Dr. Howard McMahan brought suit against Dr. Russell Acree and Memorial Health Services, Inc. to recover damages for breach of contract. A jury trial resulted in a verdict for McMahan, and the two defendants appeal. They raise issues regarding the propriety of applying the doctrine of piercing the corporate veil and allege several errors regarding proof of and interpretation of the contract in issue. We find no error and affirm.
The evidence presented at trial showed that Acree formed Memorial Health Services, Inc. MHS, a corporation in which he was the principal shareholder, to manage and sometimes purchase various small hospitals in South Georgia. In 1984, McMahan began practicing medicine in a group in Adel with Acree. When MHS acquired management rights to a hospital in Hahira, Acree and McMahan recruited Dr. Gene Jackson, an old friend of McMahan, to relocate his practice to Hahira. In the fall of 1990, Acree approached McMahan with a proposal to relocate to Ocilla, in Irwin County, where Acree was in the process of finalizing an agreement for MHS to manage the hospital. Although McMahan was not at first receptive, he eventually agreed. He, Acree, and Jackson formed a corporation, AJM, Inc., to formalize the structure of their practice, management, and potential ownership agreement with regard to the Ocilla relocation. Under the agreement, he and Jackson were to relocate to Ocilla and practice there. They agreed to be on the hospital staff and assist in turning around the hospital’s finances by admitting patients and using the hospital facilities. Eventually they were to become part of the management team. The management agreement MHS had with the hospital included a purchase option, and under the AJM agreement, if the hospital were sold, McMahan and Jackson would be offered an equity position in the hospital.
