Mensah, R. v. National Board of Medical Exam. ( 2021 )


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  • J-S28005-21
    NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
    REGINA MENSAH                                :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
    :        PENNSYLVANIA
    Appellant               :
    :
    :
    v.                             :
    :
    :
    NATIONAL BOARD OF MEDICAL                    :   No. 564 EDA 2021
    EXAMINERS                                    :
    Appeal from the Order Entered February 9, 2021
    In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Civil Division at
    No(s): No. 190201342
    BEFORE:      BOWES, J., DUBOW, J., and PELLEGRINI, J.*
    MEMORANDUM BY BOWES, J.:                             FILED OCTOBER 1, 2021
    Regina Mensah appeals from the February 9, 2021 order granting
    summary judgment in favor of the National Board of Medical Examiners
    (“NBME”). We affirm.
    Dr. Mensah commenced this action on February 14, 2019, by filing a
    praecipe for writ of summons and a motion for leave to take pre-complaint
    discovery. In the latter, she sought the “recorded answers” and the “correct
    answers” on two of the United States Medical Licensing Examinations
    (“USMLE”) she failed in 2018.           The request was calculated to determine
    whether NBME made errors in grading her examinations that she believed she
    ____________________________________________
    * Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
    J-S28005-21
    had passed. NBME provided Dr. Mensah’s answers and the correct answers
    to her counsel, counsel moved to withdraw, and the court granted the motion.
    After several continuances, Dr. Mensah filed a pro se complaint against
    NBME on January 31, 2020. She averred therein that she is a Canadian citizen
    and that she graduated from All Saints University School of Medicine in
    Dominica in the Caribbean. Before she could pursue her medical residency
    and accreditation in the United States, she was required to pass Steps 1 and
    2 of the three-step USMLE. Dr. Mensah pled that she passed Step 2 on May
    16, 2013, but had been unsuccessful in passing Step 1 on four attempts, the
    latest being March 8, 2018. She alleged that by “registering and paying for
    the examination and fulfilling all requirements to sit for the examination, [she]
    and [NBME] entered into a Contract” that obligated NBME to permit her to
    review the results of the examination. By refusing to permit her to review her
    examination, Dr. Mensah alleged that NBME had breached that contract. She
    also sought declaratory relief based upon allegations that NBME was negligent
    in the scoring of the exams, the results were unreliable, and that it breached
    its duty to “provide true and valid raw scores that are meaningful and
    authenticated.” Id. at ¶ 18(h).
    NBME filed an answer to the complaint admitting that it is a non-profit
    organization that “develops and provides for the administration of the multi-
    step USMLE that medical students and graduates of U.S. and foreign medical
    schools must pass if they wish to practice in the United States.”       Answer,
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    2/24/20, at ¶¶ 3-5.    It pled that Dr. Mensa failed to pass Step 1 on five
    occasions, and that although she passed the CS portion of Step 2, she failed
    Step 2 CK on May 30, 2016. Id. at ¶ 9. NBME averred that at Dr. Mensah’s
    request, NBME rechecked two of the exams and concluded that there was no
    error in the scoring. Additionally, it provided Dr. Mensah with her raw answers
    and the correct answers.
    NBME denied the existence of any contract with Dr. Mensah that
    permitted her to obtain the proprietary test questions that it spent “enormous
    resources to create, verify, test, and analyze, and for which NBME maintains
    rigorous security to protect the integrity of the exam” for purposes of obtaining
    an independent review. Id. at ¶¶ 13-17. In new matter, NBME pled, inter
    alia, that Dr. Mensah’s scores were entirely consistent with her poor
    performance on self-assessments that she took at home prior to the exams.
    New Matter, 2/24/20, at ¶ 48.
    NBME filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, which was denied
    by order entered June 23, 2020. At the conclusion of discovery, NBME filed a
    motion for summary judgment in which it maintained that it had no express
    or implied contractual obligation to provide the actual test questions and
    answers to Dr. Mensah for independent review. It offered evidence that its
    testing methodology was reliable and attacked the truth of Dr. Mensah’s
    representations about her academic record. NBME also substantiated that, at
    Dr. Mensah’s request, it conducted score rechecks of her May 30, 2016 Step
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    2 CK exam and her August 31, 2017 Step 1 exam and reported to Dr. Mensah
    that it found no errors in scoring and that her scores remained unchanged.
    Motion for Summary Judgment, 11/2/20, at Exhibit J.
