Houston NW Radiology v. Per Se Technologies, et al

*Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this opinion should not be
published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R.
47.5.4.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
December 5, 2003
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-21206
HOUSTON NORTHWEST RADIOLOGY ASSOCIATION,
a Texas Professional Association,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
PER SE TECHNOLOGIES, formerly known as Medaphis
Physician Services Corporation; PST SERVICES, INC.,
formerly known as Medaphis Physician Services Corporation,
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for
the Southern District of Texas
(USDC No. H-00-CV-2849)
_______________________________________________________
Before REAVLEY, JONES and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
The district court’s summary judgment was predicated solely on the rejection
of an expert’s opinion of the causal connection between PST’s breach of contract

-- 1 of 2 --

2
and HNRA’s damages. While Shepherd’s opinion about a minimum collection
percentage may not support a judgment for certain dollars, it does have admissible
weight to prove that HNRA was damaged because of the defendant’s delay and
failure to move to collection of the accounts. And it is delay that is the essence of
this expert’s testimony. With evidence of breach of contract that caused damages in
the loss of some extent of collections, HNRA sufficiently resisted summary
judgment.
Shepherd’s testimony should not have been excluded. The court’s ruling on
reconsideration becomes moot.
The judgment is reversed. The cause is remanded for further proceedings.

-- 2 of 2 --