Sumeru Health Care Grp. v. Hutchins – June 2015 (Summary)

BREACH OF CONTRACT

Sumeru Health Care Grp. v. Hutchins, No. 3:02-cv-447 (E.D. Tenn. June 24, 2015)

A Tennessee health care group employed a number of overseas physicians to serve medically underserved rural communities through the group’s clinics. Under a state program, the physicians were required to enter into employment agreements to obtain visas that would lift certain residency restrictions on their temporary visas. The group also placed physicians to work in a nearby hospital’s Emergency Department. The health care group alleged that the hospital improperly enticed physicians to breach their employment contracts and work solely at the hospital’s ED, leading to the financial collapse of the clinics and the group. The court held that the group was unable to show that its injuries were caused by the hospital or that the group suffered any damages other than those it self-inflicted.