Armin v. Riverside Community Hospital (Nov. 16, 2016, G052125) __ Cal.App.5th __ [2016 WL 6779429]
Dr. Sean Armin filed a lawsuit alleging a religious discrimination claim and a whistleblower claim under Health and Safety Code section 1278.5. Dr. Armin sued both the hospital that had summarily suspended his medical staff privileges and two doctors who had initiated peer review proceedings against him. Dr. Armin alleged that the individual doctors had engaged in religious discrimination and improperly kept him off the hospital’s emergency call schedule. He claimed that he complained to the hospital about these doctors before they initiated the adverse peer review proceedings. The peer review proceedings had not been completed when Dr. Armin filed suit. The defendants filed anti-SLAPP motions and demurrers. The trial court granted the motions as to Dr. Armin’s whistleblower claim on the ground he had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies (because peer review proceedings were not complete), but denied the motions and demurrers as to his religious discrimination claim on the ground it was based on conduct that was not protected by the anti-SLAPP statute. All of the litigants appealed.
The Court of Appeal partially affirmed and partially reversed while deciding two issues of first impression. First, it held that a doctor need not complete peer review proceedings before filing a section 1278.5 action, and therefore the trial court erred by dismissing Dr. Armin’s whistleblower claim against the hospital. The court explained that the Legislature intended section 1278.5 claims and peer review proceedings to run concurrently, thus the court reversed the failure-to-exhaust aspect of the trial court’s ruling. Second, the court held that section 1278.5 permits physician whistleblower claims against hospitals and the uniplural “hospital staff” entity only—claims against individual physicians who instigated adverse peer review proceedings are not actionable. Accordingly, the court affirmed the dismissal of Dr. Armin’s whistleblower claim against the individual physicians. Finally, the Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the anti-SLAPP motions and demurrers with respect to Dr. Armin’s religious discrimination claim because it rested on unprotected conduct occurring prior to the initiation of protected peer review proceedings.
Prepared by H. Thomas Watson and Peder K. Batalden, Horvitz & Levy, LLP
California Society for Healthcare Attorneys
1215 K Street, Suite 800
Sacramento, CA 95814
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