Wojewski v. Rapid City Regional Hosp., Inc.

• Decision Date: 09 June 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-2952.,05-2952.
• Citation: 450 F.3d 338
• Parties: Paul A. WOJEWSKI, M.D., Plaintiff, Sara Wojewski, Appellant, v. RAPID CITY REGIONAL HOSPITAL, INC.; Charles Hart, M.D.; Robert Glenn Allen, Jr., M.D., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

450 F.3d 338

Paul A. WOJEWSKI, M.D., Plaintiff, Sara Wojewski, Appellant, v. RAPID CITY REGIONAL HOSPITAL, INC.; Charles Hart, M.D.; Robert Glenn Allen, Jr., M.D., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 05-2952.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: February 17, 2006.

Filed: June 9, 2006.

Michael P. Reynolds, argued, Rapid City, SD (Jeffrey D. Collins, Rapid City, on the brief), for appellant.

Daniel G. Wilczek, argued, Minneapolis, MN (Holly M. Robbins and Daniel N. Lovejoy of Minneapolis, Marvin D. Truhe, Rapid City, SD, on the brief), for appellee.

Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, LAY and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

Dr. Paul A. Wojewski sued Rapid City Regional Hospital and two of its administrators, claiming violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and the Rehabilitation Act, as well as various state law claims. The district court¹ granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment on the claims under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. Dr. Wojewski appealed. With respect to the ADA Title III claim, we vacate the district court's order and remand with instructions to dismiss the claim as moot. We otherwise affirm.

I. Background

In early 1988, Dr. Wojewski, a cardiothoracic surgeon, became a member of the medical staff at Rapid City Regional Hospital ("RCRH"). Dr. Wojewski's staff status entitled him to admit patients, use the hospital's facilities, and perform surgery at RCRH. Dr. Wojewski could also use RCRH employees, such as nurses, to assist him in surgery. Dr. Wojewski performed all of his operations at RCRH, as it is the only suitable facility in the region for cardiothoracic surgeries. However, Dr. Wojewski leased separate office space and maintained his own staff (including office staff, nurses and a physician's assistant) whom he hired and paid.

Medical staff membership required Dr. Wojewski to provide appropriate patient care, abide by medical staff by laws, prepare required medical records, abide by ethical principles, attend an orientation program, participate in continuing medical education, and schedule operating room time. Dr. Wojewski also agreed to take calls from the RCRH emergency room for heart-related emergencies.

Dr. Wojewski billed his patients directly, and the patients remitted payments directly to Dr. Wojewski. In other words, RCRH did not bill patients for Dr. Wojewski's services and did not pay Dr. Wojewski for his services. The hospital did not issue a form W-2 or 1099 to Dr. Wojewski and did not pay his social security taxes or provide benefits, such as health and malpractice insurance.

In 1996, Dr. Wojewski was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and took a leave of absence for treatment. Later that year, RCRH conditionally reinstated Dr. Wojewski's staff privileges on a limited basis as outlined in a Letter of Agreement. In August of 2003, RCRH reinstated Dr. Wojewski to the active medical staff subject to certain conditions that were outlined in a Letter of Agreement. This 2003 Letter of Agreement required that Dr. Wojewski "meet periodically with a monitoring physician; meet with [certain medical officers] upon demand." In addition, the agreement required that Dr. Wojewski "take mandatory vacations"; limit the time he was on call; participate in therapy; take prescribed medications and refrain from taking unprescribed medications; "consume no more than three glasses of wine per week"; submit to "random biological fluid collection"; "submit to . . . mental, physical or medical competency examinations" demanded of him; limit traveling; release all medical or other personal information relevant to his impairment; "submit to review of 100% of his surgical cases for a period of six months from the date of reinstatement"; and "submit a formal proctorship of his clinic and hospital practice."

After being reinstated, Dr. Wojewski entered a manic phase of his disorder. Specifically, Dr. Wojewski experienced an acute episode while performing open-heart surgery. Following a hearing, RCRH terminated Dr. Wojewski's medical staff privileges based upon concerns for patient safety.

Dr. Wojewski filed a discrimination claim with the South Dakota Department of Labor, Division of Human Rights ("DHR") and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). The DHR issued a "no probable cause" determination, finding that Dr. Wojewski was not a covered employee under South Dakota law. Dr. Wojewski did not appeal that decision. The EEOC issued a Notice of Right to Sue, and Dr. Wojewski filed a complaint in federal district court. In his complaint, Dr. Wojewski sought relief under Title I of the ADA, Title III of the ADA, and the Rehabilitation Act. The complaint also alleged various state law claims that are not relevant to this appeal.

