JEFFREY D. FELDSTEIN, M.D., Plaintiff, v. NASH COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES INC., and NASH HOSPITALS, INC., Defendants., 51 F. Supp. 2d 673

Summary

Plaintiff doctor entered into a contract with a hospital under which plaintiff received salary and benefits in exchange for serving as a member of the hospital's active medical staff. After the hospital was bought out by defendant hospitals, defendants assumed the contract. When defendants failed to pay plaintiff according to the terms of the contract, plaintiff sued for breach of contract. Both parties moved for summary judgment which the court granted in part and denied in part. On the issue of the contract's legality, the court denied both parties' motion. Defendants urged that the contract was illegal under 42 U.S.C.S. § 1320a-7b(b), which prohibited the knowing and willful offer, payment, or receipt of any remuneration in return for referrals for which payment was made under Medicare or Medicaid. The court concluded that the language of the contract was ambiguous with respect to whether plaintiff's compensation was conditioned upon his use of the hospital; therefore, a genuine ...