Bartron v. Codington County

2 N.W.2d 337 (1942)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Bartron v. Codington County

South Dakota Supreme Court
2 N.W.2d 337 (1942)

Facts

Bartron Clinic (Bartron) (plaintiff) was a corporation owned entirely by the employees who worked at Bartron’s hospital and medical clinic. The corporation was formed to allow the employees to share in the profits from their work. Bartron owned all the equipment and supplied the medicine, but appropriately licensed medical professionals provided all the actual medical services. Bartron entered into two contracts with Codington County (Codington) (defendant) to provide medical services and medicine for Codington’s indigent citizens. Five years later, Bartron billed Codington approximately $3600 for medicine Bartron had given to indigent citizens under one of the contracts. When Codington did not pay the bill, Bartron sued. The lower court found that all Bartron’s contractual services had been provided by licensed professionals and that the corporation had not interfered with or attempted to interfere with how the professionals had practiced medicine. However, the lower court also found that it was against public policy and unlawful for a corporation to provide medical services. Because the contract between Bartron and Codington was a contract for a corporation to provide medical services to the county, the contract was against public policy and had no effect. The lower court ruled that Codington was not required to pay the $3600 bill. Bartron appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Smith, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership