Legal battle involving Fresno physician group grows to four suits. Here’s the latest
The legal battle involving a major physicians’ group in Fresno has grown to four lawsuits in the space of about two months.
The latest lawsuit involving the Sante Health System makes several allegations including breach of written contract, breach of oral contract, fraud for concealing facts, and fraud for intentional misrepresentations, among others.
Meanwhile, an eviction lawsuit against Sante is scheduled for a trial in early December, and a management conference is scheduled for early January for another suit against the group, court records show.
The new suit against Sante and its chief executive officer, Scott Wells as an individual, was filed in Fresno County Superior Court on Oct. 27. The lawsuit was brought on by Physician Network Advantage, Inc., which specializes in electronic medical record systems.
According to the lawsuit, PNA also trains health care staff and provides support services, such as troubleshooting assistance.
The main allegation in the lawsuit is that Sante owes PNA about $1.5 million for “implementation services and monthly maintenance and support services to Sante Physician Practice Groups.”
In a statement, Sante says PNA’s lawsuit “put forth a number of unfounded allegations against our organization that are without basis in either fact or law.” Sante says PNA is controlled by Community Health System.
Under the agreement with PNA, the statement says, Sante was only responsible for payment if and when it received grant funding to pay for the services.
“PNA is well aware of this condition and was fully informed by their parent organization Community Health System that the funding would cease on or around September 1, 2020,” the statement says. “PNA and Community Health System opted to continue services knowing that they would not be entitled to compensation under the terms of the contract.”
The lawsuit alleges Sante either failed to obtain grant approval or funding prior to requesting the PNA services, or it failed to provide all the funds it had received for the PNA services.
Sante, however, says PNA “assumed its parent company, Community Health System, would reimburse them for the services provided.”
“We are confident the facts affirm our honesty, credibility and dedication to our patients and local community,” the statement says.
What’s the status of the other lawsuits?
This is the fourth lawsuit involving Sante.
The first lawsuit targeting the physicians’ group was filed in early September by Community Medical Centers over issues the hospital system says led to the interruption of trauma services in September 2020. This suit is scheduled for a case management conference on Jan. 20 court records show. That’s when both parties and the judge decide how to handle the case.
“While not our first choice, legal action is sometimes unavoidable to do what is necessary to support the best interests of our patients, physicians and our ability to provide optimal care to our community,” Michelle Von Tersch, a spokeswoman for Community Medical Centers, said.
Also in September, Community Medical Centers sued Sante to evict primary care doctors occupying a hospital-owned facility under an expired lease. That was followed by a counter lawsuit filed by Sante and Community Medical Providers Medical Group alleging unfair business practices by the hospital.
Community Medical Centers asked the court to be able to reclassify its “limited” eviction lawsuit against Sante to an “unlimited” lawsuit, court records show. The court granted the order, and the suit was reclassified.
An unlimited lawsuit means potential damages can be in excess of $25,000. The eviction case is scheduled for a trial on Dec. 13. The judge granted an ex parte motion by the defendants to continue trial.
The trial was previously scheduled for this week.
On Oct. 28, a judge issued a tentative ruling on a motion to consolidate Sante’s counter lawsuit with Community Medical Centers’ eviction suit. The motion was filed by Sante, and it was denied by the judge, according to court records.
Sante’s counter lawsuit is scheduled for a case management conference on Jan. 12, and a motion to strike is on the calendar for May 17, court records show.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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