MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Dr. Usha Vakharia (Vakharia), a woman in her mid-forties, was born in Bombay, India and served for one and-a-half decades as an anesthesiologist on the medical staff of the Swedish Covenant Hospital (Hospital) in Chicago. She brings this suit against the Hospital, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), thirty-nine individual doctors affiliated with the Hospital or the ASA, and other “unnamed members” of the Hospital’s Board of Directors. According to Vakharia, beginning in 1987 the Hospital assigned her fewer and less desirable cases and, on July 31,1989, after several of the defendants gave her negative performance evaluations, the Hospital formally suspended her from its medical staff. She alleges that, at some time or another, and in some way or another, each of the named defendants discriminated against her on the basis of color, race, gender, age, and national origin, in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws, and that each of them endeavored to remove her from the Hospital staff in order to reduce economic competition among anesthesiologists, in violation of federal antitrust laws. She also claims that the Hospital terminated her staff privileges in violation of the its own bylaws, thereby violating Illinois law as well.
On May 22, 1991, we denied the Hospital’s motion to dismiss Vakharia’s complaint, although we did dismiss the claims against the individual members of the Hospital’s Executive Committee.
Vakharia v. Swedish Covenant Hospital,
Plaintiff was originally represented by counsel. Later on she ceased to be so represented. That was a matter of some concern to this court because the original pleading, in a one-plaintiff discrimination case, named sixteen defendants in a lengthy five-count complaint, and because the litigation promised (and has proved to be) highly contentious. We were relieved, therefore, when plaintiff engaged new counsel. And it has been mostly downhill ever since.
The two amendments substantially increase the scope of one of the prior counts and have added three more counts and numerous new defendants. The complaint is now 50 pages long. The added counts recite a great number of alleged facts and conclusions, but without much regard for the legal concepts they supposedly support. The defendants have moved to dismiss the amendments — close to another 140 pages of briefs have been filed — and, with these rulings, perhaps we will finally, after well more than two years of litigation, end the pleading wars and proceed to the merits of the controversy.
The outlines of the controversy
emerge
from the initial allegations of the original complaint. Plaintiff contends that Dr. Nancy Loeber, the chairperson of the Department of Anesthesiology, from sometime in the late 1980s, embarked on an effort to force out three female Asian foreign-born anesthesiologists, one of whom was plaintiff. To that end she began to assign them fewer and less desirable cases, singled out plaintiff for criticism, and thereafter created two classes of anesthesiologists within the department, with the three Asian females being members of the lower or “junior” of the two classes. Thereafter plaintiff was allowed to handle only a limited number of relatively simple types of procedures. In 1989 Dr. Loeber began using Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA), but only the “seniors” could use them, resulting in a further restriction of the practice of the “juniors.” In 1988 plaintiff was passed over for the position of vice-chairperson and was, for a time, unofficially suspended. When plaintiff asked to resume practicing at the hospital, Dr. Loeber
In the amendments plaintiff brings back the Executive Committee defendants in count IV, broadening the relief claimed by asking for injunctive relief on the ground that those doctors may seek to wrong her in the future. In the first new count, count V, plaintiff alleges § 1981 and § 1985(3) claims against all defendants, who include ASA, the ASA panel and the Hospital’s Executive Committee, Credentials Committee, Joint Conference Committee of the Medical Staff, the Board of Directors, an ad hoc hearing committee, and the Appellate Review Committee of the Board of Directors. In the second new count, count VI, she alleges that all the defendants violated the Sherman Act by engaging in a conspiracy in restraint of trade and a conspiracy to monopolize, and an attempt to monopolize the delivery of anesthesia services at the Hospital, including a boycott of the “juniors.” In the last new claim, count VII, all the individual defendants and ASA are added into a new Title VII claim. Defendants have moved to dismiss the amendments.
DISCUSSION
The Addition of Parties Not Named in the First Complaint
Vakharia filed her first complaint in this ease on November 16, 1990. In that complaint she named 16 defendants: the Hospital, Dr. Loeber, and 14 individual members of the Hospital’s medical staff Executive Committee. In her first amended complaint, filed on July 15, 1992, Vakharia named 24 additional defendants, all doctors who had worked with her or had evaluated her performance. Finally, in her second amended complaint, filed on September 18, 1992, she added another defendant, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, several officers of which had been named in the first amended complaint. Unfortunately for Vakharia, several of the causes of action she alleges were time-barred against most of the additional defendants by the time she named them.
