Clarke v. City of New York Health and Hosp. Corp.
No. 98 CV 3715 (ILG) (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 1, 2001)

A physician sued a hospital and members of the hospital's staff after the hospital transferred him from the emergency department to the urgent care unit. The hospital claimed that the transfer was necessitated by the fact that the physician was not board certified in an emergency specialty. The physician alleged that the lack of board certification was a pretext and that the transfer was actually in retaliation for the physician's criticism of the hospital to both a federal investigatory agency and the local media. The physician claimed to have suffered violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the federal Constitution. The Eastern District Court of New York granted the hospital's motions for summary judgment. The court found that the physician could not show that he suffered a loss from the transfer. The court also found that the physician could not show a causal link between his protected speech and the transfer. Additionally, the court stated that the physician had been given ample time to become board certified and his apparent inability to do so gave the hospital a legitimate reason to make the transfer.