Wallace Dunn, president of the Odessa, Texas-based Ector County Hospital District Board, filed a defamation lawsuit Aug. 27 after HIPAA violation claims were made against him on social media.
Mr. Dunn, who joined the hospital board in 2019, is suing the Oil & Gas Workers Association and its president, Matthew Coday, seeking monetary relief from both defendants.
According to court documents, Mr. Coday asked Mr. Dunn to join the OGWA board in 2021. The lawsuit alleges regular board meetings were not held and that Mr. Dunn did not receive previous meeting minutes or financial records after requesting them. Mr. Dunn stepped down from the OGWA board in February 2022 after Mr. Coday published negative social media posts about him, according to the lawsuit.
Mr. Coday wrote on Facebook in August 2022 that Mr. Dunn knowingly violated HIPAA laws "by divulging confidential details about patients of the hospital," the lawsuit said.
The Ector County Hospital District Board oversees Medical Center Health System, a regional trauma center in Odessa.
The lawsuit alleges Mr. Dunn would not have been able to share confidential patient details because board members do not have access to that information.
Mr. Coday wrote on Facebook in November 2022 that Mr. Dunn violated HIPAA and made derogatory remarks about a woman and her family. He wrote in May 2024 that Mr. Dunn is under investigation by the Office of Civil Rights, while the only HIPAA violation complaint filed against Mr. Dunn was by Mr. Coday, according to the lawsuit.
Mr. Coday said Mr. Dunn lied to the Odessa Police Department in a false report about him and said in a statement shared with Becker's that Mr. Dunn "pled 'no contest' to a reduced assault/family violence charge," which the lawsuit denies.
"Wallace Dunn's violation of a Medical Center Hospital patient's HIPAA rights is an abuse of the public trust that jeopardizes patient care," Mr. Coday said in the statement.
A news release posted on Mr. Dunn's Facebook page reads in part:
"For years, I have served my community with transparency and integrity, and the defendant's conduct has not only damaged my standing but also caused immense emotional distress to me and my family.
Medical Center Health System was not immediately available for comment.