Opinion ID: 1772019
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Interests Sought to be Advanced by the Actor

Text: Again, there was evidence that, if believed, would show that Dr. Creel admitted many of the patients at Henry County Hospital. As chief of staff, he had a right to bring any concerns he might have about the professionalism of any employee of the hospital or of an employee who might furnish professional services pursuant to a contract. He had a right to advise the hospital about Ms. Davis. On the other hand, there was evidence that Dr. Creel wanted Ms. Davis fired for reasons not connected with her ability to perform her services in a professional manner at Henry County Hospital; consequently, a jury question was presented on this issue. The Social Interests in Protecting the Freedom of Action of the Actor and the Contractual Interests of the Other This calls for us to make a policy choice. The question is whether the societal interest in protecting the right of a chief of staff of a hospital to consult with the hospital administrator concerning the professional services furnished in that hospital outweighs the right of another professional, like Ms. Davis, to perform her services in that hospital. We are not without guidance. In Byars v. Baptist Medical Centers, Inc., 361 So.2d 350 (Ala.1978), a nurse who had successfully prosecuted a personal injury action against the hospital brought an action against the hospital to recover for its refusal to permit a nurses' registry to refer her as a nurse for patients in the hospital who desired a private duty nurse. This Court, in overturning a summary judgment in favor of the hospital, held: In this case, the plaintiff has alleged that the defendant's conduct against her was prompted by her recovery of a money judgment against it. The defendant maintains that its refusal to allow her to serve patients in its hospitals was due to her physical inability to serve patients.     ... If it is true that the defendant's conduct was based upon a negative assessment of the plaintiff's physical ability to perform her nursing duties, the defendant's conduct would not be actionable, for the hospital would have a legal right to establish, publish and apply reasonable standards of fitness, including physical fitness, for private duty nurses. If, on the other hand, the defendant's conduct was based upon the successful exercise by the plaintiff of her legal right to seek redress in the courts for injury due to the defendant's negligence, that conduct would not justify the interference with plaintiff's future employment opportunities with defendant's patients, but would violate her right as one qualified under the Nurses Registry to be referred to patients seeking her services. Under the pleadings and the evidence, whether or not the defendant's conduct was legal in itself and violated no right of the plaintiff was a genuine issue of material fact, therefore summary judgment was inappropriate. 361 So.2d at 355-56. In Finley v. Beverly Enterprises, Inc., 499 So.2d 1366 (Ala.1986), a discharged nursing home employee who was informed that she could no longer work as a private duty sitter for a nursing home patient brought an action against the nursing home for intentional interference with her business. This Court held that the nursing home was justified, as a matter of law, in establishing a policy that did not permit discharged employees to be employed as private duty sitters for patients in the nursing home. The facts in this case are obviously more like those in Byars, than like those in Finley.