Tri-City drops lawsuit against Scripps in Calif.

Tri-City Medical Center says it's moving on from a losing four-year legal battle with competitor Scripps Health.

The Oceanside, Calif., public hospital argued in state Superior Court that San Diego-based Scripps was competing unfairly by having its physicians encourage patients to bypass Tri-City and travel to Scripps facilities for care.

According to a news release, senior leadership at Tri-City decided to drop the lawsuit in light of the many changes that have transpired in healthcare, leading the board to conclude “the residents of its district would be better served” by focusing its resources on improving quality and outcomes measures rather than legal bills. Senior leadership at Tri-City, meanwhile, is in flux.

Last month the board put CEO Larry Anderson on paid leave.

The hospital filed the Scripps lawsuit shortly after hiring Anderson. A judge dismissed the complaint in March, and Tri-City appealed. Scripps said in a statement that the system welcomed a letter from Tri-City's attorney suggesting the lawsuit's end could herald a “new chapter of cooperation between our hospitals.”

“Now both of our organizations can place our full focus and resources on meeting the healthcare needs of the community,” Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder said in a statement.

(Clarification: An earlier version of this story reported that the California Fair Political Practices Commission is conducting an ethics investigation of Anderson. The commission considered but declined to open an investigation, officials said.)