In Title VII and ADEA cases the plaintiff must file suit in federal court no later than 90 days after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has given notice of the plaintiffs right to sue. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(l) (Title VII); 29 U.S.C. § 626(e) (ADEA).
See St. Louis v. Alvemo College,
Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(c) an amendment adding a party to a complaint relates back to the date of the original complaint only if the party to be brought in by amendment has received notice of the action, will not be prejudiced by the amendment, and “knew or should have known that, but for a mistake concerning the identity of the proper
Unlike Title VII and the ADEA, § 1981 and
§
1985 do not specify limitations periods.
See
42 U.S.C. § 1981, 42 U.S.C. § 1985. As a result, federal courts interpreting them have looked to state law to apply the statute of limitations applicable to comparable state law claims.
Goodman v. Lukens Steel Co.,
In her amended complaint, Vakharia has also listed “unnamed” members of the Board of Directors as defendants. They have never been named and never been served. It is too late to do so now. Thus, those “unnamed” defendants are dismissed.
Title VII Claims Against Remaining Defendants
In this court’s memorandum and order of May 22, 1991, we denied the Hospital’s motion to dismiss Vakharia’s Title VII claim against it. The defendants other than the Hospital, observing that Vakharia failed to name any of them as defendants in her EEOC complaint, now seek dismissal of the Title VII claims against them.
If a party has not been named in a complaint with the EEOC, that party generally may not be sued under Title VII.
Schnellbaecher v. Baskin Clothing Co.,
In allowing a plaintiff to proceed against a defendant who had not been named in an EEOC complaint,
Eggleston
emphasized that the unnamed defendant had been able to participate informally in the EEOC conciliation proceedings. The conciliation process had been less than optimal, especially from the point of view of the unnamed defendant, but, as the court noted, conciliation is not an inalienable right of Title VII defendants.
Id.
at 907. Sometimes a defendant’s right to full participation in conciliation must give way to the plaintiffs right to sue the appropriate parties. “Congress could not have intended that a person filing EEOC charges should accurately ascertain, at the risk of later facing dismissal, at the time the charges were made, every separate entity which may have violated Title VII.”
Id.
at 906.
See also Sanchez v. Standard Brands, Inc.,
In this case Vakharia received her right-to-sue letter before she and the Hospital could enter into the conciliation process. We therefore need not reach the issue of whether the interests of the unnamed defendants were represented adequately during the EEOC proceedings. Since nothing of significance happened while the case was before the EEOC, the unnamed defendants could not have been prejudiced by Vakharia’s failure to name them. Accordingly, the procedural arguments raised by the remaining defendants other than the Hospital do not persuade us to dismiss the Title VII claims against them.
The defendants who were not named in the EEOC complaint also argue that, even if the Title VII claims against them are not procedurally barred, they should be dismissed because Vakharia has failed to allege that they bore discriminatory motives when they acted against her. That criticism is premature. Although there is little in Vakharia’s complaint to suggest that certain of the defendants intentionally discriminated against her, Vakharia was not required to recount every single arguably relevant incident in her complaint. Complaints are supposed to be “short and plain,” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a) (and this complaint is far too long already), and unless special matters such as fraud are alleged, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 9, particularities need not be pleaded. At the summary judgment stage claims against specific defendants may be dismissed if Vakharia fails to support them with specific evidence of culpability. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. We will address those issues at a later date.
Section 1981 Claims Against Remaining Defendants
We observed in our May 22, 1991 memorandum and order that, under then-applicable law, § 1981 prohibited discrimination in the formation and enforcement of contracts but not in the performance and termination of contracts.