    On December 3, 2020, Eric Winter, Esquire entered his appearance on
    Dr. Mensah’s behalf and filed a response in opposition to NBME’s summary
    judgment motion and memorandum that same day. However, Dr. Mensah did
    not append any supporting documentation to her response.
    The trial court entered an order granting summary judgment in favor of
    NBME on February 9, 2021, and the docket indicates that Pa.R.C.P. 236 notice
    was sent electronically to counsel for all parties. Dr. Mensah filed an appeal
    to this Court on March 8, 2021. By order entered March 8, 2021, the trial
    court ordered Dr. Mensah to file a concise statement of errors complained of
    on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) within twenty-one days from the
    entry of the order. The court also advised that failure to comply with the order
    would result in the waiver of all issues on appeal. According to the docket,
    Rule 236 notice of the Rule 1925(b) order issued on March 12, 2021, but Dr.
    Mensah did not file a Rule 1925(b) concise statement. Consequently, the trial
    court issued its Rule 1925(a) opinion on April 13, 2021, in which it
    recommended that this Court dismiss the appeal as all issues were waived due
    to Dr. Mensah’s failure to file a Rule 1925(b) concise statement.
    Dr. Mensah filed a Motion to Reconsider and Issue Opinion Due to
    Clerical/Computer Error on April 19, 2021. She represented therein that she
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    was not served with the Rule 1925(b) order and asked the court to accept a
    late-filed concise statement and issue an opinion. Id. at ¶ 15. By order dated
    April 20, 2021, the trial court denied reconsideration and appended a
    computer printout purporting to show that emails were sent to Attorney Winter
    and Dr. Mensah on March 12, 2021. Order, 4/20/21, at Exhibit A.1
    On July 20, 2021, this Court issued a rule directing Dr. Mensah to show
    cause why the within appeal should not be dismissed due to the waiver of all
    issues for failure to file a timely Rule 1925(b) concise statement. Counsel for
    Dr. Mensah filed a timely response stating that he did not receive the emailed
    Rule 1925(b) order and that Dr. Mensah received the email but could not
    access the link containing the order. Counsel represented that Dr. Mensah
    advised counsel of the email but when he checked the docket on March 15,
    2021, it did not reflect any Rule 1925(b) order. Counsel maintained that he
    ____________________________________________
    1  As Dr. Mensah’s motion for reconsideration was filed in the trial court on
    April 19, 2021, more than thirty days after the order appealed from and after
    the filing of a notice of appeal, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to entertain
    it. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 5505 (providing that except as otherwise prescribed, a
    court may modify or rescind any order within thirty days after its entry if no
    appeal has been taken). Furthermore, because the certified record was
    transmitted to this Court on April 13, 2021, the motion for reconsideration is
    not reflected on the docket in the certified record. The same is true of the
    trial court’s April 20, 2021 order denying reconsideration and attaching a
    computer printout seemingly indicating that both counsel and Dr. Mensah
    were sent the Rule 1925(b) order via email on March 12, 2021. However,
    because these documents are contained in the reproduced record and NBME
    does not dispute their authenticity, we may acknowledge their existence.
    See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Holston, 
    211 A.3d 1264
    , 1276 (Pa.Super.
    2019) (“[W]here the accuracy of a document is undisputed and contained in
    the reproduced record, we may consider it.”).
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    only became aware of the order when the trial court later issued its opinion.
    He averred that he immediately filed a motion for reconsideration citing the
    lack of service, but the trial court denied the motion and attached “an
    unverified document.” Response to Rule to Show Cause, 7/26/21, at 1.
    On August 10, 2021, this Court discharged the rule to show cause based
    on Dr. Mensah’s response and advised the parties that the issue “may be
    revisited by the panel assigned to decide the merits of this appeal.” Order,
    8/10/21. Dr. Mensah raises two issues for our review:
    [1.] Whether the Lower Court erred in finding a waiver of the
    issues where Appellant was not served with an order requiring a
    concise statement be filed?
    [2.] Whether the Lower Court erred in granting summary
    judgment?
    Appellant’s brief at 4.
    Preliminarily, we must determine whether any issues are preserved for
    review.   In Commonwealth v. Lord, 
    719 A.2d 306
    , 309 (Pa. 1998), our
    Supreme Court established the bright-line rule that “failure to comply with the
    minimal requirements of Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) will result in automatic waiver of
    the issues raised [on appeal].” The rule applies even if the appellant served
    the Rule 1925(b) statement on the trial judge who subsequently addressed
    the merits in its opinion. See Greater Erie Indus. Dev. Corp. v. Presque
    Isle Downs, Inc., 
    88 A.3d 222
    , 225 (Pa.Super. 2014).
