Officials at HCA-owned Portsmouth (N.H.) Regional Hospital have said they are willing to settle a dispute regarding the ownership of the hospital with the Foundation for Seacoast Health out of court, according to a Foster's Daily Democrat report.
The lawsuit stems from the 1983 sale of the hospital, which created the foundation. A condition of the sale allowed the foundation to buy back the hospital if HCA ever put it up for sale or transfer, according to the report.
While the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld a previous decision that a leveraged buyout of HCA did not activate the buy-back condition, it also determined that a 1999 transfer of the hospital's assets may have triggered the condition, according to the report.
HCA and the foundation are scheduled to go to court over the matter in May, but a spokesperson for the hospital said it hopes to settle out of court in order to reduce legal costs as well as end the "tremendous amount of uncertainty" created by the dispute.
Read the Foster's Daily Democrat report on Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
Read more coverage on Portsmouth Regional Hospital:
- New Hampshire Hospital Names New CEO
- Lawsuit Over Ownership of New Hampshire Hospital Moves to Trial
The lawsuit stems from the 1983 sale of the hospital, which created the foundation. A condition of the sale allowed the foundation to buy back the hospital if HCA ever put it up for sale or transfer, according to the report.
While the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld a previous decision that a leveraged buyout of HCA did not activate the buy-back condition, it also determined that a 1999 transfer of the hospital's assets may have triggered the condition, according to the report.
HCA and the foundation are scheduled to go to court over the matter in May, but a spokesperson for the hospital said it hopes to settle out of court in order to reduce legal costs as well as end the "tremendous amount of uncertainty" created by the dispute.
Read the Foster's Daily Democrat report on Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
Read more coverage on Portsmouth Regional Hospital:
- New Hampshire Hospital Names New CEO
- Lawsuit Over Ownership of New Hampshire Hospital Moves to Trial