Daughters of Charity Health System is suing one of the most vocal critics of its high-profile sale to Prime Healthcare Services.
The six-hospital California system filed suit last week against the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West and private-equity firm Blue Wolf Capital Partners for “conspiring to hold hostage” its proposed sale to Prime.
“By using extortionist threats and bid-chilling tactics to frustrate this sale as leverage for other commercial gains they seek, the defendants have cost DCHS, at a minimum, tens of millions of dollars in continuing operational losses and professional fees,” Daughters wrote in the suit filed in Superior Court in Santa Clara County.
In an e-mailed response, Dave Regan, SEIU-UHW president, called the suit “nothing more than a legal hissy fit.”
“Daughters of Charity is losing $10 million a month and threatening bankruptcy, yet CEO Robert Issai decided it would be a good idea to spend the company's precious and dwindling resources on a frivolous lawsuit designed to punish workers for speaking out against selling the system to Prime Healthcare,” he said.
The fate of the $843 million takeover is now in Prime's hands. The state has approved the deal if Prime agrees to a number of conditions, some of which go beyond the deal's original terms.
