How much freedom does a party have to tell its service provider not to use a given employee to provide the services? Although the freedom to contract (or not contract) might suggest that this liberty is unfettered, a recent decision by the 2nd District Appellate Court of Illinois suggests that the answer is not so clear.
In this case, Dr. S. was a member of an oncology group at a prominent Chicago-area hospital. While he was respected for his medical acumen, Dr. S. did not always get along with his peers in the group or with the rest of the hospital staff, some complaining that he was abrasive and condescending. The group’s leadership informed the hospital that Dr. S. was undermining them and disrupting their relationship with the hospital. All of this was particularly troubling because the group was the hospital’s exclusive provider of oncology services and was required to dedicate its full time to the hospital’s oncology needs.
