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Community Hospital Group4/5/2005
geons.
On August 15, 2002, JFK wrote Dr. More that Somerset had inquired about his application for medical privileges at Somerset. JFK sought written assurance from Dr. More that he had not and did not intend to violate the agreement. Dr. More replied that he had not breached any lawfully enforceable employment agreement with the Institute.
Believing that Dr. More was in violation of the agreement, on September 6, 2002, JFK filed a complaint against Dr. More, seeking among other things a preliminary injunction prohibiting him from the practice of neurosurgery with NAPA or Somerset. On November 21, 2002, the trial court denied JFK's request for a preliminary injunction, established a discovery timetable, and set trial for May 12, 2003. The court found that JFK could not show a reasonable likelihood of success because it could not demonstrate that the covenant protected a legitimate interest of JFK, or that such an interest would not be outweighed by undue hardship to Dr. More, or that the covenant would not impair the public interest. JFK's motion for leave to appeal was denied by the Appellate Division on January 8, 2003.
While JFK's motion for leave to appeal to us was pending, JFK was granted leave to file an amended complaint adding Somerset as a defendant. JFK sought damages and injunctive relief against Somerset because Somerset had granted Dr. More privileges to practice at Somerset.
Eventually, we granted JFK leave to appeal and summarily remanded the matter to the Appellate Division to consider the appeal on its merits. Cmty. Hosp. Group, Inc. v. More, 176 N.J. 70 (2003). In a published opinion dated December 29, 2003, the Appellate Division reversed the trial court and awarded JFK injunctive relief. Cmty. Hosp. Group, Inc. v. More, 365 N.J. Super. 84. The panel applied the four-prong test of Crowe v. De Gioia, 90 N.J. 126 (1982), for determining whether injunctive relief should be granted. The court found irreparable harm because a later award of damages would not enable JFK to satisfy its goal of providing clinical care, education, and research in the field of neurology. Id. at 99-100. The panel concluded that the trial court misapplied the Karlin standard in examining the restrictive covenant. Id. at 100-01.
The panel applied the three-part test for determining the reasonableness of the restrictive covenant, i.e. "whether the covenant in question protects the legitimate interests of the employer, imposes no undue hardship on the employee, and is not injurious to the public." Id. at 97 (quoting Karlin, supra, 77 N.J. at 422)(internal quotations omitted). The panel found that the evidence supported the conclusion that the restrictive covenant was necessary to protect JFK's patient and referral relationships. Id. at 102. After rejecting the trial court's conclusion to the contrary, the panel determined that JFK satisfied its burden of showing that enforcement of the restrictive covenant would not impose an undue hardship on Dr. More. Id. at 104. In that regard, the panel noted there was sufficient evidence that Dr. More could find work outside of the geographically restricted area, and that any hardship upon Dr. More was personal and self-induced. Ibid. The panel found the two-year period of the restriction was reasonable and consistent with other restrictions that have been upheld. Id. at 105.
The panel then addressed the reasonableness of the thirty mile geographic restriction. Ibid. After finding that some patients traveled thirty miles or more to seek specialized care such as neurosurgery and that over seventeen percent of JFK's patients resided outside of the thirty-mile radius, the panel concluded that the scope of the restricti
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