Answers to questions about the case, players.Byline: The Register-Guard Questions and answers about McKenzie-Willamette Hospital's antitrust lawsuit against PeaceHealth, set to go to trial Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland: Question: Why did McKenzie-Willamette sue PeaceHealth? Answer: The Springfield hospital alleges that PeaceHealth, the Bellevue, Wash.-based parent of Sacred Heart Medical Center Sacred Heart Medical Center may refer to: In the United States:
Question: What do PeaceHealth officials say? Answer: They say they did nothing wrong and that McKenzie-Willamette filed the suit because it "does not want to compete on price or quality." They charge McKenzie-Willamette sued only after PeaceHealth rejected a McKenzie-Willamette "price-fixing proposal" that PeaceHealth stop discounting its services. They said numerous health insurers and plans are offered to local consumers - including several that offer McKenzie-Willamette as the exclusive provider. Question: What's at stake? Answer: McKenzie-Willamette is seeking $22 million in economic damages, which would be tripled under federal antitrust law antitrust law Any law restricting business practices that are considered unfair or monopolistic. Among U.S. laws, the best known is the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which declared illegal “every contract, combination…or conspiracy in restraint of trade or , plus $20 million in punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. . McKenzie-Willamette, if it prevails, will ask the court to order PeaceHealth to divest itself of PeaceHealth Medical Group, its 111-doctor medical practice. Question: Didn't a judge throw out part of the suit? Answer: In July, U.S. District Court Judge Ancer Haggerty dismissed one of seven claims in the suit: an allegation that PeaceHealth engaged in an "illegal" tying scheme in the way it marketed its hospital services to Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon. But he refused to dismiss the remaining six claims McKenzie-Willamette makes against PeaceHealth: exclusive dealing; monopolization mo·nop·o·lize tr.v. mo·nop·o·lized, mo·nop·o·liz·ing, mo·nop·o·liz·es 1. To acquire or maintain a monopoly of. 2. To dominate by excluding others: monopolized the conversation. ; attempt to monopolize mo·nop·o·lize tr.v. mo·nop·o·lized, mo·nop·o·liz·ing, mo·nop·o·liz·es 1. To acquire or maintain a monopoly of. 2. To dominate by excluding others: monopolized the conversation. ; conspiracy to monopolize; price discrimination; and interference with prospective business advantage. Question: Who are the lead attorneys in the case? Answer: Thomas Triplett, from the large Portland firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, is the lead counsel for McKenzie-Willamette. A graduate of Yale University and Stanford Law School  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . , he specializes in antitrust and labor law labor law, legislation dealing with human beings in their capacity as workers or wage earners. The Industrial Revolution, by introducing the machine and factory production, greatly expanded the class of workers dependent on wages as their source of income. and has been practicing law for 39 years. James Sneed, from the Washington, D.C., firm McDermott, Will & Emery, is the lead counsel for PeaceHealth. He earned his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Oklahoma University of Oklahoma, abbreviated OU, is a coeducational public research university located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. . He specializes in antitrust and trade regulation litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. . He is the former general counsel and director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, part of the Federal Trade Commission. He is co-author of the book, "Antitrust & Healthcare: Meeting the Challenge," published in 1998. Sneed will be aided by Peter Glade from Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlaf, a small Portland firm that specializes in litigation. Question: What is Judge Haggerty's background? Answer: Haggerty, a 60-year-old Oregon native, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. - where he was a three-year football letterman - and his law degree from Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. He was appointed to the federal bench by President Clinton in 1994. He's the first black federal judge in Oregon. Haggerty was born in Vanport, a town north of Portland that was literally wiped off the map when the Columbia River flooded in 1948. His father was a steam fitter who died of tuberculosis when Haggerty was 3 years old. His mother worked in hospitals as a chart nurse, according to a biography posted on the Web site of Just the Beginning Foundation, an organization that commemorates the contributions blacks have made to the federal judiciary. Before attending law school, Haggerty was a Marine lieutenant and served in Vietnam, earning numerous service awards, including a Purple Heart and a Silver Star. He worked as a public defender public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was before joining Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt - the same Portland law firm Triplett works for - where he spent 11 years. He was appointed as a Multnomah County District Court judge in 1989 and served as Multnomah County Circuit Court judge from March 1990 until his appointment to the federal bench in 1994. - Tim Christie |
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