BOISE -- An Ada County jury has awarded $52 million in damages to MRI Associates in its case against St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center for illegally competing with them for imaging services. The unanimous decision came down Monday night.
One of the largest verdicts in state history
According to the plaintiffs, this is the second largest jury verdict in Idaho history and the second time a jury has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in this case. MRI Associates operates MRI Center of Idaho and MRI Mobile. MRI Associates' attorneys say the original 1985 partnership between their client and St. Alphonsus was a game-changer in local healthcare. "It was an agreement that actually brought MRI technology to the Treasure Valley," Attorney Tom Banducci said. "It was kind of a pioneering effort that Saint Alphonsus lead at the time." That agreement was set to last 30 years, until 2015, but in 2004, St. Al's disassociated with the MRI Associates. Attorneys for the business say what happened involved unfair, and intentional, tactics. Plaintiff: St. Al's motivated by money Banducci says during the partnership, St. Al's established a competitor, Intermountain Medical Imaging, and supported it, with St. Al's patients getting referrals to that competitor. "As a result of that participation, the business that had originally been at the MRI Associates operating entities migrated to the competitor," Banducci said. In court documents, MRI Associates said the hospital violated their partnership agreement, nearly putting MRI Associates out of business. "The conduct of Saint Alphonsus was motivated by the intent to gather more profit," Banducci said. Hospital set to appeal decision A jury sided with MRI Associates, saying because of the breach, the business lost potential profit, in the amount of $52 million. That is now the amount Saint Al's is on the hook for; however, post-verdict, the hospital is not giving up. "Saint Alphonsus was built on the mission of providing superior quality patient care and supporting our community, and respectfully, we vigorously and strenuously disagree with the verdict in this case, and we plan to appeal. We will appeal," Elizabeth Duncan, St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, said. As for motive, the hospital says patient care is at the center of every decision and was in this case. Until appeal options are exhausted and the entire appeals process is over, MRI Associates' attorneys say the hospital won't have to pay any of the damages. This case could be appealed until the state Supreme Court says it's over. The attorneys for Saint Alphonsus declined to comment on this story, but they do plan to appeal. The hospital could not name its grounds for appeal so quickly after the verdict. Why the damages are so high The largest jury verdict in Idaho history is also from this case; in the original trial, MRI Associates was awarded more than $63 million. This amount was reduced to $36 million and was overturned and sent back for retrial by the Idaho Supreme Court in 2009. MRI Associates attorneys say the damages are so high partially because of the type of business they are in. "MRI imaging, as you might guess, is a very expensive procedure. The profit margins on MRI scans is very high, so if you interrupt a business that is engaged in this sort of business," Banducci said. "This is a partnership that was supposed to go to at least 2015, starting in 1985. Interruption of that kind of a business can result in pretty significant damages."
