July 7, 2014 — The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the October 2011 jury verdict in MRI Associates’ $52 million lawsuit against Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. The ruling is the latest, and last, in a landmark legal battle between the two parties that began in 2004.
The lawsuit concludes a David-versus-Goliath legal battle that pitted a small business against an enterprise-level regional medical center with revenues of $516 million in 2011 and a parent company, Trinity Health, that boasted assets of more than $10 billion at the end of that year. In similar fashion, the case pitted Andersen Banducci PLLC, a Boise-based litigation law firm with 13 attorneys, against one of the world’s largest practices, Jones Day, with more than 2,500 attorneys in at least 35 offices in 17 countries around the globe.
Two separate juries found Saint Alphonsus liable for establishing and supporting a competitor of MRI Associates while still a partner in MRI Associates and interfering with the relationships between MRI Associates and the physicians who had previously referred their patients to MRI Associates for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans. After the last jury verdict, Saint Alphonsus filed an appeal with the Idaho Supreme Court, which in June upheld what may be the largest affirmed jury verdict in Idaho history.
Andersen Banducci PLLC stated it is pleased the Supreme Court affirmed what two juries already found, which is “that Saint Alphonsus misappropriated profits from its partners,” said Wade Woodard, a partner in the practice. “Through both jury trials and the two appeals, we were confident we had a strong case. We are pleased with the result for our clients.”
For more information: www.mricenterofidaho.com
