Soliman v. George Washington University ( 2010 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DINA SOLIMAN, M.D., )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 08-1137 (RJL)
)
GEORGE WASHINGTON )
UNIVERSITY, et al., )
)
Defendants. )
MEMORAN~RDER
(August L, 2010) [# 54]
The plaintiff, Dr. Dina Soliman ("plaintiff' or "Soliman"), was employed as a
doctor and faculty member of the George Washington University medical school.
Soliman ultimately resigned and brought this lawsuit against a number of defendants,
including George Washington University ("GWU"), District Hospital Partners, L.P,
United Health Services of DC, Inc., and Richard B. Becker, M.D. ("the Hospital
defendants"), and a bevy of her former colleagues, Dr. Michael Berrigan ("Berrigan"),
Dr. Paul Dangerfield ("Dangerfield"), Dr. Jason Sankar ("Sankar"), and Dr. Ronald
Guritzky ("Guritzky") (collectively, "the MFA physician defendants"). The MFA
physician defendants now move for complete dismissal of the complaint against them.
After careful consideration of the pleadings, the relevant law, and the entire record
herein, the Court GRANTS defendants' motion.
BACKGROUND
The events leading up to this suit are recounted at length in my earlier opinion in
this case, and thus only warrant the following summary statements. See Soliman v.
George Washington University, 658 F. Supp. 2d 98 (D.D.C. 2009). Soliman's claims
arise from her employment as a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist at George Washington
University Hospital, where the MFA physician defendants were Soliman's colleagues.]
Specifically, with respect to the MFA physician defendants, Soliman complains that
while her application to rejoin the "Heart Team" was pending, Sankar and Dangerfield
spread rumors about her personal life (Am. Compi. ,-r 22) and about her professional
perfonnance (ld. ,-r29), and publicly reprimanded her to discredit her in front of hospital
staff (Id. ,-r34). In addition, she complains that they, along with Guritzky, regularly
assigned her to work alone, denying her the opportunity to work with residents, which
was a more prestigious assignment. Id. ,-r,-r24-25; 54-55. Soliman claims that Berrigan,
who was the chair of the department at the time, failed to respond to Soliman's reports of
discrimination and abusive behavior. See, e.g., id. ,-r,-r 27,32,38,39,45,46,50,51,57,
60-64. According to Soliman, Berrigan and Dangerfield also "falsely criticized" her
perfonnance to at least one other hospital where Soliman had applied for a position. Id.,-r,-r 75, 95.
I Berrigan is a professor of anesthesiology and is chainnan of the department of
anesthesiology and critical care medicine. Am. Compi. ,-rIO. Dangerfield is an assistant
professor of anesthesiology and the director of clinical anesthesia. Id. ,-rll. Sankar is an
assistant professor of anesthesiology and the director of cardiac anesthesia education. Id.,-rI2. Guritzky is an assistant professor of anesthesiology and the director of student
clerkship. Id. ,-r13.
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Soliman also alleges that Berrigan and Guritzky falsely blamed Soliman for the
death of a patient, an accusation which led to the summary suspension of her hospital
privileges in violation of the procedures prescribed by the hospital's bylaws. Id. ~~77-78;
80-81. She claims that Berrigan, Dangerfield, and Guritzky, along with the other
defendants, failed to provide Soliman "with a formal, recorded hearing, the right to legal
representation, the right to testify on her own behalf, and the right to present witnesses
and rely on documentary evidence at the hearing." Id. ~81. Instead, Soliman was subject
to an ad hoc review committee meeting, in which Berrigan participated as a witness. Id.~84. The ad hoc committee reinstated Soliman's privileges but subjected her to a six-
week peer review, which exceeded the committee's authority under the bylaws. Id. ~86,
88. Over Soliman's objection, Guritzky performed the peer review. Id. ~~93-94.
In total, Soliman alleged four counts in her Complaint. This Court previously
dismissed Counts II and III, which alleged gender discrimination and retaliation in
violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,42 U.S.C. §§ 2000 et seq., and the
D.C. Human Rights Act, D.C. Code §§ 2-1401.01 et seq. Soliman, 658 F. Supp. 2d. at
103. Because I concluded that aiding and abetting claims could not survive when the
underlying claims had been dismissed, I also dismissed Count IV as to all defendants but
the MFA physician defendants, who had not moved to do so at that time. Id. In addition,
many of the claims underlying Count I, which alleged tortious interference with business
relations, were also dismissed. Id. at 103-4. The sole remaining claim under Count I
alleges the defendants failed to comply with their bylaws. Id.3
ANALYSIS
A court may dismiss all or part of a complaint that "fail [s] to state a claim upon
which relief can be granted." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). To survive a motion to dismiss
made pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must "plead[] factual content that allows the
court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct
alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009). In evaluating a Rule 12(b)(6)
motion, the Court construes the complaint "in favor of the plaintiff, who must be granted
the benefit of all inferences that can be derived from the facts alleged." Schuler v. United
States, 617 F.2d 605, 608 (D.C. Cir. 1979) (internal quotation marks omitted). But, the
Court "need not accept inferences drawn by plaintif:Q] if such inferences are unsupported
by the facts set out in the complaint. Nor must the court accept legal conclusions cast in
the form of factual allegations." Kowal v. MCI Commc 'ns Corp., 16 F.3d 1271, 1276
(D.C. Cir. 1994). Although the factual allegations need not be detailed, "a plaintiff's
obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and
conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do."
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (internal quotation marks and
alterations omitted). Factual allegations, even though assumed to be true, must still "be
enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." ld.
As discussed above, all but one of the original Count I allegations of tortious
interference with business relations have been dismissed as to the Hospital defendants.
Those claims were dismissed because Soliman failed to plead enough to establish the
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plausibility of showing the necessary intent. Soliman, 658 F. Supp. 2d. at 103-04. For
those same reasons, the Court hereby dismisses those Count I claims against the MFA
physician defendants.
The remaining claim-defendants' misuse of their bylaws-was not previously
dismissed against the Hospital defendants due to the very low pleading requirement
necessary to sustain such a claim. ld. at 104 (citing Canady v. Providence Hasp., 942 F.
Supp. 11, 18 (D.D.C. 1996)). The MFA physician defendants now argue, however, that
the misuse of bylaws claim should be dismissed against them because this claim, on its
face, is not actually asserted against them. Indeed, they claim that they are not alleged to
have issued or adopted any bylaws, or to be responsible for implementing or adhering to
the bylaws. Def.'s Mot. 12. To the contrary, the MFA physician defendants are alleged
to have participated in the expedited hearing and peer review that Soliman claims
occurred in violation of the rights afforded to her by the hospital's bylaws. Thus, the
MFA physician defendants argue that the sole basis for plaintiff's claim against them
arises instead from her conclusory allegations that their participation in her hearing
circumvented the process established by the bylaws, which is insufficient to survive a
motion to dismiss. I agree. While the plaintiff has successfully alleged that the Hospital
defendants failed to afford her the protections due to her under the bylaws, she has not
alleged that the MFA physician defendants, merely by taking part in the process as a
witness and peer reviewer, have done the same. Accordingly, Soliman's claim against
the MFA physician defendants for misuse of their bylaws is dismissed.
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Finally, my reasons for dismissing Count IV against the Hospital defendants apply
equally to the MFA physician defendants. Accordingly, Count IV as applied to the MFA
physician defendants must also be dismissed.
CONCLUSION
Thus, for these reasons, the MFA physician defendants' Motion to Dismiss is
GRANTED. It is hereby
ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED, and the MFA physician
defendants are dismissed from this action.
SO ORDERED.
United States District Judge
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