Mbadiwe v. Union Mem’l Reg’l Med. Ctr.

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

Mbadiwe v. Union Mem’l Reg’l Med. Ctr., Inc., No. 3:05CV49-MU
(W.D.N.C. Apr. 24, 2007)

The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
granted summary judgment in favor of a hospital in a civil rights lawsuit brought
by a physician of Nigerian ancestry, finding that the physician failed to provide
any evidence that the hospital’s actions were racially motivated. The court
rejected the physician’s racial discrimination claims, citing overwhelming
evidence that the physician was not qualified to hold surgical privileges.
The court also noted that the physician failed to establish that similarly
situated physicians who were not members of a protected class were treated
differently. Concluding that the hospital gave legitimate, non-discriminatory
reasons for the decision to restrict the physician’s clinical privileges, the
court granted summary judgment in favor of the hospital.