CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — In a dramatic twist to the ongoing legal saga between Adena Health System and a group of doctors who were formerly employed by the hospital, the sitting judge on the case has granted a motion to dismiss the key expert testimony regarding the alleged losses suffered by Adena due to the departure of several doctors.
The lawsuit, filed by Adena Health System, accuses surgeons Brian Cohen, M.D., Aaron Roberts, M.D., Dr. Wilbur Sever, III, and James Thompson, D.O., among other defendants, of breaching their employment contracts and misusing confidential information before they left the organization. However, in a countermove, the accused orthopedic surgeons have filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, alleging that Adena has no “single viable cause of action under Ohio law.” They also claim that Adena failed to demonstrate how their alleged actions prompted physicians to leave the health system.
In a countersuit, the surgeons accuse Adena of breaching their employment contracts, retaliation, and violation of antitrust laws. Supporting these allegations, Dr. Cohen alleges that he lost his medical director position in June 2020 because he voiced complaints against the administration.
Over the past two years, the case has racked up more than 650 docket entries and an estimated $10 million in legal fees. Now, in a substantial blow to Adena, the expert testimony from Dr. John Schneider, a nationally recognized healthcare economist, has been deemed inadmissible. The court has concluded that Schneider’s proposed methodology for calculating damages does not meet the three-pronged “Daubert” test, which is designed to assess the admissibility of expert testimony.
In his testimony, Dr. Schneider suggested that the departing doctors should be responsible for construction costs associated with the Adena Orthopedic and Spine Institute (AOSI), claiming that these costs were incurred due to the influence of Dr. Cohen. However, the court ruled that the decision to build the AOSI was taken by Adena’s Board of Trustees and a range of consultants, thereby invalidating Schneider’s approach.
With this ruling, the estimated $35 million figure that Schneider proposed as the loss to Adena can no longer be used in the court proceedings through his testimony. It will be incumbent on Adena to prove at trial that they suffered damages without the support of this expert testimony. As it stands, the trial will commence on August 1 with Adena effectively suing the doctors for $0.
An attorney for Adena said that the hospital plans to move forward with the case anyway.
“Our practice regarding commenting on pending litigation is to comment only in a limited fashion,” Adena lawyer Robert Cohen told the Guardian on Thursday. “We respect the authority of the Court with respect to the proceedings in the lawsuit, and we intend to present Adena’s damages through Adena witnesses as directed by the Court.”
In addition to the ruling this week, the Board of Trustees for the hospital, which is made up of the Chief Executive and Board President, Jeff Graham, Joesph Watson, Jennifer McKell, Stephen Hirsch, Carvel Simmons, Ron Coffey, Anthony Fish, Robert French, Shiela Gray, Bartow Henshaw, Beth Workman, Kevin Shoemaker, and former board member Dr. Regina Yandila remain as defendants in the countersuit brought by the doctors. Adena employees Kathy Edrington and Dr. Anthony Lattvo are also defendants in the countersuit.
The three firms representing the doctors did not have a public statement to release.
With the trial scheduled to commence on August 1, it remains to be seen how Adena will prove the damages they allege they suffered due to the doctors’ departure. With the recent decision by the court, the drama surrounding this lawsuit is poised to continue.