Mobile Medical Services for Physicians & Advanced Practice Nurses, Inc. v. Rajaram

Filed 9/17/15; pub. order 10/13/15 (see end of opn.)

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

MOBILE MEDICAL SERVICES FOR PHYSICIANS AND ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSES, INC., G050111

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 30-2013-00679894)

v. OPINION

CHALAT RAJARAM,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Peter J. Wilson, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Kathleen A. Kenealy, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Kristin Hogue, Assistant Attorney General, John P. Devine and Paul T. Hammerness, Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendant and Appellant. Cummins & White and James R. Wakefield for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * *

Jill Shelton (Shelton), Mobile Medical Services for Physicians and 1 Advanced Practice Nurses, Inc. (NPS), and Mobile Medical Services for Physicians and Advanced Practice Nurses, Inc., a Nursing Corporation (MMS; collectively plaintiffs) filed a complaint against defendant Chalat Rajaram. The complaint was based on defendant’s statements to the California Nursing Board (Board) that led to the investigation of Shelton. The trial court granted defendant’s special motion to strike the complaint (anti-SLAPP motion; Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16; section 425.16), granting leave to amend one cause of action for breach of contract. After NPS filed an amended complaint for breach of contract, defendant filed another anti-SLAPP motion, which the court denied. Defendant appeals, contending the amended breach of contract cause of action is a sham because NPS merely eliminated the offending allegations from the original complaint. Defendant argues the amended breach of contract cause of action seeks to impose liability on him based solely on his statements to the Board. Thus, he asserts, the court erred in denying the anti-SLAPP motion. We conclude there was no authority for the court to grant leave to amend the original complaint. Therefore, we reverse and remand with directions to the court to grant defendant’s original motion to strike without leave to amend. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY According to the complaint, Shelton is licensed as a registered nurse, public health nurse, nurse practitioner, and public health furnishing nurse practitioner. During the relevant time period she was an officer of NPS. The complaint alleged NPS and MMS were licensed healthcare providers. NPS had contracts with the Pat Moore Foundation (Pat Moore) and Morningside Recovery Detox Center (Morningside), drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities, to 1 NPS was formerly known as Nurse Practitioner Services for Advance Practice Nursing, Inc.