Pal v. Jersey City Med. Ctr. (Summary)

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Pal v. Jersey City Med. Ctr.
No. 11-6911(SRC) (D.N.J. July 21, 2014)

The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey granted a motion for summary judgment filed by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (“UMDNJ”) and two affiliated physicians in a discrimination case brought by a female physician of Indian origin whose residency contract was not renewed. The court held that UMDNJ and its affiliated physicians had offered sufficient evidence to show that the issues at stake in the lawsuit were already decided by a prior ruling in the New Jersey state courts. In addition, UMDNJ and the two physicians filed a motion to impose sanctions on the plaintiff-physician, arguing that she had demonstrated a pattern of claiming medical disability in order to avoid deadlines for her own advantage. The court ruled that these sanctions were unwarranted based on the evidence available in the record. The court also denied the plaintiff-physician’s motion for leave to amend the complaint. The court held that the motion was “prejudicially untimely,” with no apparent justification for the delay.