Trial Must Resolve Breach-of-Contract Issues, Indiana Court Rules

​After an anesthesiologist was diagnosed with Parkinson disease and multiple myeloma, he lost his privileges and brought suit against the surgery center, its medical director, and its holding company. In an unpublished opinion, the Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed summary judgment regarding all claims and counterclaims that were raised on appeal, with two exceptions. It allowed the plaintiff's breach-of-contract claims against the medical director and the surgery center to proceed, and it allowed the holding company's counterclaims for constructive fraud to proceed.

The plaintiff was on staff as an anesthesiologist at the surgery center and a member of the holding company, which paid quarterly dividends to its members. Clinicians could lose membership in the holding company if a permanent disability rendered them unable to safely perform procedures at the surgery center over a certain period. If they failed to meet any membership requirement,...