West Coast Cambridge Inc. v. Rice

The trial court should have applied the lesser degree of scrutiny applicable to covenants, which are ancillary to the sale of a business in reviewing a non-compete agreement, which the plaintiff signed in connection with his passive partnership investment.

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West Coast Cambridge, Inc. “Cambridge” and South Georgia Lithotripsy Partners the “Partnership” sued Samuel T. Rice, M. D., for breach of a non-compete agreement. Cambridge and the Partnership appeal the trial court’s order granting Rice’s motion for summary judgment and denying their motion for partial summary judgment. For the reasons stated below, we reverse the grant of summary judgment to Rice and remand with instructions. We affirm the trial court’s denial of Cambridge’s and the Partnership’s motion for partial summary judgment. To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and that the undisputed facts, viewed in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, warrant judgment as a matter of law.1 To obtain summary judgment, a defendant need not produce any evidence, but must only point to an absence of evidence supporting at least one essential element of the plaintiff’s claim.2 Our review of a grant of summary judgment is de novo, and we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn from it in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.3

Rice is a urologist whose medical practice includes lithotripsy. Lithotripsy is a non-invasive medical procedure which involves the use of a machine called a lithotripter to dissolve kidney stones through shock waves, among other techniques. Rice owns four percent of South Georgia Lithotripsy Associates, Inc. “Associates”. The other shareholders are also physicians. In 1990, Associates and Coliseum Park Hospital, Inc. “Coliseum Park” formed a partnership known as South Georgia Lithotripsy, J.V. the “Joint Venture”. The Joint Venture purchased a lithotripter which it leased to various hospitals on a rotating basis.

West Coast Cambridge Inc. v. Rice

The trial court should have applied the lesser degree of scrutiny applicable to covenants, which are ancillary to the sale of a business in reviewing a non-compete agreement, which the plaintiff signed in connection with his passive partnership investment.

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