Members of the Matilda Hospital board of governors will face their former chief executive, Dr David Henderson, in the Supreme Court tomorrow - in a hearing that will be screened from public view.
The hospital has applied to evict Dr Henderson's family from quarters on top of the Mount Kellett Road facility on The Peak, where he has remained since his sudden replacement by retired banker Ian Menzies.
A Judiciary spokesman said Mrs Justice Doreen Le Pichon had agreed to hold tomorrow's Supreme Court hearing in chambers, removing the right of doctors, patients and the public to attend.
'We cannot tell the reasons at this stage. The judge has her own considerations,' the spokesman said.
Lawyers for Dr Henderson, former head of the British Military Hospital in King's Park, said their application to hold the hearing in open court had been rejected.
Angry specialists said the board's successful application for an in-chambers hearing would allow evidence which should be public knowledge to be 'swept under the carpet'.