The Tulare Local Healthcare District reached a settlement with its former attorney Bruce Greene for $3 million, bringing an end to one part of the turmoil that Tulare’s hospital went through under previous ownership.
Greene and BakerHostetler – his law firm – were accused of breaching their fiduciary duty and were professionally negligent.
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The backstory: Greene was an executive with Healthcare Conglomerate Associates (HCCA) when the group operated the former Tulare Regional Medical Center from 2013-2017. The Tulare Local Healthcare District sued Greene over a resolution he drafted that allowed HCCA to seek $22 million in loans on the district’s behalf and use the hospital as collateral.
- The lawsuit also accused Greene of being negligent by not disclosing potential conflicts of interest when he was representing HCCA at the same time.
State of play: With the healthcare district receiving $3 million in the lawsuit, Greene’s part is over in that regard, but criminal charges leveled against him and other HCCA executives – Dr. Yorai “Benny” Benzeevi and Alan Germany – by the Tulare County District Attorney remain.
- The district also named former district board members Parmod Kumar, Linda Wilbourn and Richard Torrez in the lawsuit leveled against Greene for approving the resolution. The former board members still face an active lawsuit since only Greene’s part was settled.
What they’re saying: Board President Kevin Northcraft told the Valley Voice that the settlement nearly covers all expenses paid to Greene and BakerHostetler for their work representing the district.
- “We have 88,000 people in our district, and they were all harmed by this law firm,” Northcraft said. “Getting back virtually everything we paid them is some justice for the people that were harmed.”
