Worlton v. Davis
| Decision Date | 30 October 1952 |
| Docket Number | No. 7896,7896 |
| Citation | 249 P.2d 810,73 Idaho 217 |
| Parties | WORLTON et al. v. DAVIS. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Albaugh, Bloem, Barnard & Smith, Idaho Falls, for appellants.
Holden & Holden, Idaho Falls, for respondent.
This is an action brought by appellants, seeking to restrain respondent from engaging in the practice of medicine and surgery within the County of Bonneville, Idaho, for the period of five years from and after the 8th day of June, 1951. Among other allegations in their complaint, are the following:
'I.
'That on and prior to the 15th day of July, 1949, the Idaho Falls Clinic was a co-partnership consisting of W. R. Abbott, Clyde C. Hulse, and the plaintiffs herein, all of said co-partners being duly license- and practicing physicians and surgeons in the State of Idaho except said Clyde C. Hulse, who was the business manager of said partnership, and maintaining an office and place of business at Idaho Falls, Idaho, said co-partners being associated together as partners and operating under a written partnership agreement which provided, among other things, that if any partner should retire from the partnership or die during the continuance of the partnership, the surviving partners should succeed in equal share to the share of the retiring or deceased partner, and the partnership should be thereupon continued by the remaining or surviving partners.
'II.
'That on said 15th day of July, 1949, the defendant was and still is a duly licensed physician and surgeon in said State of Idaho.
'III.
'That under said date of July 15, 1949, said copartnership entered into a certain written contract with the defendant, under which the defendant agreed to practice medicine and surgery under the direction of said copartners, as an employee of said copartnership, for a compensation therein stated, for a period of two years from and after the date of said contract, a copy of the said contract being hereto attached, marked Exhibit 'A', and by reference made a part of this complaint to the same effect as if fully set forth herein.
'IV.
'That subsequently, and on or about the 3rd day of May, 1950, said Clyde C. Hulse retired from said copartnership, and sold and assigned all of his right, title and interest in said copartnership to the remaining partners, W. R. Abbott and the plaintiffs herein.
'V.
'That thereafter, and on or about the 19th day of March, 1951, the said W. R. Abbott died, and the plaintiffs herein thereupon succeeded to and purchased all right, title and interest of the said W. R. Abbott, deceased, in said copartnership, and that the plaintiffs are now the sole owners of all of the business, property and interests of said Idaho Falls Clinic, as copartners, * * *.
'VIII.
'That under the provisions of said contract of employment, as appears by said Exhibit 'A' attached hereto, it was provided therein, and the defendant agreed, that upon the expiration or earlier termination of said contract, he, the defendant, would not, for a period of five years after such expiration or termination, engage in the practice of medicine and surgery in the County of Bonneville, Idaho, and that in as much as it would be difficult, if not impossible, to arrive at, or compute the damages resulting from a breach of such provisions of said contract, it was agreed that, upon the violation of said provisions, the first parties therein, the members of said copartnership, should be entitled to an injunction enjoining and restraining the party of the second part therein, defendant herein, from any further violation or threatened violation of said contract.'
It is also alleged in the complaint that pursuant to said contract of employment the defendant on or about the 15th day of July, 1949, entered the employ of said Idaho Falls Clinic and thereafter continued in said employment. That on the 18th day of April, 1951, respondent notified appellants that he intended to quit and terminate his employment and intended to open an office in the City of Idaho Falls, in Bonneville County, and to engage in the practice of medicine and surgery therein. And that respondent did leave his employment by the copartnership on the 8th day of June, 1951, and ever since has been engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Bonneville County contrary to the provisions of said agreement.
Respondent filed a general and special demurrer to said complaint. The general demurrer was by the court sustained. Appellants elected to stand upon their complaint and judgment of dismissal of the action was entered. From such judgment, appellants appeal to this court.
Under his general demurrer, respondent contends, first, that This contention is made in connection with the provision in the contract that if the same be terminated by the parties of the first part for any cause other than failure of party of the second part to comply with the provisions of the agreement, then the agreement not to engage in the practice of medicine and surgery for a period of five years in Bonneville County is not to apply. And, second, respondent contends that the contract was void and contrary to public policy in that one of the partners in the Idaho Falls Clinic was a layman and that the contract provides for the practice of medicine and surgery by a layman through a licensed employee, and by respondent as an employee of a layman.
The trial court apparently sustained the demurrer on the first contention of respondent. However, we are concerned only with the ruling of the trial court sustaining the demurrer and dismissing the action, not the grounds upon which the ruling was made. If the demurrer was good upon either of the grounds stated, the ruling of the trial court must be sustained even though he may have sustained the demurrer upon an erroneous ground. Chandler v. Drainage Dist. No. 2, 68 Idaho 42, 187 P.2d 971; Fortner v. Cornell, 66 Idaho 512, 163 P.2d 299; Telfer v. School Dist. No. 31, 50 Idaho 274, 295 P. 632. We are of the opinion that the first and controlling question in this case is whether the contract of employment was void as contrary to public policy; and having concluded that the contract was void as contravening public policy, it is unnecessary to determine the effect the withdrawal of the partner Hulse or the death of the partner Dr. Abbott had upon the contract of employment.
It is well established that no unlicensed person or entity may engage in the practice of the medical profession through licensed employees; nor may a licensed physician practice as an...
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