Surgeon denied preliminary injunction, restraining order

Colette Whitby, MD, sued Dr. John Warner Hospital after her employment was terminated due to lack of funding. In February 2011, Earl Sheehy, CEO and a member of the hospital's board of directors, informed Whitby that he would likely not be able to include her services in the 2011-2012 fiscal budget. On March 1, Sheehy also informed Whitby that unless she agreed to substantial changes to her employment agreement, ­Whitby's surgical practice would not receive funding. On April 20, Sheehy informed Whitby that the city of Clinton did not approve her contract and her last day would be April 29. Two days before her employment was to end, Whitby filed for preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order claiming that she was denied her due process rights. Whitby requested that the court reinstate her employment for the duration of the case or for 90 days to give her a chance to notify her patients of the change and to provide necessary follow-up care. Whitby alleged that Illinois could punish her for willfully abandoning patients and not providing the public with 30 days' notice before leaving her practice. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois denied Whitby's motion for a preliminary injunction and noted that a plaintiff must initially demonstrate some likelihood of succeeding on the merits, that no adequate remedy at law exists, and that the plaintiff will suffer irreparable harm if preliminary relief is denied. The court determined that Whitby failed to meet these three criteria.

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