— In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for defamation, the plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Roncallo, J.), dated September 16, 1987, which granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The plaintiff Dr. Dlugash was denied reappointment to the staff of the defendant hospital until he submitted to a psychiatric evaluation, which he refused to do. This incident was the genesis for several administrative hearings, three proceedings pursuant to CPLR article 78 and two other tort actions prior to the instant one. The plaintiffs maintain that the court erred by granting summary judgment to the defendants prior to the plaintiffs’ completion of discovery. We disagree.
Although this action sets forth different legal theories of recovery and seeks different relief, it is grounded on the same gravamen of the wrong which formed the basis of the previous actions and proceedings. Therefore, the court properly concluded that the plaintiffs are precluded from relitigating the claims pursuant to the doctrine of res judicata (see, Matter of Reilly v Reid,