    There are exceptions to the rule, however.        For instance, when an
    appellant learned for the first time upon receipt of the trial court opinion that
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    a Rule 1925(b) order issued and that she failed to comply, we examined the
    docket and other documents to determine whether the order was served. See
    e.g., Commonwealth v. Hooks, 
    921 A.2d 1199
     (Pa.Super. 2007)
    (remanding for filing of a Rule 1925(b) concise statement where our review
    of the docket failed to reflect that order was served on appellant). See also
    Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)(2) (Official Note and cases cited therein). Additionally, Rule
    1925(c)(2) permits remand for the filing of a Rule 1925(b) statement nunc
    pro tunc upon application of the appellant to the appellate court and for good
    cause shown. See Pa.R.A.P. 1925(c)(2) (“Upon application of the appellant
    and for good cause shown, an appellate court may remand in a civil case for
    the filing nunc pro tunc of a Statement or for amendment or supplementation
    of a timely filed and served Statement and for a concurrent supplemental
    opinion.”).
    The docket in the instant case indicates that Rule 236 notice of the Rule
    1925(b) order was given. The computer printout relied upon by the trial court
    in denying reconsideration indicates that emails were sent to Dr. Mensah and
    her counsel, as well as counsel for NBME.
    While Dr. Mensah technically did not file an application seeking remand
    for the filing of a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise statement nunc pro tunc, we will
    treat her response to the rule to show cause and request for remand in her
    appellate brief as such an application.     Counsel represented therein that
    neither he nor Dr. Mensah received the emailed order. We find some support
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    for Dr. Mensah’s position in NBME counsel’s cryptic representation that he
    “received email notice from the Court on Friday, March 12, 2021, at 4:33 p.m.
    that an Order had been entered, and obtained a copy of the Order early the
    following week.”   Appellee’s brief at 30 n.10.   The foregoing tends to add
    credence to Dr. Mensah’s representation that the order was not attached to
    the email she received from the court. Counsel for Dr. Mensah also pointed
    out that there were certain irregularities in the March 12, 2021 order, namely,
    that it did not bear a filed stamp or case ID or barcode like every other order
    issued in the case. Appellant’s brief at 6. Our review of the certified record
    confirms these anomalies on the face of the Rule 1925(b) order. Hence, on
    the record before us we find sufficient good cause shown to excuse Dr.
    Mensah’s failure to timely file a Rule 1925(b) statement.
    In addition, there is a deficiency in the court’s Rule 1925(b) order. The
    trial judge did not specify how and where service upon him should be
    effectuated. See Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)(3)(iii) (providing that the order directing
    the filing and service of the order shall specify “that the Statement shall be
    served on the judge pursuant to paragraph (b)(1) and both the place the
    appellant can serve the Statement in person and the address to which the
    appellant can mail the Statement.     In addition, the judge may provide an
    email, facsimile, or other alternative means for the appellant to serve the
    Statement on the judge”). We decline to find waiver where the trial court did
    not strictly adhere to the requirements set forth in Rule 1925(b)(3).     See
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    Berg v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., Inc., 
    6 A.3d 1002
    , 1007-8 (Pa. 2010)
    (finding based on the Comment to Rule 1925(b) that “compliance by all
    participants, including the trial court, is required if the amendments and the
    rule are to serve their purpose”). Accord, Greater Erie Indus. Dev. Corp.,
    supra at 225-26; Commonwealth v. Jones, 
    193 A.3d 957
    , 961 (Pa.Super.
    2018).
    Dr. Mensah requests that, as there was no proper service of the order,
    we remand this matter to allow for filing of a 1925(b) statement and opinion.
    Appellant’s brief at 8. She maintains that “this Court cannot properly address
    whether the Lower Court properly ruled on the Summary Judgment without
    knowing the reasoning of the Lower Court” and that “remand with the ability
    to file a concise statement and obtain an opinion is the appropriate remedy.”
    Id. at 10. NBME counters that since Dr. Mensah “filed a baseless lawsuit,
    failed to undertake any discovery, and had no evidence of record to cite in her
    favor to establish a prima facie case in response to NBME’s motion for
    summary judgment,” we should “affirm the trial court’s grant of summary
    judgment even without a substantive trial court opinion explaining its
    reasoning.” Appellee’s brief at 5.
