6 out of 10 claims in Dr. Ramsey’s lawsuit dismissed

The federal court has dismissed the CNMI government and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. from the four claims in a lawsuit filed by Dr. Gary Ramsey, a former medical staff at CHC who is suing over alleged wrongful termination of his medical privilege.

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy dismissed with prejudice the CNMI government and CHCC from Dr. Ramsey’s four claims: declaratory and injunctive relief—unlawful deprivation of property without due process of law; two claims of damages—unlawful deprivation of property without due process of law; and a claim of damages—unlawful deprivation of liberty and property without due process of law.

Dismissed with prejudice means Ramsey could not re-file the four claims in the future.

Kennedy also dismissed with prejudice Ramsey’s two other claims: violation of U.S. Constitution and violation of CNMI Constitution.

The dismissal of the six claims, leaves four causes of action remaining in the lawsuit: breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and liability of CNMI government.

The defendants are given 14 days to file an answer to the lawsuit.

The defendants are CHCC chief executive officer Esther Muna, CHCC OB/Gyn department chair Dr. Jeanolivia Grant, CHCC medical affairs director Dr. Sherleen Osman, former Department of Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez, CHCC, and the CNMI government.

Ramsey, through counsel Stephen Woodruff, asked the court to find the defendants liable to pay him damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs.

According to Woodruff, the doctor is entitled to an injunction prohibiting defendants from refusing to recognize his valid hospital privileges at CHCC.

In their motion to dismiss, defendants argued that the Commonwealth and CHCC enjoy sovereign immunity from suits filed in federal court and are not “persons” under the statute, and that they should accordingly be dismissed from this case.

Defendants also contended that Ramsey’s seventh and eight causes of action under the contracts clauses of the federal and CNMI constitutions fail to state a claim because Ramsey does not allege that the Legislature passed a law impairing a contract.

In her order, Kennedy denied defendants’ motion to dismiss on sovereign immunity grounds, but granted the motion to dismiss with respect to the “persons” argument and the contracts clause claims.

Kennedy agreed with defendants’ argument that the claims based on the contracts clauses fail to state a claim because they do not allege that the Commonwealth passed a law impairing the obligation of contracts.

Kennedy said the contracts clause of the U.S. Constitution states that no state shall pass any “law impairing the obligation of contracts.”

She said the Commonwealth Constitution almost identically provides: “No law shall be made that is…a law impairing the obligation of contracts.”

The judge said to state a claim under the contracts clause, a plaintiff must not only allege that a state impaired his contract, but that it did so by legislative act.

In this case, Kennedy said Ramsey’s complaint does not allege that the Commonwealth passed any law impairing his alleged contractual relationship with CHCC.

“Because the entire basis of Ramsey’s seventh and eight claims—that CHC breached a contractual relationship by ignoring its bylaws—cannot state a cause of action under the contracts clause, the court will dismiss those claims with prejudice,” she said.

Ramsey is a physician and surgeon specializing in obstetrics, gynecology, and women’s health. He was first licensed by the Medical Board of California in 1991.

Ramsey first came to work on Saipan in April of 1999. He was first licensed by the CNMI Healthcare Professions Licensing Board in 1999.

Plaintiff worked at the Commonwealth Health Center for eight years from 1999 to July of 2007. Thereafter, for two and a half years, he worked for the Department of Public Health as medical director of the Wise Women Village project, a federal grant program until September 2010.

Woodruff said that in November 2009, Ramsey applied for hospital privileges at CHC and that after a month, all the required signatures for approved of his privileges had been affixed to the application.

Woodruff said despite a clear mandate, constituting the process due Ramsey, then Public Health secretary Villagomez did not refer the approved privileges back to the Medical Executive Committee and at the same time refused to issue a letter to Ramsey confirming his privileges at CHC.