See Patterson v. McClean Credit Union,
Several months after we issued our order Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which amended § 1981 to allow suits for discrimination in the performance and termination, as well as the formation and enforcement of contracts. The 1991 amendments do not alter our earlier thinking on Vakharia’s § 1981 claim. Following the Seventh Circuit’s holdings in
Luddington v. Indiana Bell Telephone Co.,
Plaintiff contends that she should be allowed to proceed on the portion of her claim relating to her contract to serve on the medical staff because, despite the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Hospital has continued to abide by its allegedly discriminatory decision not to renew that contract. We think her argument muddles the distinction between acts and the harm that acts can cause. Vakharia may have felt the impact of the Hospital’s allegedly discriminatory acts well after the effective date of the 1991 amendments, but that does not mean that the 1991 amendments apply to those acts. The question, according to the court in
Luddington,
is whether § 1981 prohibited the defendants’ acts when they were committed.
Vakharia marshals a second reason to allow her to go forward on her § 1981 claim as it relates to her contractual relationship with the Hospital. She contends in her second amended complaint that, in addition to seeking a continuation of her medical staff privileges, she also sought appointment as chairperson of the Department of Anesthesiology after Dr. Loeber resigned from that post. According to Dr. Vakharia, the chairperson has significant supervisory responsibilities beyond those of regular members of the medical staff, and Hospital bylaws would have entitled her to that position had she been a member in good standing of the staff. With those new allegations, her case becomes not merely a discriminatory discharge case but a discriminatory refusal-to-promote case. Under
Patterson,
§ 1981 encompassed suits for the discriminatory denial of promotions when the “nature of the change in position was such that” it offered “an opportunity for a new and distinct relation between the employee and the employer.”
Defendants assert that just as Vakharia should be disallowed from naming new defendants, so should she be disallowed from alleging new facts or legal theories on which to base her claims. They complain that she failed to mention in her initial complaint important facts about the final months at the Hospital, such as her application for the chairperson post, and that those details emerged only when she amended her complaint, more than two years after the incidents at issue occurred. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(c) is not as strict as defendants would have it. Because defendants had fair notice prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations of the claims against them and the general transactions and occurrences on which those claims are based, Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(c) permits relation back of the amendments to the complaint that add facts or modify legal theories, even though those amendments were filed after the statute of limitations period had expired.
See Donnelly v. Yellow Freight System, Inc.,
Section 1985 Claims Against Remaining Defendants
The Supreme Court laid out the requirements for a claim under § 1985(3) in
Griffin v. Breckenridge,
To come within the legislation a complaint must allege that the defendants did (1) “conspire ...” (2) “for the purpose of depriving, either directly or indirectly, any person or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and immunities under the laws.” It must then assert that one or more of the conspirators (3) did, or caused to be done, “any act in furtherance of the object of [the] conspiracy,” whereby another was (4a) “injured in his person or property” or (4b) “deprived of having and exercising any right or privilege of a citizen of the United States.”
Section 1985(3) does not create any substantive rights. As the Supreme Court explained in
Great American Federal Savings & Loan Ass’n v. Novotny,
A plaintiff suing under § 1985 must point to rights or privileges afforded to citizens under some federal law and must allege that the defendants conspired to deny the plaintiff those rights. Conspiracy to deny a right guaranteed under state law is not enough. Thus, in
United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, Local 610, AFL-CIO v. Scott,
In this case Vakharia purports to base her § 1985(3) claim on rights that she says are secured by three federal statutes: Title VI; the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd; and § 1981. We conclude that Vakharia is not within the range of persons protected by either Title VI or the EMTALA, and that her § 1985(3) claim cannot by supported by either of those statutes. On the other hand, as explained, we do believe that § 1981 protects persons like Vakharia from the kinds of harms she claims the defendants intended, and that a § 1985 claim can be based on a conspiracy (even an unsuccessful one) to violate § 1981.
To assess Vakharia’s attempt to make out a § 1985 claim based on a conspiracy to violate Title VI, we turn to the caselaw interpreting Title VI. The Seventh Circuit held in
Doe on Behalf of Doe v. St. Joseph’s Hosp. of Fort Wayne,
Dr. Vakharia’s attempt to plead a § 1985(3) action through EMTALA is also unavailing. Although doctors who report violations of the Act are protected against retaliation by the Act’s own terms, 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd(i), Vakharia never alleges that she reported instances of “patient dumping” to anyone (other than this court). She fails to indicate how her presence on the medical staff reduced patient dumping, or how her termination increased it. She has not alleged that any of the defendants sought to deny her any of the rights that she was given under EMTALA. We fail to glean any intention to permit physicians to invoke patient rights in the rather carefully sculpted remedial provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd, and we fail to see any legally cognizable class-based animus in any event.