    We see no need to remand for the filing of a Rule 1925(b) statement
    and supplemental trial court opinion on the record before us for the following
    reasons. In her motion for reconsideration, Dr. Mensah stated that the only
    issue she intended to raise on appeal was the propriety of the trial court’s
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    grant of summary judgment.        See Motion for Reconsideration, at ¶ 14.
    Indeed, she has briefed that issue on appeal. As we apply the same standard
    of review as the trial court and need not defer to its reasoning, the lack of an
    opinion will not impede our review. See Summers v. Certainteed Corp.,
    
    997 A.2d 1152
    , 1159 (Pa. 2010).
    In reviewing the grant of summary judgment, we are mindful of the
    following.
    [S]ummary judgment is appropriate only in those cases
    where the record clearly demonstrates that there is no genuine
    issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to
    judgment as a matter of law. The trial court must take all facts of
    record and reasonable inferences therefrom in a light most
    favorable to the non-moving party. In so doing, the trial court
    must resolve all doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of
    material fact against the moving party, and, thus, may only grant
    summary judgment where the right to such judgment is clear and
    free from all doubt. Because the issue here, namely whether there
    are genuine issues of material fact, is a question of law, our
    standard of review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary.
    See In re Risperdal Litig., 
    223 A.3d 633
    , 639 (Pa. 2019) (citations and
    quotation marks omitted).
    [O]ur responsibility as an appellate court is to determine whether
    the record either establishes that the material facts are
    undisputed or contains insufficient evidence of facts to make out
    a prima facie cause of action, such that there is no issue to be
    decided by the fact-finder. If there is evidence that would allow a
    fact-finder to render a verdict in favor of the non-moving party,
    then summary judgment should be denied.
    Gerber v. Piergrossi, 
    142 A.3d 854
    , 858 (Pa.Super. 2016) (quoting Harris
    v. NGK North American, Inc., 
    19 A.3d 1053
    , 1063 (Pa.Super. 2011)).
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    The following principles inform our review.      “Where the non-moving
    party bears the burden of proof on an issue, he may not merely rely on his
    pleadings or answers in order to survive summary judgment.”            Truax v.
    Roulhac, 
    126 A.3d 991
    , 997 (Pa.Super. 2015) (cleaned up). “Further, failure
    of a non-moving party to adduce sufficient evidence on an issue essential to
    his case and on which he bears the burden of proof establishes the entitlement
    of the moving party to judgment as a matter of law.” 
    Id.
     (cleaned up). “If
    there is evidence that would allow a fact-finder to render a verdict in favor of
    the non-moving party, then summary judgment should be denied.”               
    Id.
    (cleaned up).
    We observe preliminarily that Dr. Mensah is the non-moving party who
    bore the burden of proof at trial. However, she offered no evidence that would
    give rise to a genuine issue of material fact. The essence of Dr. Mensah’s
    breach of contract claim is that NBME “has a duty to cooperate in independent
    review to fully verify those scores[,]” but failed to do so. Appellant’s brief at
    11. She alleges that such a duty regarding score reporting arises from the
    Bulletin of Information (“BOI”), which provides in pertinent part:
    NOTE: The USMLE makes every effort to provide that your
    registration information is properly processed and that the Step
    examinations are properly prepared, administered, and scored. In
    the unlikely event that an error occurs in the preparation,
    processing, administration, or scoring of your USMLE examination
    or in the reporting of your USMLE scores, USMLE will make
    reasonable efforts to correct the error, if possible, or permit you
    either to retest at no additional fee or to receive a refund of the
    examination fee. These are the exclusive remedies available to
    examinees for errors in the registration process; in preparing,
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    processing or administering exams; or in determining or reporting
    scores.
    Motion for Summary Judgment, 11/2/20, at 8-9 (quoting multiple exhibits,
    emphasis omitted).
    Dr. Mensah makes no claim that the contract expressly provided for
    independent review of individual examinations and test questions. Rather,
    she alleges that such a duty is implied in the contract.      She directs our
    attention to Woolums v. National RV, 
    530 F.Supp.2d 691
     (M.D. Pa. 2008),
    a Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) case, for the proposition that exclusive
    remedies clauses such as that contained in the BOI are not always enforced
    under Pennsylvania law. See 13 Pa.C.S. § 2719(b) (UCC section providing
    that where circumstances cause an exclusive or limited remedy to fail of its
    essential purpose, other remedies may be available). Without any analysis as
    to why this UCC provision is applicable herein, Dr. Mensah states that all she
    wants is “[a]ccess to true raw exam scores, analyzed scores and answer key
    for comparison” and to “investigate the validity and reliability of the testing
    procedures from administration to scoring of [the NBME].” Appellant’s brief
    at 13 (quoting complaint ad damnum clause).
