A retired physician and former chief of staff of Elizabethtown, Ky.-based Hardin Memorial Hospital filed a lawsuit in July to halt Hardin Memorial's sale to Louisville, Ky.-based Baptist Health. The judge presiding over the case upheld the process used in the $361.4 million deal on Oct. 4, according to Louisville Business First.
Here are four things to know:
1. Baptist Health and Hardin Memorial received approval for the deal from the Hardin County Fiscal Court in early May. However, Larry Hall, MD, claimed the sale was negotiated in secret, and the court's approval should be declared void and set aside. In his civil suit, which names Baptist Health and Hardin County, Dr. Hall accused the court of violating statutes when it passed a resolution allowing the county to sell Hardin Memorial to Baptist Health.
2. In his 20-page decision, Hardin Circuit Court Judge Kelly Mark Easton wrote: "The proper questions for the Court were only if the law was clearly violated, and, if so, should any such violation result in a voiding of the sale. The answer to both of these questions is 'no.'"
3. Dr. Hall plans to appeal the decision, according to the report.
4. Baptist Health's acquisition of Hardin Memorial is slated to close Dec. 1.
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