Her attempt to plead a § 1985(3) action through § 1981 is more successful. Defendants do not dispute the general proposition that a § 1985(3) claim can be supported by a conspiracy to deny a person rights secured by § 1981. They argue simply that Vakharia was not protected by § 1981 because her contract with the Hospital already existed at the time the alleged discrimination began. But that argument already has been rejected, and a limited § 1981 claim remains. Thus, the only issue remaining is whether, as defendants contend, Vakharia has failed to plead sufficient facts to support the conspiracy element of § 1985(3).
Conspiracy Under § 1985 and the Sherman Act
Copperweld Corp. v. Independence Tube Corp.,
Plaintiff contends that the
Copper-weld
doctrine does not apply to the § 1985 claims because they are civil rights claims
and,
with respect to all claims, because she alleges multiple acts and because the various defendants have separable interests and acted contrary to the interests of the Hospital. Civil rights claims such as these may be treated differently from antitrust claims in some jurisdictions, but not in this circuit. Two decades ago the Seventh Circuit held in an opinion by Judge (now Justice) Stevens that a discriminatory business decision reflecting “the collective judgment of two or more executives of the same firm” cannot satisfy the conspiracy element of § 1985(3).
Dombrowski v. Dowling,
What then is the appropriate treatment under the Sherman Act? Judge Aspen, in
Pudlo v. Adamski,
Although the ASA, the ASA doctors, and Drs. Myent and Konowitz are theoretically capable of being named as co-conspirators, they were not named in the original complaint. The § 1985 claims against them are barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Of the defendants who can be regarded as co-conspirators, only the Hospital and defendants Loeber and Chookaszian were named in the original complaint. Therefore, only they are proper § 1985 defendants.
Antitrust Claims Against Remaining Defendants
Antitrust claims based upon restrictions or termination of staff privileges have been particularly troubling to the courts. On the one hand antitrust claims escalate the stakes and multiply the expense in what may be frivolous claims regarding loss of status by one physician at one hospital. On the other hand, termination of staff privileges, necessarily disclosed to any subsequent hospital to which a physician has applied for staff privileges, can seriously hinder or prevent any future staff relationship.
Here plaintiff alleges that defendants violated section 1 of the Sherman Act by conspiring in restraint of trade, and section 2 by conspiring to monopolize and attempting to monopolize the provision of anesthesiologist services at the hospital. To prove a violation of either section, a plaintiff must show more than efforts by the defendants to prevent the plaintiff from obtaining a specific job or contract. The plaintiff must allege that the defendants sought to reduce competition in, or monopolize, an entire market.
Jefferson Parish Hosp. Dist. No. 2 v. Hyde,
That result is not dissimilar from many other cases in which the courts have dealt with antitrust attacks on peer review decisions on the merits, most recently in
Manion v. Evans,
Although our decision permits Vakharia to proceed with her claim under section 1, we do not think it particularly helpful to talk about a “group boycott” as a means for defining a result. Terminating privileges is not necessarily anticompetitive. Hospitals compete with each other, and the quality of medical care and lower prices resulting from lower malpractice premiums are means of competition. A commitment to quality health care may well, even in the absence of economic considerations, provide a limited justification for exclusionary decisions.
See Wilk v. American Medical Association,
State Law Claims Against Remaining Defendants Concerning Violation of the Hospital’s Bylaws
In count IV Vakharia contends that the Hospital failed to follow its bylaws when it evaluated and dismissed her. In this court’s order of May 22, 1991, we dismissed the claims contained in count IV against the individual members of the Executive Committee. We agree with defendants that count IV, despite plaintiffs amendment to it, still does not implicate those defendants. With the amendment plaintiff seeks “declaratory judgment and injunctive relief’ against all of the defendants named, including the defendants who previously had won dismissal with respect to count IV. The additional language has almost no meaning, however, in the context of a claim concerning the failure to follow institutional bylaws. Beyond reinstatement of the plaintiff and expungement of certain documents from her personnel file, there is no other remedy for the Hospital’s alleged conduct and, as we already have held, neither reinstatement nor expungement of records requires participation of the Executive Committee. Once again we dismiss the claims contained in count IV against the individual members of the Executive Committee.
