Accretive Health (AH) Files to Dismiss Minnesota AG; Claims No Evidence of Patient Data Breach from Laptop Theft
Tweet Send to a FriendGet Alerts AH Hot Sheet
Up)
Trade AH Now!
Accretive Health, Inc. (NYSE: AH) today filed a motion to dismiss the Minnesota Attorney General’s Complaint in federal district court in Minnesota. The motion denies the Attorney General’s claims and requests that the Court dismiss the complaint, in its entirety, with prejudice. As stated in the motion, the Company believes “…the Attorney General’s First Amended Complaint includes allegations that are factually baseless and legally indefensible. What is worse is that rather than litigate this case in the courtroom, the Attorney General orchestrated a nationwide media campaign against Accretive Health.”
The motion includes the following grounds for dismissing the case:
As with all litigation, no assurance can be provided as to the outcome of the matters discussed herein.
Join StreetInsider.com FREE and get immediately alerted when news breaks on your stocks and other market items - JOIN NOW
*NEW - Download StreetInsider's FREE iPhone and iPad App - Click Here
The motion includes the following grounds for dismissing the case:
- The core of this case involves the criminal theft of a password-protected laptop. Under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Minnesota Health Records Act, a company cannot be held liable for the unforeseeable criminal act of a third party stealing a corporate laptop. Further, in the ten months since the laptop was stolen, there is no evidence (and the Attorney General does not even claim) that any patient data has been compromised. As a result, in the absence of any injury, the Attorney General lacks legal standing to pursue claims under HIPAA and the Minnesota Health Records Act as a matter of law.
- On February 3, 2012, Accretive Health entered into a Consent Order with the Minnesota Department of Commerce to address its debt collection practices in Minnesota. Accretive Health continues to work cooperatively with the Department of Commerce. Under fundamental principles of law, the Attorney General is barred from pursuing the identical claims already addressed by a fellow state official.
- The Attorney General’s consumer fraud claims are baseless in fact and law. In particular, it is undisputed that information about Accretive Health’s Quality and Total Cost of Care services at Fairview Health System, aimed at developing strategies to reduce emergency room admissions and in-patient stays for the sickest five percent of patients, were widely disseminated to the public in securities filings and media accounts, defeating any fraud claim.
As with all litigation, no assurance can be provided as to the outcome of the matters discussed herein.
Join StreetInsider.com FREE and get immediately alerted when news breaks on your stocks and other market items - JOIN NOW
*NEW - Download StreetInsider's FREE iPhone and iPad App - Click Here
You May Also Be Interested In
- LRAD Corp, (LRAD), Iroquois Master Fund Enter Settlement
- Salix Pharma (SLXP) Reports Positive Results From Two Budesonide Foam Phase 3s
- J. C. Penney (JCP) Enters $2.25B Secured Term Loan Facility
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
Corporate News, Litigation
Login with Facebook
Sign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
