Opinion
The plaintiff, the Hospital of Central Connecticut, appeals from the summary judgment rendered in favor of the defendant, Neurosurgical Associates, P.C. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the trial court improperly granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to its
The plaintiff commenced this action with a two count complaint alleging unjust enrichment and theft pursuant to General Statutes § 52-564.
Thereafter, the defendant filed a motion for summary judgment and provided the court with a memorandum of law. Approximately one month later, the plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment and attached a memorandum of law in support of its motion and in opposition to the defendant’s motion. Following a hearing, the court issued a memorandum of decision denying the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment and granting the defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to both counts of the complaint. Specifically, it concluded that “[t]he undisputed facts do not support a cause of action for either unjust enrichment or civil theft.” This appeal followed.
“Summary judgment is a method of resolving litigation when pleadings, affidavits, and any other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is
“The party opposing a motion for summary judgment must present evidence that demonstrates the existence of some disputed factual issue .... The movant has the burden of showing the nonexistence of such issues but the evidence thus presented, if otherwise sufficient, is not rebutted by the bald statement that an issue of fact does exist. ... To oppose a motion for summary judgment successfully, the nonmovant must recite specific facts . . . which contradict those stated in the movant’s affidavits and documents. . . . The opposing party to a motion for summary judgment must substantiate its adverse claim by showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact together with the evidence disclosing the existence of such an issue.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Desrosiers v. Diageo North America, Inc.,
I
The plaintiff first claims that the court improperly rendered summary judgment in favor of the defendant with respect to its unjust enrichment count. Specifically, the plaintiff argues that the court failed to consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, as the nonmoving party. It further contends that had the court done so, it would not have rendered summary judgment with respect to the unjust enrichment count. We agree with the plaintiff that the court improperly rendered summary judgment with respect to this count.
We begin by setting forth the law regarding a claim of unjust enrichment. “Unjust enrichment applies wherever justice requires compensation to be given for property or services rendered
The following additional facts are contained in the materials that were before the court in deciding the summary judgment motions. Steven Hanks, the senior vice president and chief medical officer for the plaintiff, submitted an affidavit stating that he had been involved in the negotiations between the plaintiff and the defendant. As a general matter, the plaintiff required all physicians on its staff to provide on-call coverage. The physicians that comprised the defendant, Stephan C. Lange, Howard Lantner, Stephen F. Calderon and Bruce S. Chozick, were members of the plaintiffs active medical staff at all relevant times. Each had signed staffing privilege agreements detailing the rights and responsibilities of this status with the plaintiff. These responsibilities were set forth in the medical staff bylaws (bylaws) and the rules and regulations of the medical staff of the plaintiff (regulations) and were incorporated in the staffing privilege agreements signed by the individual physicians.
Article III, § 3 d, of the bylaws provides in relevant part: “Every application for staff appointment shall be signed by the applicant and shall contain the applicant’s specific knowledge of every medical staff member’s obligation to . . . participate in staffing the emergency service area and other special care units.” Section IIH of the regulations provides: “Each member of the active staff is expected to cover the emergency room for both staff service and unassigned private patients on a rotational basis as assigned. It is the staff member’s responsibility to arrange appropriate coverage if unable to fulfill this obligation.” At all relevant times, the defendant’s physicians were members of the medical staff and were classified as associate attending staff.
Hanks, on behalf of the plaintiff, took the position that following the termination of the contract between the plaintiff and the defendant, the defendant’s physicians were obligated by the terms of the staff
In its memorandum of decision, the court concluded that summary judgment was appropriate for two reasons. First, the defendant provided on-call coverage to the hospital after the contract had been terminated and, thus, the plaintiff received the benefit of the defendant’s services. Second, the defendant never intended to provide the services for free.
