Globe: Lahey Urges Judge To Dismiss Lawsuit
[Updated] Lahey Hospital and Medical Center “fired back against a lawsuit accusing the facility of bribing Bermuda government officials to gain business on the island,” according to a story in the Boston Globe, which said that Lahey urged a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, which they said is “baseless and politically motivated.”
The story said, “Lahey Hospital and Medical Center on Friday fired back against a lawsuit accusing the facility of bribing Bermuda government officials to gain business on the island.
“In a federal lawsuit filed in February, the government of Bermuda alleged that Lahey and Dr. Ewart Brown, a physician and former premier of the island, ran a sweeping racketeering scheme involving money laundering, mail fraud, and corruption.
“Lahey urged a federal judge Friday to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that its business arrangement in Bermuda was legal and routine. It is not unusual for hospitals to hire consultants to help them navigate and gain business in new markets.
“Lahey said the lawsuit is baseless and politically motivated, and it attempts to smear the name of Brown, a controversial political figure in Bermuda.”
“The complaint attempts to transform a routine consulting arrangement between a hospital and a doctor into a fraudulent bribery scheme without providing any particulars of official acts by Dr. Brown constituting the fraud,” Lahey said in its court filing.
“We are committed to defending this frivolous lawsuit and will do so throughout every step of the legal process,” Lahey spokesman Chris Murphy said.
“Lahey Hospital & Medical Center’s business practices and commitment to patients in Bermuda are beyond reproach and our business contracts and consulting agreements are fully compliant with all applicable laws and regulations.”
Update 7.52pm: Dr Brown said, “I support Lahey in their effort to maintain their well-earned reputation as a first-class healthcare provider. I am confident that Lahey, and our relationship and our business, which have helped save the lives of countless Bermudians, will be vindicated in due course.
“It is unfortunate that their reputation should be questioned based on a politically motivated witch hunt in Bermuda, that has stretched to Boston.
“This baseless suit against Lahey is nothing more than a thinly veiled defamation of me and therefore diminution of my party and me in advance of the upcoming election.
“The US justice system should not become a pawn of the attorney general of Bermuda, nor his political party.”
