Opinion ID: 1773893
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: General Patient Care at Brackenridge

Text: There is evidence that providing medical care to patients is an integral part of a medical residency program. Thus, looking at the Program Contract with a narrower focus, the jury might have found that it evidenced a common purpose between St. Joseph and the Foundation to provide patient care at Brackenridge Hospital. Because we must uphold the jury's determination of joint enterprise if it is supported by the evidence, we examine the evidence of a joint enterprise with respect to this possible common purpose as well. However, as discussed in connection with the operation of the residency program at Brackenridge, there is no evidence of a community of pecuniary interest between St. Joseph and the Foundation with respect to the provision of patient care at Brackenridge. We do not recount that evidence in detail again, but the most critical evidence is that the parties did not share any income from the residency program's operations at Brackenridge. The Foundation billed for the residents' services at Brackenridge and kept all of the revenue; St. Joseph received none of it. Thus, we conclude that there is no more than a scintilla of evidence of a community of pecuniary interest between St. Joseph and the Foundation in providing patient care at Brackenridge Hospital. Because this holding precludes a finding of joint enterprise with respect to this possible common purpose, we need not consider whether there is evidence of the other elements of such a joint enterprise.