Lindsay v. Children’s Hosp. Med’l Ctr. of Akron (Summary)

BREACH OF CONTRACT/EMPLOYMENT

Lindsay v. Children’s Hosp. Med’l Ctr. of Akron, No. 24114 (Ohio Ct. App. Mar. 18, 2009)

The Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment for a hospital on a variety of civil rights claims but denied summary judgment on a breach of contract claim after the hospital terminated the employment contract of a perinatologist.

The court found that the hospital failed to present evidence showing that the physician was given 30 days’ notice of her impending "for cause" termination. Because the chairman of the department sent the physician a letter that did not give a definitive 30-day notice of termination, but instead indicated that "if the physician failed to show marked improvement in her performance, a thirty-day notice of impending termination might be forthcoming," the court ruled that the hospital did not meet its burden for summary judgment.