Opinion ID: 3159386
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Dr. Morman is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, specializing in hand, wrist, and shoulder surgeries. She graduated from medical school in 1997. During the next eight years, she completed an orthopedic-surgery residency, became boardeligible under the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery’s standards, became board-certified for Orthopaedic Surgery under those same standards, completed a hand-surgery fellowship, and received her Certification of Additional Qualification in Hand Surgery. For five years after her hand-surgery fellowship, from 2003 to 2008, Dr. Morman worked at PROS in Gillette, Wyoming. During this time, four other orthopedic surgeons owned PROS: Drs. Nathan Simpson, Hans Kioschos, John Dunn, and Gerald Baker. In 2008, Dr. Morman left PROS for a one-year fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2009, after completing the fellowship, Dr. Morman returned to Gillette, Wyoming, and began working at CCMH, directly competing with PROS for clientele. Dr. Morman’s contract with CCMH entitled her to both an annual base salary of $550,000 and biannual bonus payments based on her productivity. As bonus payments, Dr. Morman was entitled to 55% of all gross collections that CCMH received for her services in excess of $500,000 during each 1 In reviewing a dismissal for failure to state a claim, we must “accept[] all well-[pleaded] facts as true and view[] them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Barnes v. Harris, 783 F.3d 1185, 1191–92 (10th Cir. 2015). As we discuss later, we distinguish well-pleaded facts from legal conclusions. 3 six-month bonus period. In earning her salary and bonuses, Dr. Morman felt hindered by CCMH’s management of her practice. She argues that the hospital’s policies placed her at a competitive disadvantage to nearby privately employed orthopedic surgeons, including those at PROS. In December 2011, she renegotiated her contract terms, getting a higher base pay of $58,333.34 per month plus $4,166.67 per month to be on call ($62,500 per month or $750,000 annually) in exchange for an increased revenue threshold before earning bonuses. Her base pay, however, was subject to reduction if collections from her professional services fell below certain threshold amounts. If she failed to meet those specified targets, her base salary for the next six months would be reduced to $45,833.33 plus $4,166.67 for call coverage. In June 2012, CCMH agreed to a multi-million-dollar deal to purchase PROS (including the building, equipment, and practice) from its three remaining owners (Drs. Simpson, Kioschos, and Dunn), as well as to employ them at CCMH.2 The district court explained that the different employment terms resulted from the great disparity in what the PROS male surgeons brought to the negotiating table as compared to what Dr. Morman had brought. 2 As part of the deal, CCMH also purchased various assets from Bone & Joint Radiology, LLC for $4,000,000. These assets included: “[t]he digital x-ray equipment, MRI equipment and assumption of the lease, good will and blue sky, inventory, including supplies and stock in trade as of closing, furniture, fixtures, computer software and hardware used in connection with [Bone & Joint] Radiology’s operations, medical records, patient charts, progress notes, reports and similar records.” Appellant’s App. vol. 2 at 180. PROS owned Bone & Joint Radiology, so PROS’s three owners benefited from the asset sale. 4