The defendants moved for summary judgment on the ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims, and the district court granted the motion. The court held that Dr. Wojewski's claims under Title I of the ADA and under the Rehabilitation Act failed because he was not an employee of RCRH but was an independent contractor. With respect to the claim under Title III of the ADA, the court held that Dr. Wojewski did not qualify for relief because he was not a client or customer of RCRH.

Dr. Wojewski appealed the district court's decision. During the pendency of this appeal, Dr. Wojewski died. His widow, Sara Wojewski, has been substituted as appellant. Both parties moved to dismiss as moot the portion of the appeal pertaining to the claim under Title III of the ADA because Title III only provides injunctive relief, which Dr. Wojewski's death renders impossible. Because the Title III claim has become moot, we vacate the district court's order and remand with instructions to dismiss the claim as moot. Epp v. Kerrey, 964 F.2d 754, 756 (8th Cir.1992) (citing United States v. Munsingwear, 340 U.S. 36, 39, 71 S.Ct. 104, 95 L.Ed. 36 (1950)). We address the remaining claims on the merits.

II. Discussion

On appeal, appellant contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment as to the ADA Title I claim and the Rehabilitation Act claim. "We review grants of summary judgment de novo." Lerohl v. Friends of Minn. Sinfonia, 322 F.3d 486, 488 (8th Cir.2003). "Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Id. (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)). We hold that summary judgment was proper.

A. Title I Claim

Dr. Wojewski's Title I claim turns on whether he was an "employee" of the hospital. Appellant contends that Dr. Wojewski was an employee due to (1) the economic reality of his circumstances (i.e., that he was completely dependant upon RCRH for his livelihood); and (2) the heightened level of control and authority that RCRH exercised over him.

The ADA broadly protects the employment rights of the disabled. "No covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment." 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). While the ADA protects "employees," the Act does not protect independent contractors. Lerohl, 322 F.3d at 489. We have said "Congress adopted a circular definition of `employee'—an employee is an `individual employed by an employer.'" Id. (citing 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e(f), 12112(4)). In determining whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor, the Supreme Court instructs us to consider the following nonexhaustive list of factors from the Restatement (Second) of Agency § 220(2) (1958):

In determining whether a hired party is an employee under the general common law of agency, we consider the hiring party's right to control the manner and means by which the product is accomplished. Among the other factors relevant to this inquiry are the skill required; the source of the instrumentalities and tools; the location of the work; the duration of the relationship between the parties; whether the hiring party has the right to assign additional projects to the hired party; the extent of the hired party's discretion over when and how long to work; the method of payment; the hired party's role in hiring and paying assistants; whether the work is part of the regular business of the hiring party; whether the hiring party is in business; the provision of employee benefits; and the tax treatment of the hired party. . . . No one of these factors is determinative.

Lerohl, 322 F.3d at 489 (quoting Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730, 751-52, 109 S.Ct. 2166, 104 L.Ed.2d 811 (1989) (citing Restatement (Second) of Agency § 220(2) (1958))).² "In weighing these factors, `all of the incidents of the relationship must be assessed and weighed with no one factor being decisive.'" Lerohl, 322 F.3d at 489 (quoting Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318, 324, 112 S.Ct. 1344, 117 L.Ed.2d 581 (1992)). "The district court may properly consider economic aspects of the parties' relationship." Id. (citing Wilde v. County of Kandiyohi, 15 F.3d 103, 106 (8th Cir.1994)).

Appellant argues that RCRH exercised a heightened level of control over Dr. Wojewski to such an extent that he was an employee for ADA purposes. Appellant contends that the terms of the 2003 Letter of Agreement subjected Dr. Wojewski to more control by RCRH than most doctors and perhaps rendered him the most controlled doctor in America.

The district court rejected this argument based on Cilecek v. Inova Health System Services, 115 F.3d 256, 262 (4th Cir.1997), which states that "[b]ecause of the overarching demands of the medical profession, the tension in professional control between doctors and hospitals for medical services rendered at hospitals is not, we believe, a reliable indicator of whether the doctor is an employee or an...