CONCLUSION
All Title VII claims against all defendants named for the first time in the first or second amended complaints 1 are dismissed.
All § 1985 claims against all defendants are dismissed, except for the § 1985 claims against the Hospital, Loeber and Chookaszian. The § 1985 claims based on alleged conspiracies to violate Title VI and the EMTALA also are dismissed.
All claims under section 1 of the Sherman Act are dismissed against all defendants except the Hospital, the ASA, and Drs. Vacanti, Blaneato, Wender, Loeber, Chookaszian, Myent, and Konowitz. All claims under the section 2 of Sherman Act are dismissed against all defendants.
The state law claims against the individual members of the Executive Committee are dismissed, and all claims against all “unnamed” defendants are also dismissed.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION AND LEAVE TO CONDUCT DEPOSITIONS
Before us now are three motions by plaintiff. In her first motion she asks the court to reconsider its ruling dismissing her discrimination claims against several defendants named for the first time in her amended complaints (detailed in count V of her second amended complaint). In her second motion she asks the court to reconsider its dismissal of portions of her antitrust claim (detailed in count VI). In her third motion, submitted pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(f), plaintiff asks for leave to conduct depositions of certain individuals prior to responding to defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Her first and third motions are granted in part and denied in part. Her second motion is denied.
DISCUSSION
Count V
This court has dismissed plaintiffs Title VII claims against several defendants because plaintiff failed to charge them within the applicable limitations period.
See Vakharia v. Swedish Covenant Hospital,
In its order of March 31, 1993, this court noted that plaintiffs amended complaints were filed within the applicable limitations period to the extent that they alleged a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 against members of the hospital’s board of directors for impeding plaintiffs efforts to form new contracts with patients.
Vakharia,
Count VI
In the same memorandum and order this court held that plaintiff could proceed with part of her antitrust claim under section 1 of the Sherman Act. Several distinctions were drawn, however, that significantly restricted the scope of her surviving claim. Id. at 778-79. Most of the defendants were dismissed from count VI because they could not be considered co-conspirators, and plaintiffs claim was a conspiracy claim. And, while the portion of the claim based on the hospital’s decision to terminate plaintiff was spared, the portions of her claim based on the hospital’s other acts, including its establishment of a “multi-tiered” system for assigning patients, were dismissed. Now plaintiff asks the court to allow her to pursue her antitrust claim against all defendants named in the second amended complaint and, in addition, she tentatively seeks permission to pursue an independent antitrust claim based ■ on the multi-tiered system for assigning cases. As this court has indicated, the results plaintiff desires are foreclosed by several Supreme Court and Seventh Circuit decisions (cited in the March 31, 1993 order). Intra-corporate dealings of the sort alleged cannot constitute conspiracies, and claims premised on the restriction of competition within a single hospital are not cognizable under the federal antitrust laws.
Perhaps the hospital’s establishment of a multi-tiered system of assigning cases was, as plaintiff says, a “step in the process that culminated in Dr. Vakharia’s total loss of privileges.” Even if true, however, that fact cannot justify granting plaintiffs motion to reconsider the partial dismissal of count VI, although it might constitute probative evidence concerning her antitrust claim based on the hospital’s hindering her efforts to find placement elsewhere. Because trial is a long way away, the court need not resolve that evidentiary issue at this time.
