Opinion ID: 78569
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Right to Contract with Patients and Third-Party Payors

Text: Jimenez argues WellStar's suspension of his medical staff privileges also interfered with his right to contract with patients and third-party payors. The record indicates, however, Jimenez had access to the patients he treated at WellStar only because they were admitted to the hospital while he was on call; thus, his relationship with them was a benefit of the medical staff privileges to which he was no longer entitled. The same conclusion precludes any claim Jimenez makes regarding interference with future contracts he might have formed with patients admitted after his suspension; in addition, such contracts are too speculative to form the basis of a § 1981 claim. See Hampton v. Dillard Dept. Stores, Inc., 247 F.3d 1091, 1104 (10th Cir.2001) (holding racially motivated interference with a contract can serve as the basis for a § 1981 claim, but interference with merely a possible future contract cannot). Moreover, Jimenez does not allege he was not paid for any services rendered prior to the suspension. As such, any interference with Jimenez's relationships with WellStar's patients cannot provide the basis for his § 1981 claim. It is illogical that Georgia law would grant WellStar the authority to suspend Jimenez's privileges to treat its patients while simultaneously obliging WellStar to allow Jimenez to contract with its patients for that treatment.