Mateo-Woodburn

Plaintiffs, five medical doctors specializing in anesthesiology, appeal from a judgment of the superior court denying a permanent injunction and dissolving a preliminary injunction against de fendants Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center, a nonprofit corporation (FCH); William H. Hass, M.D., individually and as a professional corporation (Hass); James D. Helzer (Helzer); Bryan M. Ballard (Ballard); and Community Hospitals of Central California, a nonprofit corporation. Plaintiffs also appeal from the award of costs to defendants. FCH filed a cross-appeal from an order which taxed costs and disallowed certain other costs for preparation of certain administrative records of FCH and production of other documents at trial. The appeals have been consolidated for disposition. We will affirm.

This case arises out of a decision by the FCH board of trustees to alter the system of delivery of anesthesia services at the hospital from a rotating “open staff” to a “closed” system. Under the closed system, the hospital contracted with defendant Hass to deliver all anesthesia services to the hospital through subcontractual arrangements with individual anesthesiologists.…