Motion Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(f)
Defendants have filed a motion for summary judgment on the first four counts. That motion is supported by three affidavits, from Dr. James B. McCormick, president of the hospital; Dr. Nancy Loeber, former chairman of the anesthesia department; and Dr. Alan Rogin, chairman of the
ad hoc
hearing committee. The thrust of that motion is that Dr. Loeber was brought in because of concerns about the quality of anesthesiological services, that she performed a performance audit of plaintiff and had concerns about a number of cases, that those concerns were not satisfactorily resolved but in the meantime plaintiff chose to go on part-time status, that thereafter the department was reorganized so as to have senior anesthesiologists for the more serious cases and junior anesthesiologists for the less serious cases, that (apparently) plaintiff was classified by Dr. Loeber as a junior anesthesiologist, that thereafter plaintiff sought to return to full-time status as a senior anesthesiologist, that Dr. Loeber then determined that the caseload would not support another full-time anesthesiologist in either classification and that plaintiff had not demonstrated sufficient proficiency for “senior” cases, that plaintiff objected, and that led to a review of the performance of Dr. Vakharia and ultimately of the entire department. That review began with Dr. Loeber, who came up with approximately 66 cases of plaintiffs in which Dr. Loeber believed the total care had been in one way or another inadequate. Plaintiff then requested the Medical Executive Committee (MEC) for return to full-time status. The MEC appointed a committee which considered the situation and reported to the MEC. The MEC concluded that another full-time position was not justified, but did not take a position on the quality-of-care issues. It decided, rather, to retain an independent consultant to evaluate plaintiffs work, and later that review was expanded to
The hospital then gave plaintiff the option of resignation or summary suspension. Since plaintiff did not resign she was summarily suspended, and that triggered a hearing before an ad hoc committee of the MEC consisting of five physicians and a hearing officer. Attorneys were involved, for the most part, only in an advisory capacity. The hearings spanned 17 days and generated 3130 pages of testimony and argument, 38 exhibits from the hospital and over 200 from plaintiff. Dr. McCormick, Dr. Loeber, Janice Anderson and Dr. Wender (one of the ASA reviewers) testified at length, and plaintiff had 21 witnesses. The committee upheld the suspension and the MEC adopted the recommendation on May 9,1990. That decision was appealed to the hospital’s board, which appointed a review committee. That committee reviewed the lengthy submissions and the record and, on September 7, 1990, issued a 21-page report recommending that the MEC decision be adopted by the board, and it did so on September 12, 1990.
We recite the defendants’ summary judgment contentions at some length because they have a bearing on the pending motion. Plaintiff wants to take the depositions of at least 19 persons prior to responding to the motion. Defendants do not see why any are necessary but, in any event, they should not extend beyond the three affiants. We begin by noting that plaintiff is entitled to a reasonable opportunity to conduct necessary discovery on her claims prior to responding to the summary judgment motion. At the same time, we note that this court has the obligation, pursuant to Rule 26, to control discovery so that it is not unduly burdensome and expensive. That obligation has been increasingly emphasized of late and concerns about discovery abuse underlie both the Civil Justice Reform Act direction that district courts adopt plans and the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Those proposed amendments, specifically Rule 30, would establish a maximum of ten depositions by a party as the norm for civil cases and that a witness once deposed should not normally be deposed again. Here the plaintiff seeks 19 depositions just for starters, including depositions of witnesses who were questioned at length in the ad hoc committee hearing. It is an ambitious program to depose virtually everyone who had or may have had some relationship to the process during which plaintiffs practice was curtailed and (considerably more significant in terms of the amount in controversy) thereafter suspended. And it goes too far in light of the position advanced by the defendants and the rather weak justifications advanced by plaintiff.
The motion relates primarily to the employment discrimination claims. Defendants say that plaintiffs troubles up to the suspension time stem from decisions made by Dr. Loeber. Janice Anderson was, it appears conceded, involved in securing information leading up to some of those decisions. Dr. McCormick was also knowledgeable about that period. Dr. Loeber and Dr. McCormick are affiants and plaintiff may depose them, but with due regard for the fact that they previously testified before the
ad hoc
hearing committee. Janice Anderson also testified there and plaintiff has presented no substantial reason why she must be questioned again. Plaintiff has presented no substantial reason to question that Dr. Loeber was the ultimate decisionmaker during that period or that others tainted the information upon which Dr. Loeber claimed she replied. We therefore see no reason to depose Karen Filopowski at this time. Dr. McCormick was familiar with hospital needs during that period. Judith Borenstein participated in the May 7, 1988 discussion of needs and assisted in providing information for the ASA review. We think plaintiff is entitled to depose her, but we are unconvinced that there is sufficient justification, for now, to take the depositions of Dr. Paulissian (who, after all, testi
Plaintiff seeks the depositions of Dr. Blancato, Dr. Vaeanti and Dr. Wender. Defendants contend that the ASA report was a significant matter in the ultimate suspension. Plaintiff is entitled to depose Dr. Blancato. We are not persuaded that the deposition of Dr. Vaeanti is needed. He may have appointed the other two to be the surveyors, but the issues here relate to Dr. Vakharia, not ASA in general. Plaintiff has already, apparently, explored general procedures in her questions to Dr. Wender at the ad hoc committee hearing, and those can be explored adequately with Dr. Blancato as well. We do, moreover, permit the deposition of Dr. Wender. Defendants contend that plaintiff deliberately failed to explore quality-of-care issues with Dr. Wender. Because she was acting pro se at the time, we think her attorney is now entitled to make that inquiry.
