Opinion
No. 14-1397
11-20-2014
Vernon L. Johnson Plaintiff - Appellant v. SSM Healthcare System Defendant - Appellee
Appeal rrom United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis [Unpublished] Before WOLLMAN, BYE, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM.
Dr. Vernon L. Johnson appeals the district court's adverse grant of summary judgment in his state-tort suit for damages arising from revocation of his hospital privileges; his suit was removed to federal court under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA). Upon de novo review, we find no basis for overturning the district court's determination that SSM was entitled to HCQIA immunity, because Dr. Johnson did not satisfy his burden of producing evidence that would allow a reasonable jury to find that the peer review process failed to meet HCQIA's standards. See Lee v. Trinity Lutheran Hosp., 408 F.3d 1064, 1070-71 (8th Cir. 2005). The judgment of the district court is affirmed, see 8th Cir. R. 47B, and Dr. Johnson's pending motion is granted.
The Honorable Henry E. Autrey, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri.
We decline to address the matters Dr. Johnson raises for the first time in his opening brief, see Stone v. Harry, 364 F.3d 912, 914-15 (8th Cir. 2004), or in his reply brief, see Jenkins v. Winter, 540 F.3d 742, 751 (8th Cir. 2008).
--------