    In support of her contention that she is entitled to such access, she
    relies upon Hildebrant v. Educ. Testing Serv., 
    908 A.2d 657
     (Md.App.
    2006), a Maryland decision recognizing an implied duty of good faith and fair
    dealing in the contract between the Educational Testing Service (“ETS”) and
    the test-taker. The Maryland intermediate appellate court reversed the trial
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    court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of ETS after finding credibility
    issues and genuine issues of material fact as to whether good faith review had
    occurred. Dr. Mensah suggests that similar arguments can be made herein
    although she does not advance them by referencing evidence of record which
    created similar issues as to fact and credibility.
    Dr. Mensah relies upon Murray v. Educ. Testing Serv., 
    170 F.3d 514
    ,
    516 (5th Cir. 1999), where independent review was an express remedy in the
    contract between the test-taker and test-administrator, in support of her claim
    that independent review should be deemed part of the contract in this case.
    She also cites Langston v. ACT, 
    890 F.2d 380
     (11th Cir. 1989), holding that
    the testing agency fulfilled contractual duty by faithfully investigating the
    questionable test score, allowing the appellant to retake test, and offering to
    submit the dispute to arbitration. Dr. Mensah alleges that in the instant case,
    NBME has not demonstrated that it conducted a good faith investigation or
    offered to submit the dispute to arbitration, but instead, has frustrated
    independent review. Appellant’s brief at 18. Moreover, she argues that the
    affidavit of Carol Morrison, Ph.D., which addressed rechecks of her scores,
    lacked details such as when the rechecks were done, by whom, whether it was
    manually performed or rescanned, and whether anyone double-checked the
    results. Id. at 18.
    NBME counters that the terms of the BOI do not include or contemplate
    an independent review of NBME’s scoring and Dr. Mensah did not provide any
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    evidence of a course of dealing or communications between the parties that
    would override the written contract. The remedy is a score recheck and that
    was performed in this instance.      NBME additionally maintains that Dr.
    Mensah’s reliance upon Woolums is misplaced as it was a federal case under
    the UCC involving the situation where the exclusive remedies failed of their
    essential purpose.   NBNE contends that Dr. Mensah fails to develop any
    argument in support of the application of Woolums on the facts herein.
    NBME argues further that the cases relied upon by Dr. Mensah involve
    allegations of misconduct or cheating, neither of which is implicated herein,
    and do not support her claim that under the terms of the contract herein she
    is entitled to independent review. NBME points out that its counsel produced
    “raw scores” for two exams to Dr. Mensah’s counsel in response to her request
    for pre-complaint discovery.   The documentation showed her name and
    USMLE Identification Number next to each entry on both the “Sequence
    Examinee Response” and the corresponding “Answer.”             See Mensah
    Deposition, 7/31/20, at 151-159 (Motion for Summary Judgment Exhibit E).
    Despite such evidence that her reported score was correct, NBME contends
    that Dr. Mensah simply persisted in her subjective belief that “those are not
    my scores, based on the awareness I have during the exams and the fact that
    I was passing and doing very well in assessments that I did.” Id. at 141-42.
    Nonetheless, Dr. Mensah did not obtain an expert to review the methodology
    used to recheck the exam results, nor offer any evidence challenging that
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    methodology, although it was her burden to establish that her test results
    were incorrect and that the scoring was unreliable.
    A review of the certified record reveals that it was undisputed that the
    BOI sets forth the remedies available to test-takers. In compliance with the
    BOI, NBME performed a recheck of Dr. Mensah’s examinations as she
    requested.2 It also provided her with her raw test answers and the correct
    test answers for comparison. There is no claim that NBME falsified the results.
    The evidence offered by NBME established that it followed its procedures, that
    its methodology was generally accepted and sound, and that it provided the
    remedies outlined in the contract to Dr. Mensah.
    Dr. Mensah offers no analysis as to why the exclusive remedies clause
    in the BOI should not be enforced on the facts herein. We find Woolums
    inapplicable and unpersuasive. Furthermore, the cases cited by Dr. Mensah
    in support of her contention that there was an implied duty in the BOI to
    permit independent review suggest the contrary. All involved suits by test-
    takers accused of misconduct and the issue was whether the testing agencies
    acted in good faith in following the express remedies outlined in their testing
    ____________________________________________
    2  NBME offered the affidavit of Carol Morrison Ph.D, the Principal
    Psychometrician at NBME. Motion for Summary Judgment, 11/2/20, at Exhibit
    A.    She averred that psychometrics “is the theory and technique of
    psychological measurement, focusing on the measurement of knowledge and
    skills through testing.”    Id. at 1.    She provided an overview of the
    examination, test security and scoring protocols, and a thorough review of Dr.
