Hospital Commission no longer in lawsuit

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A lawsuit ostensibly filed on behalf of the Van Wert County Hospital Commission no longer even includes that body as a plaintiff in the matter.

According to the Van Wert County Clerk of Courts Office, Lima attorney William Balyeat has given notice that the Hospital Commission is now dismissed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit he filed late last month against the Van Wert County Hospital Association. Also named as plaintiff in the suit, on an individual basis, is Hospital Commission member Farrel Krall, who now is the only plaintiff in the legal action.

The notice of dismissal of the Hospital Commission as a plaintiff comes after officers of that organization said they did not authorize the lawsuit and, more recently, following an email by County Common Pleas Judge Charles D. Steele to County Prosecutor Charles Kennedy taking Balyeat to task for filing what he called an unauthorized legal action.

“Please advise Mr. Balyeat that the fact that I appointed him to represent the Hospital Commission does not authorize him to take any legal action, including filing a law suit, without the official authorization of the commission taken in an open meeting,” Judge Steele told Kennedy in the email.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Hospital Commission Chairman Bill Ludwig and Vice Chairman Mark Hartman both said they were unaware of any lawsuit being filed and added that the Hospital Commission had not authorized any legal action by Balyeat.

Judge Steele was also unhappy about the Lima lawyer’s fee, telling Kennedy to tell him “that it is unlikely he will be paid at the rate of $170 per hour and that he will not be paid at all for any unauthorized service.”

At this point, Krall will be paying Balyeat’s fees, since he remains the only plaintiff of record in the lawsuit, which seeks to have the Hospital Association produce audited financial statements and an appraisal of the hospital property – something the legal action claims the Hospital Association has failed to do in the past.

Mark Minick, hospital president and CEO, has said the complaint is “without merit” and added that the documents being sought can be found in the County Commissioners’ office, which is also the legal address for the Hospital Commission. The Van Wert independent has verified the records were available in that office.

Minick has also stated that Hospital Commission members should also have had access to the documents through their representative to the Hospital Association board, who was also given that information.

Meanwhile, a writ of mandamus filed by the Hospital Association against both the Hospital Commission and County Commissioners could be settled as soon as today when the commissioners meet to discuss the legal action. The commissioners have been consulting with attorney Brad Bennett on the matter, and have placed the issue on their agenda for this afternoon for “discussion and possible action.”