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

Heading: Property Interest in Practicing Medicine

Text: Jimenez next claims the suspension of his medical staff privileges deprived him of his property interest in practicing medicine without the benefit of the same proceedings for the security of ... [that] property as is enjoyed by white citizens. See § 1981. Property interests are established by existing rules or understandings that stem from an independent source such as state lawrules or understandings that support claims of entitlement to those benefits. Bd. of Regents of State Colls. v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2709, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). Jimenez asserts that under Georgia law he had a property interest in continuing to practice medicine, and WellStar interfered with that interest by suspending his medical staff privileges. As we explained in Part III.A. supra, however, under Georgia law a physician is not entitled to the continuation of his medical staff privileges. See St. Mary's Hosp., 421 S.E.2d at 736. Doctors accept medical staff privileges knowing those privileges are subject to termination or suspension by the hospital. Stein, 384 S.E.2d at 432. Further, in Georgia, physicians do not have a broad property interest in continuing to practice medicine. See Alonso v. Hosp. Auth., 175 Ga.App. 198, 332 S.E.2d 884, 888 (1985) (holding a physician does not have a protected property interest in his job, because there is no absolute authority to practice medicine in hospitals in Georgia). Thus, because Jimenez had no contractual or state-law entitlement to maintain medical staff privileges at WellStar specifically, or to continue his practice of medicine more broadly, the district court did not err in ruling Jimenez failed to properly allege a violation of § 1981 based on interference with a property interest.