Gianetti v. Norwalk Hospital

Charles Gianetti (plaintiff) was a plastic surgeon who worked as an independent contractor. Gianetti had a contract that allowed him to operate at Norwalk Hospital (Norwalk) (defendant). For years, Gianetti and three other plastic surgeons provided on-call services to the emergency departments at Norwalk and several other hospitals in the Bridgeport area, often being on-call at more than one hospital. In 1983, Gianetti earned $43,687 from Norwalk and $172,890 from other hospitals, for a total gross income of $216,577. Norwalk declined to renew Gianetti’s privileges the following year. Gianetti continued at the other hospitals, increasing his services. In 1984, without any income from Norwalk, he earned $225,815. Gianetti sued Norwalk for breach of contract, alleging that it had failed to follow required procedures before terminating his privileges. In support of his damages claim, Gianetti testified that: (1) had Norwalk not breached the contract, he would have had the time and capacity to perform the additional work at other hospitals along with his usual work for Norwalk, (2) the additional work would have been profitable, and (3) he never declined on-call requests and would have performed the extra work regardless of Norwalk’s actions. The trial court found that Norwalk had breached its contractual obligation to follow proper procedures. The court also determined that Gianetti qualified as a lost-volume seller. This meant that the additional income Gianetti had earned in 1984 from the other hospitals was not a substitute for his lost Norwalk income but rather extra earnings that he would have earned anyway. Therefore, Gianetti could recover the full amount of his lost Norwalk earnings without any offset for the other income. Among other issues raised on appeal, Norwalk contested the trial court’s determination that Gianetti was a lost-volume seller. Norwalk argued that Gianetti’s extra work at the other hospitals replaced Gianetti’s lost Norwalk work, so Gianetti had not suffered any real damages from the breach.