Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center has a $63.5 million bill to pay, courtesy of an Ada County jury.
The jury sided with MRI Associates, a Boise radiology company, that claimed the Boise hospital illegally withdrew in 2004 from a nearly 20-year partnership to form an alliance with a competing company.
The award — more than twice what attorneys for MRI Associates had expected — was delivered by the jury Aug. 30 at the conclusion of a month-long trial in Fourth District Court.
The award stems from a lawsuit originally filed by Saint Al's against MRI. Saint Al's wanted MRI to pay the hospital for the hospital's stake in the company after the hospital withdrew from its partnership with MRI in 2004. Saint Al's claims that MRI is required under state law to pay the hospital the value of the hospital's partnership stake. The lawsuit doesn't indicate how much that is, but said it exceeds $5 million.
MRI countersued, saying Saint Al's breached its 1985 partnership agreement by withdrawing without proper cause.
Hospital officials declined to comment, but released a statement saying they still await a ruling on the hospital's original claim against MRI.
"Saint Alphonsus believes in its position and is deeply disappointed in the outcome of the counterclaim," the hospital said. "It is evaluating and will vigorously pursue its legal options, including a potential appeal."
MRI's countersuit alleged that Saint Al's formed a new partnership with Boise-based Intermountain Medical Imaging and "undertook unfair business tactics and engaged in anticompetitive conduct for the purpose of running MRI Center out of business."
MRI Center of Idaho is MRI Associates' building at 949 N. Curtis Road. The company also operates a mobile imaging unit.
The nearly 40-page countersuit outlines 19 charges against Saint Al's, including breach of contract, conspiracy and libel.
MRI Associates said that since the original 1985 agreement, the partnership expanded to include not only Saint Al's but Mercy Medical Center in Nampa, West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell and Holy Rosary Medical Center in Ontario, Ore. The lawsuit said the partnership flourished until the late 1990s when the leadership at Saint Al's changed and current CEO Sandra Bruce joined the hospital.
Previous leaders at Saint Al's had "expressed enthusiastic support" for the joint venture, but Bruce "demonstrated little or no interest in supporting" it, the lawsuit said.
A group of physicians who had an exclusive contract with Saint Al's to read the radiological images provided by MRI started making plans to open their own medical imaging center, the lawsuit said. MRI said Saint Al's indicated it wanted to be a partner in that venture, which would ultimately become Intermountain Medical Imaging. MRI was aware of Saint Al's plans and claims it offered to become a partner with Intermountain too, but that offer was rebuffed by Saint Al's.
MRI said Bruce was well aware that supporting Intermountain would cost MRI business and violate the hospital's fiduciary obligations to MRI.
Saint Al's decided in 2004 to dissolve its partnership with MRI. The hospital said the agreement didn't prohibit any partner form "dissociating or withdrawing." MRI said the agreement allowed Saint Al's to withdraw only if it met any of four conditions: anything that jeopardized the hospital's tax exempt status; jeopardized its Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement; was "contrary to the ethical principles of the Catholic Church;" or violated local, state or federal laws.
Affiliated with the Catholic Church, Saint Al's was Boise's first hospital, founded in 1894 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.
Ken Dey: 672-6757