The plaintiff presented documentary evidence, including the affidavit of Hanks and the bylaws and regulations of the plaintiff, to oppose the motion for summary judgment. It was undisputed that the plaintiff terminated the contract paying the defendant for on-call services. The plaintiffs evidence demonstrated that there was a genuine issue of material fact with respect to the obligation of the defendant’s physicians to provide on-call services irrespective of the terminated contract. Specifically, article III, § 3 d, of the bylaws and § II H of the regulations required active staff members to provide such services in exchange for the ability to use the plaintiffs facilities and staff. “The privilege to admit and treat patients at a hospital can be critical to a doctor’s ability to practice his [or her] profession and to treat patients. Both doctors and patients can suffer if otherwise qualified doctors are wrongly denied staff privileges. . . . Consequently, hospitals must treat physicians fairly in making decisions about their privileges because patients need physicians and they, in turn, need hospital privileges to serve their patients.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Harris v. Bradley Memorial Hospital & Health Center, Inc.,
On the basis of the record before us, we conclude that the court improperly rendered summary judgment with respect to the plaintiffs unjust enrichment count. A genuine issue of material fact exists with respect to whether the defendant was unjustly enriched as a result of the payments to the defendant totaling $66,666.64 following the termination of the parties’ contract. A fact finder could conclude that these payments were made in error and in addition to the obligation of the defendant’s physicians to provide the on-call service, for which they already received the benefits of using the plaintiffs facilities and staff. Such a finding would support the elements of unjust enrichment, and, therefore, the defendant is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See, e.g., Plato Associates, LLC v. Environmental Compliance Services, Inc.,
II
The plaintiff next claims that the court improperly rendered summary judgment in favor of the defendant with respect to its statutory theft count. The undisputed facts demonstrate that the claim of statutory theft fails as a matter of law because there was no evidence before the court that the defendant intended to deprive the plaintiff of the money, a necessary element for the statutory theft cause of action. Accordingly, we conclude that the court properly granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to this count.
We begin with the legal principles of the cause of action for statutory theft. “Section 52-564 provides: Any person who steals any property of another, or knowingly receives and conceals stolen property, shall pay the owner treble his damages. Statutory theft under § 52-564 is synonymous with larceny under General Statutes § 53a-119. ... A person commits larceny within the meaning of General Statutes § 53a-119 when, with intent to deprive another of property or to appropriate the same to himself or a third person, he wrongfully takes, obtains or withholds such property from an owner. An owner is defined, for purposes of § 53a-119, as any person who has a right to possession superior to that of a taker, obtainer or withholder.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Blackwell v. Mahmood,
Our Supreme Court has distinguished the tort of conversion from statutory theft as follows: “The tort of [conversion occurs when one, without authorization, assumes and exercises ownership over property belonging to another, to the exclusion of the owner’s rights. . . . Thus, [conversion is some unauthorized act which deprives another of his property permanently or for an indefinite time; some unauthorized assumption and exercise of the powers of the owner to his harm. The essence of the
The dispositive issue for this claim is whether a genuine issue of material fact exists with respect to the element that distinguishes statutory theft from conversion, that is, whether the defendant intended to deprive another of property. The trial court concluded that there was no evidence of such intent. We agree.
The plaintiffs complaint simply alleged, in count two, that the defendant “intentionally and without authorization took and withheld the funds from the [p]laintiff.”
In his deposition, Lantner stated that all of the defendant’s physicians were of the opinion that the plaintiff wanted to continue the arrangement, despite the termination of the contract in October, 2007. Every month that they received the payment, they provided the on-call services. Finally, after the payments had ceased, the defendant physicians downgraded their privileges at the plaintiff to “courtesy staff.”