    Mensah’s testing history. Dr. Morrison confirmed that score rechecks were
    conducted at Dr. Mensah’s request and no errors were found in the scoring.
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    bulletins.   In each case, the courts granted summary judgment finding no
    genuine issues of material fact regarding any breach of contract.3
    In Murray, the student sued the Educational Testing Service for breach
    of contract when it withheld his SAT scores upon suspicion of cheating. The
    ETS advised Murray that he could avail himself of the remedies provided in
    the SAT registration bulletin which included either providing ETS with
    information supporting the validity of his scores, retaking the test, asking ETS
    to cancel the scores and obtain a refund, or requesting third-party review.
    The court found that there were no genuine issues of fact whether ETS
    breached its duty under the contract. It found that ETS “dutifully fulfilled its
    contract with Murray by following established procedures for determining the
    validity of questionable scores” and produced substantial evidence which
    justified its questioning of Murray’s scores. Id. at 517. Summary judgment
    was affirmed.
    The facts in Langston, supra, were similar. Based on the undisputed
    facts, the court found no genuine issue as to whether ACT breached its
    obligation to act in good faith under the contract. The court noted that ACT’s
    investigation was extensive and that the testing agency had fulfilled its
    ____________________________________________
    3 Dr. Mensah’s reliance upon Hildebrant v. Educ. Testing Serv., 
    908 A.2d 657
     (Md.App. 2006), is misplaced as its holding that summary judgment was
    improperly entered was subsequently reversed by the Maryland Supreme
    Court. See Hildebrant v. Educ. Testing Serv., 
    923 A.2d 34
     (Md. 2007)
    (finding no genuine issues of material fact).
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    contractual duty by investigating a questionable score and then permitting the
    test-taker to avail himself of the contractual remedies to retake the test or
    submit his grievance to arbitration. Summary judgment was affirmed.
    Our reading of the BOI establishes that NBME had no express
    contractual obligation to turn over proprietary test questions and answers to
    test-takers for independent review. Nor did Dr. Mensah offer any basis for
    finding such an implied duty.      NBME demonstrated that it followed the
    procedures outlined in the BOI to recheck the validity of Dr. Mensah’s scores.
    It also substantiated the reliability of its testing methodology. Dr. Mensah
    failed to produce any contrary evidence to raise a genuine issue of material
    fact whether NBME fulfilled its duties under the contract. Hence, summary
    judgment was properly granted on this contract claim.
    Dr. Mensah’s second claim seeks declaratory relief premised on the
    alleged breach of contract. She contends that “As a direct result of this breach
    in their duties, Appellant is unable to move forward in medical education and
    knowledge.” Appellant’s brief at 15. She acknowledges that “[c]ount II is
    clearly another breach of contract claim. It is very arguably cumulative of
    count I, but it is nevertheless a proper claim and should not be subject to the
    gist of the action doctrine.” Id. at 17.
    We agree that this contract claim is cumulative and offers no additional
    basis for relief.   Furthermore, we have already concluded that Dr. Mensah
    failed to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact whether NBME’s
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    contractual obligations included an implied duty to permit independent review.
    Dr. Mensah faults NBME for failing to establish when the rechecks were
    performed, by whom, whether they were manual or machine scanned, and
    whether someone double checked the results. However, she bore the burden
    of proving that NBME breached its agreement to follow its procedures in good
    faith when the accuracy of test results was questioned, and she offered no
    evidence of breach.     Nor did she avail herself of the discovery process to
    gather the evidence needed to meet that burden. Consequently, Dr. Mensah
    failed to produce any proof rebutting the evidence offered by NBME of the
    reliability of its scoring and recheck processes generally, or her test scores
    specifically. In short, Dr. Mensah failed to offer any evidence that would give
    rise to genuine issues of material fact that would preclude the entry of
    summary judgment.
    For the foregoing reasons, we discern no error on the part of the trial
    court in granting NBME’s motion for summary judgment, and no relief is due.
    Order affirmed.
    Judgment Entered.
    Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
    Prothonotary
    Date: 10/1/2021
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Document Info

Docket Number: 564 EDA 2021

Judges: Bowes

Filed Date: 10/1/2021

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/21/2024