Williams is a board certified oncologist who practices medicine and treats patients in the Modesto area. Williams primarily practices in an independent clinic, but since 2003 has had privileges at DMCM, which is an acute-care hospital. Patients who are admitted to DMCM are assigned a hospitalist. A hospitalist is a physician who specializes in caring for patients in a hospital setting. The hospitalist acts as the patient's attending physician and decides what other physicians and specialists may care for the patient while the patient is admitted at DMCM. Hospitalists are not required to enlist the help of any particular specialists, even if one is requested by the patient or the patient’s family. Once the hospitalist enlists other specialists, the specialists may speak with the patient’s family about treatment and care and may enter treatment orders for the patient.
For a number of years, Williams and Respondents enjoyed a cordial professional relationship. However, around 2018, the relationship markedly changed for the worse. The parties disagree as to why the relationship changed, who is at fault for the change, and the repercussions of the change. Williams contends that he advocates for the best possible care for his patients and that the Respondents improperly treat cancer patients by prematurely urging only palliative care with an eye towards cost-savings. Williams made a number of complaints regarding DMCM hospitalists and their treatment of himself and his patients. Respondents did not formally address Williams’s complaints, but instead allegedly treated Williams with hostility, disrespect, and unprofessionalism and began investigating him. For their part, Respondents contend that interactions with Williams became challenging, antagonistic, and strained. Williams would not accept the necessary limits of a consulting physician and would criticize (sometimes in front of patients and their families) the medical decisions made at DMCM by the Hospitalist Respondents. Respondents contend that the actions of Williams and his staff involved significant disagreements over patient care and unprofessional communication, both of which led to barriers for effectively treating patients, particularly when palliative care was at issue or when Williams had given a patient or family false hope. As a result, complaints were made against Williams for unprofessional, bizarre, or erratic behavior.
The strained relationship came to a head in January 2020. On January 8, 2020, DMCM’s Medical Executive Committee (MEC) informed Williams in writing that interviews with medical staff and DMCM employees revealed serious concerns over Williams’s behavior, "which directly impact the clinical care of patients treated at [DMCM]." The MEC required Williams to attend a peer review meeting on January 31, 2020, to address nine areas of alleged misconduct, including misconduct occurring in specific patient cases.
On January 31, 2020, Williams and the MEC met to address the concerns identified in the January 8 letter. The meeting was cut short because Williams had to leave early for a medical emergency. It does not appear that the meeting ever resumed, nor does it appear that the DMC Respondents formally revoked Williams’s privileges or formally disciplined Williams for his conduct at DMCM. Nevertheless, Williams responded in writing to the issues raised by the January 8 letter. Williams provided supportive declarations, identified inaccurate dates in the January 8 letter, and denied that his conduct adversely affected patient care. Following the January 31, 2020 meeting, Williams maintains that Respondents have limited, abridged, and interfered with his medical practice, including engaging in conduct that amounts to a de facto restriction on his privileges at DMCM without due process.
Beginning in 2020, Williams filed two lawsuits against Respondents based on their treatment of him. The second lawsuit is the subject of this appeal.
On January 29, 2020, Williams filed suit against Respondents, as well as numerous other hospitalists, medical staff, and DMCM employees (First Lawsuit). The last operative complaint in the First Lawsuit was the Second Amended Complaint (SAC), filed on February 26, 2020. The SAC identified the following 12 causes of action: (1) retaliation under Business & Professions Code section 2056; (2) retaliation in violation of Health & Safety Code section 1278.5; (3) violation of Business & Professions Code section 809; (4) interference with right to provide medical care; (5) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (6) declaratory relief; (7) temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief; (8) defamation; (9) breach of contract; (10) breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (11) antitrust/unfair business practices; and (12) wrongful effective ter- mination of hospital privileges. Among other things, the SAC sought injunctive relief against Respondents and included allegations of a number of allegedly defamatory statements against Williams. References to the defamatory statements appear in most of the causes of action either through incorporation by reference, identification of specific statements, or a general reference to false statements.
In June 2020, Respondents filed anti-SLAPP motions under Code of Civil Procedure section 424.16, subdivision (b).3 Respondents argued that the trial court "should strike all claims in the [SAC] that arise from protected conduct."4 In relevant part, Respondents argued that "many of the actionable statements" were either made at or in connection with a peer review proceeding, or dealt with Williams’s competence, and thus, were protected by section 425.16, subdivision (e). No other type of protected activity was identified by Respondents.
On September 3, 2020, Williams filed a declaration along with supporting exhibits in opposition to the anti-SLAPP motions. However, the next day, Williams filed a dismissal without prejudice under section 581, subdivision (b)(1).
In October 2020, Respondents filed motions for attorney fees under section 425.16, subdivision (c)(1). The DMC Respondents’ fee motion explained that the SAC "attacked [their] attempts to engage with [Williams] through peer review," and that their anti-SLAPP motion attempted "to strike many of [Williams’s] claims…. " The DMC Respondents’ fee motion identified the only protected activity as activity involving peer review and comments about Williams’s competency. The Hospitalist Respondents joined and incorporated by reference the DMC Respondents’ fee motion. The Hospitalist Respondents’ joinder explained that the anti-SLAPP motion sought "to bar [Williams’s] claims that arose from peer review activities as well as statements concerning a physician’s competence and qualifications …." The Hospitalist Respondents’ joinder also identified only statements made in connection with peer review and statements concerning Williams’s competence and qualifications as protected activity.
On November 9, 2020, Williams filed an opposition to the motion for attorney fees. In part, Williams argued the SAC’s references to peer review processes were incidental or collateral to the main point of the lawsuit. However, Williams...
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