Bhan v. Battle Creek Health Sys. (Summary)

TORTIOUS INTERFERENCE

Bhan v. Battle Creek Health Sys., No. 13-1682 (6th Cir. Sept. 8, 2014)

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a physician’s tortious interference, defamation, and breach of contract claims against two hospitals, holding that the physician failed to allege any particular action that the hospitals engaged in that could give rise to a legal claim.

Plaintiff, a physician, had clinical privileges at two hospitals. The first hospital summarily suspended and then later revoked his clinical privileges. A year later, the second hospital suspended his privileges and reported the suspension to the National Practitioner Data Bank. The physician alleged that the hospitals’ actions were based on improper motives and failed to follow the procedures set forth in their medical staff bylaws. The physician brought suit claiming tortious interference with a business relationship, defamation, and breach of contract claims against both hospitals.

The court held the physician failed to allege in his complaint any actions the hospitals took that tortiously interfered with a business relationship. The physician’s allegations failed to show that the hospitals’ actions were malicious or taken with an improper motive or that any of the hospital’s agents acted solely for their personal benefit. Next, the court held the physician’s defamation allegation failed to specifically identify what the defamatory words were. Instead, the physician claimed that the entire National Practitioner Data Bank report was false and defamatory, even though it included facts that were undeniably true. Lastly, the court held that the medical staff bylaws did not create a contract between the physician and each hospital.