Summary
holding "actions by Medical Center were not undertaken under color of state law" so hospital cannot be liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Summary of this case from Phillips v. DealOpinion
Civil Action No. 3:04-cv-50 (CAR).
January 21, 2005
ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS
This case is before the Court on a Motion to Dismiss by Defendants Athens Regional Health Services, Inc. and Athens Regional Medical Center, Inc. (collectively "Athens Regional") and by Defendant American Hospital Association ("AHA"). Plaintiffs in this case challenge Athens Regional's policies for billing and collections from uninsured and indigent patients, and specifically allege that Athens Regional charges inflated rates to uninsured patients and uses excessively aggressive tactics to collect on unpaid bills.
The Complaint in this case is substantially similar to the Complaint filed in the companion case of Katie M. Washington, et al. v. Medical Center of Central Georgia, Inc., et al. , Case No. 5:04-cv-185 (CAR). An Order has been entered on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss in Washington that is directly relevant to all issues presented in the present case. For the reasons set forth more fully in that Order (attached hereto as Exhibit A), the Court finds that with regard to Counts One, Four, Six, Seven, Eleven, and Twelve, the Complaint in this case fails to set forth a cause of action upon which relief can be granted. Accordingly, those Counts are dismissed, with prejudice, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The remaining substantive Counts, Counts Two, Three, and Five, are state law Counts before the Court pursuant only to its supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1367, and the Court declines to exercise any remaining supplemental jurisdiction over those claims. They are dismissed without prejudice. Counts Eight, Nine, and Ten are dismissed with prejudice to the extent that they set forth claims of conspiracy or for equitable relief based on the substantive federal law claims in Counts One, Four, Six, Seven, Eleven, and Twelve, without prejudice to any actual or potential claims under state law as set forth in Counts Two, Three, and Five.