We now turn to the case law with respect to the intent element of statutory
In Blackwell v. Mahmood, supra,
The documents associated with the summary judgment proceedings demonstrate that the defendant’s physicians believed that they received payment from October, 2007 through May, 2008, for providing on-call services. Lantner stated in his deposition that his time had a value and that that value was not zero. The plaintiff failed to provide any evidence to contradict this belief or to show anything but an honestly held claim of right. In the context of summary judgment, “[i]t is not enough for the moving party merely to assert the absence of any disputed factual issue; the moving party is required to bring forward . . . evidentiary facts, or substantial evidence outside the pleadings to show the absence of any material dispute. . . . Once met, the burden shifts to the party opposing such a motion [to] provide an evidentiary foundation to demonstrate the existence of a genuine issue of material fact.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Tuccio Development, Inc. v. Neumann,
Finally, we are mindful that “summary judgment is ordinarily inappropriate where an individual’s intent and state of mind are implicated. . . . The summary judgment rule would be rendered sterile, however, if the mere incantation of intent or state of mind would operate as a talisman to defeat an otherwise valid motion. . . . [E]ven with respect to questions of motive, intent and good faith, the party opposing summary judgment must present a factual predicate for his argument in
The judgment is reversed only with respect to the count of unjust enrichment and the case is remanded for further proceedings according to law. The judgment is affirmed in all other respects.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Notes
General Statutes § 52-564 provides: “Any person who steals any property of another, or knowingly receives and conceals stolen property, shall pay the owner treble his damages.”
In his affidavit, Steven Hanks, the senior vice president and chief medical officer of the plaintiff, stated that the agreement between the parties originated in April, 2004, following the sudden retirement of a neurosurgeon. On April 19, 2004, the parties entered into an agreement for the provision of neurological services in exchange for a monthly payment of $8958.33. This initial agreement was extended through June 5, 2005. The parties then entered into the agreement described in the complaint.
The defendant’s physicians sent the following letter to Newton: “We have received your letter of September 2, 2008 regarding reimbursement of payments to [the defendant] for coverage [from] October 2007 through May 2008. We have provided coverage throughout that time, having been placed on the call schedule, and have been appropriately reimbursed by [the plaintiff] for this service.”
We note that the plaintiff has appealed only from the judgment granting the defendant’s motion for summary judgment and not from the denial of its motion for summary judgment.
Article IV, § 5, of the bylaws defined the term “active medical staff.” The classification of “Associate Attending Staff” is described as follows: “Appointees to the associate attending staff shall be practitioners of ability and experience who have been certified by the board of their specialty. They shall demonstrate active participation in staff and department functions and in the educational program.”
The court’s statement appears to be based on the deposition of Lantaer, which was attached to the defendant’s motion for summary judgment.
The court also noted that the contract was with the defendant and that the staffing agreements were with the defendant’s individual physicians. We question the significance of this fact, particularly in light of the contract’s terms that each of the defendant’s physicians was required to apply for, receive and maintain a medical staff appointment with the plaintiff in accordance with the bylaws and regulations.
Article VI, § 1 c, provides in relevant part: “Each member of the medical staff shall have a list of delineation of clinical privileges approved by the department chief, the Staff Executive Committee and the governing body (Board of Directors). In recommending approval of clinical privileges for a given practitioner, the department chief should consider the practitioner’s training, evidence of ongoing medical education and where validated external benchmarks exist, the volume of specific clinical activity by that practitioner in comparison to those benchmarks. Procedure or diagnosis-specific clinical outcome data, as available, should also inform the recommendations of the department chief for each practitioner’s clinical privileges.”
Our Supreme Court has stated that money can be the subject of both conversion and statutory theft. Deming v. Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co., supra,
Article IV, § 8, of the bylaws provides: “The courtesy staff shall consist of practitioners qualified for staff membership who admit fewer than six patients to the hospital or to the ambulatory surgery unit each year. Members of the courtesy staff must bean active staff member of an accredited hospital in the State of Connecticut. Courtesy staff members shall be appointed to a specific department and must show evidence of participation in a continuing education program approved by the chief of that department. They shall not be eligible to vote or hold office on the medical staff. They will not be required to serve on hospital committees. They will not be required to pay hospital staff dues. They will be required to attend quarterly staff meetings of the medical staff.”