Greisman v. Newcomb Hospital

192 A.2d 817 (1963)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Greisman v. Newcomb Hospital

New Jersey Supreme Court
192 A.2d 817 (1963)

Facts

Paul Greisman (plaintiff) was a doctor of osteopathy licensed to practice medicine in several states, including New Jersey. Greisman had graduated from a medical school that taught both general medicine and osteopathy. However, the American Medical Association (AMA) had a long history of not approving schools that taught osteopathy, and it had not approved Greisman’s school. Greisman practiced medicine in an area of New Jersey that had only one hospital, Newcomb Hospital (Newcomb) (defendant). Newcomb was a private, nonprofit hospital that was tax-exempt and received much of its funding from various government sources and private donations. Newcomb allowed outside doctors to treat patients at the hospital if the doctors were admitted as part of Newcomb’s courtesy staff. Newcomb had a bylaw that limited courtesy-staff applications to doctors who had graduated from schools approved by the AMA and who were members of a local medical society. Although Greisman was a licensed, qualified doctor with experience practicing medicine, neither the local medical society nor Newcomb would even look at Greisman’s applications because he had not graduated from a school approved by the AMA. Essentially, the fact that Greisman was an osteopath instead of a medical doctor was the only obstacle preventing him from being able to treat patients at Newcomb. Newcomb would allow Greisman access to his patients if they were admitted to the hospital, but he had only visitor status. As a visitor, Greisman was not allowed to access his patients’ charts or prescribe medicines or treatments for them. Greisman sued, arguing that Newcomb’s bylaw was unfairly arbitrary. Newcomb responded that it was a private entity and that the courts should not determine what criteria a private hospital uses for its medical staff. A lower court found that Newcomb’s bylaw was invalid, and the case went before the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Jacobs, 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 832,000 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 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 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 832,000 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
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 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