BREACH OF CONTRACT/TORTIOUS INTERFERENCE

Cardone v. Boston Regional Med. Ctr., Inc., No. 02-P-768 (Mass. App. Ct. December 16, 2003)

An employment agreement between a physician and a medical center was terminated after disagreements about how the physician's compensation was calculated. The physician filed suit against numerous defendants, the lower court entered summary judgment for the medical center on the breach of contract and tortious interference with contractual relations claims, and the physician appealed.

The appellate court overruled the lower court's dismissal of the two claims. On the breach of contract claim, the court found that the agreement was ambiguous as to how the compensation should be calculated, so a genuine issue of fact was present. Also, for the tortious interference claim, the court found that the lower court granted summary judgment even though the medical center did not request summary judgment, and this deprived the physician of a fair opportunity to respond.