I made another pilgrimage yesterday to Jefferson Circuit Court to review all the available public documents in this internecine dispute. In particular, I had not seen the various affiliation and other agreements between the two parties. It seems to me the case will hinge on how these agreements are interpreted.
This time I got lucky and was able to photograph everything in the official court jacket including Norton’s motion to dismiss Kosair Charities’ complaint, and Kosair Charities’ response. Accompanying as attachments to these motions were a number of major agreements made over the last 30 years between the two organizations. Links to all the items are presented below. Frankly, I have not yet had time to analyze all the documents, but it appears that most of the major arguments on either side are now out in the open. I will try to get my head around them. I confess I do so with a sense of sadness. Any help in interpretation would be appreciated. Let me know if I got any of the links wrong.
The Attorney General’s Office filed to intervene. My interpretation of the documents is that the request to join the case as a plaintiff was approved.
I had a specific interest in why Plaintiff Kosair Charities requested that Judge Perry recuse himself. I anticipated that the grounds for such a request would be made available to the public, but the recusal and transfer of the case to Division 13 and Judge Fred Cowan was made without additional comment. I suspect that the pace of the case will slow a bit as it wends its way to its new home.
Peter Hasselbacher
President, KHPI
Emeritus Professor of Medicine, UofL
Sept 5, 2014
Court Documents in Kosair Charities Committee v. Norton Healthcare,
Jefferson Circuit Court 14 CI 02523
5-8-2014. Initial Complaint by Kosair Charities, (PDF 6.4 MB).
6-9-2014. First Amended Complaint by Kosair Charities, (PDF 4.6 MB ).
6-30-2014. Norton Motion to Dismiss Complaint, (PDF 8.6 MB).
• Exhibit A: Agreement- (missing first 5 pages.) 5-12–2006. (PDF 1.9 MB).
• Exhibit B: Special Projects Agreement, 5-12–2006. (PDF 1.7 MB).
• Exhibit C: Additional Projects Funding, 3-1-2009. (PDF 1.8 MB).
• Exhibit D: MRI Funding Agreement, 12-5-2006. (PDF 1.1 MB).
• Exhibit E: Restated Agreement of Affiliation, 9-13-1982. (PDF 8.4 MB).
7-30-2014. Attorney General Files to Intervene, (PDF ).
8-15-2014. Kosair Charities Response to Motion to Dismiss, (PDF 9.2 MB).
• Exhibit A: 2d Restated Agreement of Affiliation, 12-5-2006, (PDF 3.9 MB).
• Exhibit B: Restated Agreement of Affiliation, 9-13-1982, (PDF 8.6 MB).
8-18-2014. Order Granting Commonwealth’s Motion to Intervene and to appoint Special Master Commissioner, (PDF 0.4 MB)
8-21-2014. Recusal Judge Perry, Assignment to Judge Cowan, (PDF 0.3 MB).
New: 12-30-2014. Norton Countersuit against Kosair Charities. Exhibits contain 3 agreements between the parties. (PDF 3 MB).
David Mann of Business First informs us this week that this case has still not found a judicial home. Three judges have already recused themselves and a fourth has just been presented the case. Interestingly, I have been reliably informed that Norton Healthcare has reentered mediation or arbitration with one or both of the UofL-aligned parties in the two disputes over Children’s Hospital. Can anyone be more specific? Send me a message privately if you wish. Emails in this comment section are not required nor published.