Opinion
July 15, 1985
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Rockland County (Buell, J.).
Order reversed, insofar as appealed from, on the law, with costs, and defendant's motion for summary judgment granted in its entirety.
An examination of plaintiff's affidavit in opposition to defendant's motion for summary judgment indicates that plaintiff has not raised any triable issues of fact. Since defendant made the alleged defamatory statement evaluating the qualifications, fitness and practices of plaintiff, as a physician, to the medical executive committee of the hospital, a qualified privilege attaches to that communication ( see, Education Law § 6527). Malice destroys a qualified privilege; however, plaintiff offers only conclusory allegations that defendant wants to "drive him out of business", without offering any evidentiary facts to support this allegation. Suspicion, surmise and accusation are not enough to defeat a motion for summary judgment ( see, Shapiro v. Health Ins. Plan, 7 N.Y.2d 56). Brown, J.P., Weinstein, Niehoff and Lawrence, JJ., concur.