Wollman v. Long Island Jewish Medical Center

• Decision Date: 25 February 1991
• Parties: Stuart B. WOLLMAN, Respondent, v. LONG ISLAND JEWISH MEDICAL CENTER, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 937

566 N.Y.S.2d 937

170 A.D.2d 673

Stuart B. WOLLMAN, Respondent, v. LONG ISLAND JEWISH MEDICAL CENTER, Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division,

Second Department.

Feb. 25, 1991.

Ruskin, Schlissel, Moscou, Evans & Faltischek, P.C., Mineola (Douglas J. Good and Barbara S. Barron, of counsel), for appellant.

Hoffinger Friedland Dobrish Bernfeld & Hasen, New York City (Jack S. Hoffinger, Stephen L. Weiner and Mark W. Geisler, of counsel), for respondent.

Before MANGANO, P.J., and KUNZEMAN, EIBER and BALLETTA, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.

In an action, inter alia, to compel the defendant to reinstate the plaintiff's professional privileges, the defendant appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Leviss, J.), entered August 17, 1989, which denied its motion to dismiss the plaintiff's complaint, or in the alternative, to strike scandalous and prejudicial portions thereof.

ORDERED that the appeal from so much of the order as denied that branch of the defendant's motion which was to strike the allegedly scandalous and prejudicial portions of the complaint is dismissed; and it is further,

ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as reviewed; and it is further,

ORDERED that the plaintiff is awarded one bill of costs.

The instant case arises from an ongoing dispute between the plaintiff Dr. Stuart Wollman and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Dr. Wollman had been appointed by the defendant as "Acting Chairman" of the Department of Anesthesiology in 1981. While Dr. Wollman had submitted his name on at least three separate occasions, he had never been appointed permanent Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Wollman alleged that the failure of the defendant to grant him the chairmanship had been part of its plan, as carried forth by its president, Dr. Robert Match, to oust a group of private practice anesthesiologists in order to establish an anesthesiology department comprised of hospital-based, salaried employees. Dr. Wollman alleged that the defendant had recruited another physician, Dr. Raymond Miller, for the chairmanship due to Dr. Miller's previous success in eliminating private practice anesthesiology groups.

In 1986, Dr. Wollman instituted a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, inter alia, to direct the defendant to appoint him chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology. This petition was dismissed on the ground, inter alia, that it was untimely. In 1987, Dr. Wollman instituted an action to recover damages against Dr. Match and Dr. Miller in connection with their alleged tortious interference with his precontractual relations with the defendant. The complaint was dismissed, inter alia, for failure to state a cause of action. Shortly thereafter, the defendant summarily suspended Dr. Wollman from his position as Acting Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology and revoked his professional privileges. His suspension was based on his alleged "willful and intentional violation of the [defendant's] by-laws" and "his recent actions and course of conduct * * * sabatoging [sic] the appointment of Dr. Raymond K. Miller * * * as Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology, all of which had adversely threatened" patient care. At this time, Dr. Wollman instituted a third action for injunctive relief to stay the suspension, which was dismissed as premature for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.

On February 10, 1988, after the defendant's disciplinary process was completed, the defendant's Board of Trustees permanently revoked Dr. Wollman's professional privileges. Dr. Wollman instituted the instant action, inter alia, for injunctive relief pursuant to Public Health Law § 2801-b, to restore his professional privileges on the ground that the defendant's actions had been undertaken in bad faith. In particular, Dr. Wollman alleged that his disciplinary hearing had been tainted. The defendant's motion to dismiss Dr. Wollman's complaint on the grounds of collateral estoppel, res judicata, and failure to state a cause of action were denied by the Supreme Court. We affirm.

Contrary to the defendant's contentions, the prior litigation between the parties does not preclude Dr. Wollman from instituting the instant action. The doctrine of collateral estoppel precludes a party from relitigating in a subsequent action, an issue which has previously been decided against him in a proceeding in which he had a fair opportunity to fully litigate the point (see, Kaufman v. Lilly, 65 N.Y.2d 449, 455, 492 N.Y.S.2d 584, 482 N.E.2d 63; Schwartz v. Public Administrator of County of the Bronx, 24 N.Y.2d 65, 69, 298 N.Y.S.2d 955, 246 N.E.2d 725). The issue must have been material to the proceeding and essential to the decision rendered therein (Ryan v. New York Tel. Co., 62 N.Y.2d 494, 501, 478 N.Y.S.2d 823, 467 N.E.2d 487). The issues to be determined in the instant action were...