Opinion ID: 2516790
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dr. Hardy's Contract Was Proprietary in Nature

Text: ¶ 14 The factors on which courts have relied to distinguish between governmental and proprietary contracts strongly support the conclusion that Dr. Hardy's contract for pathological services involves a proprietary function. First, UBMC has not demonstrated that the services Dr. Hardy provides under the contract are indispensable to the proper functioning of government. County Council v. SHL Systemhouse Corp., 60 F.Supp.2d 456, 465 (E.D.Pa.1999). To the contrary, consistent with the view that Dr. Hardy's contract did not involve functions essential to governance, Duchesne County conveyed the hospital to a non-profit organization on July 3, 2000. ¶ 15 Moreover, under the terms of the contract, Dr. Hardy merely recommended, but did not have authority to set, policies related to UBMC's pathology laboratory. The board's retention of this policymaking discretion weighs heavily in favor of deeming the contract proprietary. See Rhode Island Student Loan Auth. v. NELS, Inc., 550 A.2d 624, 627 (R.I.1988) (concluding contract was proprietary because contracting party could neither exercise discretion nor set policy in performance of its duties). ¶ 16 Accordingly, we conclude that Dr. Hardy's contract involves a proprietary function.