Dookeran v. Cnty. of Cook, Ill. (Summary)
DENIAL OF REAPPOINTMENT – FAILURE TO DISCLOSE PRIOR ACTION
CLAIM PRECLUSION
Dookeran v. Cnty. of Cook, Ill., No. 11-3197 (7th Cir. May 3, 2013)
In this employment discrimination case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a federal district court’s grant of a motion to dismiss filed by the county. A surgeon filed suit against the county hospital after his application for reappointment was denied. The hospital began an investigation after the surgeon disclosed for the first time that he was reprimanded by his previous employer. He certified on his earlier applications that he had not been reprimanded, when in fact he had received a formal reprimand for creating a hostile work environment and had been removed as director of surgical research and associate director of general surgery. The Credentials Committee recommended that the surgeon’s reappointment be denied. A hearing committee determined that he had falsified his prior reappointment application and recommended that his staff membership be suspended or revoked. The MEC recommended only a 30-day suspension, but the joint conference committee voted to revoke his staff membership instead. That recommendation was sent for final action to the Cook County Board, which formally denied the application. The surgeon filed a petition for judicial review in the county court and then filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. The state court upheld the denial of reappointment. The surgeon was then granted the right to sue by the EEOC.
The district court held that all of the surgeon’s claims were barred by claim preclusion. The county court rendered a final judgment based on the same set of facts and including the same parties. Since the physician failed to raise the Title VII employment discrimination claims in the state court action, they were properly dismissed by claim preclusion.