The Tulare Local Healthcare District now has $3 million in its bank account after completion a trial against Bruce Greene – his former lawyer – and the company he works for, Baker Hostetler.
Other parts of the lawsuit, which named former county board members Parmod Kumar, Linda Wilbourn, and Richard Torrez as defendants, were not settled. and remains active in the Kern County Superior Court.
It doesn’t hurt to record Charges were brought by the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office against Greene centered on his time working for Tulare and the district’s former partner, Healthcare Conglomerate Associates (HCCA), and it doesn’t matter. a California State Bar complaint filed by the district against Greene.
Kevin Northcraft, president of the district’s board of directors, told the Valley Sound the settlement amount is nearly the same as what the county paid Greene and Baker’s company.
“There are 88,000 people in our district, and they were all affected by this law office,” he said. “Recovering almost everything we paid them is justice for the victims.”
He also lamented the silence of the California State Bar regarding the complaint against Greene.
“I am very disappointed in the state bar association,” he said, “and their lack of ability to handle what we consider to be someone who should not practice law in California.” “
The lawsuit alleges that Greene and Baker’s company breached their fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the county by drafting a resolution that allowed the HCCA to seek the $22m loan for the district, among other claims.
It was also alleged that the former members of the Board of Directors violated their own duties by approving the said resolution, which allowed the HCCA to put the district lands as collateral and did not need to acquire them. a pre-approval.
The lawsuit also claims Greene and the company were professionally negligent by allegedly failing to disclose conflicts of interest on behalf of HCCA, its owner Benny Benzeevi, and the district immediately. one.
The case was originally written and filed by Visalia attorney Mike Lampe. Attorneys for Greene and the Baker firm argued successfully to disqualify Lampe from representing the county in the case.and the health district later appointed attorneys from the Fresno-based McCormick Barstow firm to represent them.