Five physicians comprised the ad hoc committee. One, Dr. RPogin, is an affiant, and his deposition may be taken. She may also depose two of the four others, thus giving her access to a majority of a unanimous committee. We see no reason, however, to depose counsel (Callahan and Scott), absent some compelling evidence that they influenced the result and acted other than as attorneys. Further, if, as plaintiff claims, Scott prevented her from having witnesses testify she has knowledge about that matter, she can, herself, bring it to the attention of the court, and, if the hearing officer, Hanna-fan, was unfair, plaintiff can point that out from the 3130 pages of transcript. Finally, we are not persuaded that the depositions of Dr. Shah, Dr. Yelda or Dr. Larson have been reasonably justified.
We are somewhat uncertain how plaintiff is proceeding. Ordinarily depositions are for the purpose of getting information from non-parties or pinning down parties. It is the rare plaintiff who expects the defendants, or those allegedly in league with them, to make the case for her when the charges are of unsavory conduct, unless plaintiff has evidence to present to the defendants that requires an admission. Here the claims are of purposeful discrimination against her, claims that plaintiff has consistently presented for a number of years. To the extent she has personal knowledge of these claims, she can present that evidence by affidavit. To the extent she has evidence from others, she can also present it by their affidavits. Even with such evidence she must still address, now or ultimately, the quality-of-care issues raised by defendants.
Defendants are now scheduled to complete production of documents by June 23, 1993. The permitted depositions should be completed within the following 60 days, or by August 23, 1993. Plaintiff shall file her responsive brief by September 23, 1993 and defendants shall file their reply brief by October 14, 1993.
Liability of Defendants in Their Individual Capacities
At a recent status conference the parties expressed some confusion about the implications of this court’s March 31, 1993 order on the personal liability of some of the defendants. Apparently the order requires some elaboration.
As this court noted in its opinion of May 22, 1991, a defendant may be liable under Title VII and § 1981 even if the defendant is not the plaintiffs employer.
Vakharia v. Swedish Covenant Hospital,
Under the ADEA, Title VII and § 1981, individuals may be held personally liable for civil rights violations they commit while working as agents of larger institutions, provided that their individual liability is based on individual acts distinct from institutional policy set by their superiors. When
Courts around the country seem to be in complete agreement with respect to personal liability of decisionmaking employees under § 1981. As indicated, this court believes that individual defendants should be treated the same way under the ADEA and Title VII as they are under § 1981. This court recognizes, however, that other courts have treated ADEA and Title VII defendants differently. For example, in
Miller v. Maxwell’s International, Inc.,
Title VII always has served two purposes: to compensate the victims of discrimination (at least with back pay, if not with full compensatory damages), and to deter discrimination in the future.
Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody,
Moreover, while ordinarily personal liability is not of great consequence either to the
CONCLUSION
Plaintiffs motion to reconsider the court’s partial dismissal of count V is granted in part and denied in part. Her motion to reconsider the court’s partial dismissal of count VI is denied. Her motion pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(f) is granted in part and denied in part.
Notes
. The defendants named for the first time in the first or second amended complaints are: B. Adri
. When a private company is involved, the acts of an employee can create § 1981 liability for an employer.
See Gatlin v. Jewel Food Stores,
. Judge Duff was describing Title VII as it existed prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1991. As noted previously, the 1991 amendments to Title VII and § 1981 do not apply to this case. However, if the amendments did apply, Judge Duff's argument would lose virtually all of its force, since the 1991 amendments allow for full compensatory damages — not just back pay — as well as punitive damages.
See Bridges,
