Statement of Case:
This is a civil case brought by the plaintiff, Pierce Street Same Day Surgery Center, L.C., who I will refer to as “Pierce Street.” Pierce Street is an ambulatory surgery center, often referred to as an ASC, here in Sioux City where doctors perform outpatient (“same day”) surgeries. Pierce Street has brought various claims against multiple defendants. Four of the defendants are doctors: Kevin Liudahl, Joseph Morris, William Samuelson, and Adam Smith. Prior to this case, they were members or part owners of Pierce Street, along with others who are not parties to this lawsuit. At all times relevant to this lawsuit, Drs. Liudahl, Morris, Samuelson, and Smith practiced at Tri-State Specialists, another defendant in this lawsuit that I will refer to as “TriState.” Tri-State is a multispecialty medical clinic also located here in Sioux City. Drs. Liudahl, Samuelson, and Smith are physician partners at Tri-State, and Dr. Morris is an employed physician. Riverview ASC Realty, LLC and Riverview Surgical Center, LLC are also defendants. Riverview ASC Realty, LLC is a company that owns and constructed the medical office building next to the Delta Hotel in South Sioux City. The building includes Riverview Surgical Center as a tenant. The final defendant is Mr. Lee Hilka. Mr. Hilka is the CEO of Tri-State, the manager of Riverview ASC Realty, and the interim manager of Riverview Surgical Center. Mr. Hilka was formerly the CEO of Pierce Street. In this case, Pierce Street alleges the following against defendants and claims damages as a result: • Drs. Smith, Samuelson, Liudahl, and Morris breached their contractual obligations in Pierce Street’s Operating Agreement; • Tri-State interfered with Drs. Smith, Samuelson, Liudahl, and Morris’s contractual obligations in Pierce Street’s Operating Agreement; • Mr. Hilka interfered with Drs. Smith, Samuelson, Liudahl, and Morris’s contractual obligations in Pierce Street’s Operating Agreement; • Mr. Hilka breached his own contractual obligation not to compete with Pierce Street following the end of his employment there; • Drs. Smith, Samuelson, Liudahl, and Morris interfered with Mr. Hilka’s contractual obligations not to compete with Pierce Street following the end of his employment there; • Drs. Samuelson, Smith, and Hilka breached their duty of loyalty to Pierce Street; • Drs. Smith, Samuelson, Liudahl, and Morris breached their duty of good faith and fair dealing to Pierce Street; • Riverview ASC Realty and Riverview Surgical Center interfered with Drs. Smith, Samuelson, Liudahl, and Morris’s contractual obligations in Pierce Street’s Operating Agreement with Pierce Street; and • All defendants conspired with one another to commit these wrongs against Pierce Street. Pierce Street claims damages as a result of these claims. Defendants deny Pierce Street’s claims. Certain defendants have brought counterclaims against Pierce Street. Drs. Liudahl, Samuelson, Morris, Smith, and another physician who is not a defendant—Dr. Terry Monk— allege that Pierce Street breached its Operating Agreement in the way it terminated their membership interests in Pierce Street. Defendants claim damages as a result of their claims. Pierce Street denies the counterclaims.
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Statement of Case Defendant:
This is a civil case brought by the Plaintiff, Pierce Street Same Day Surgery Center, L.C., who I will refer to as “Pierce Street.” Pierce Street is an ambulatory surgery center, often referred to as an ASC, here in Sioux City where doctors perform outpatient (“same day”) surgeries. Pierce Street has brought various claims against multiple defendants. Four of the defendants are doctors: Kevin Liudahl, Joseph Morris, William Samuelson, and Adam Smith. Prior to this case, they were members or part owners of Pierce Street, along with others who are not parties to this lawsuit. Drs. Liudahl, Morris, Samuelson, and Smith practice at Tri-State Specialists, another defendant in this lawsuit that I will refer to as “Tri-State.” Tri-State is a multispecialty medical clinic also located here in Sioux City. Drs. Liudahl, Morris, Samuelson, and Smith are physician partners at Tri-State, and Dr. Morris is an employed physician. Defendant Lee Hilka is the CEO of Tri-State. The remaining defendants are Riverview ASC Realty, LLC and Riverview Surgical Center, LLC. Riverview ASC Realty, LLC is a company that owns and is constructing the medical office building next to the Delta Hotel in South Sioux City, which building will include Riverview Surgical Center. Certain Defendants have alleged counterclaims against Pierce Street. In this case, Pierce Street alleges the following against Defendants and claims damages as a result: Each individual physician defendant breached his contractual obligations in Pierce Street’s Operating Agreement; Tri-State interfered with the individual physician defendants’ contractual obligations in Pierce Street’s Operating Agreement; Hilka interfered with the individual physician defendants’ contractual obligations in Pierce Street’s Operating Agreement; Smith and Hilka breached their duty of loyalty to Pierce Street; Smith, Samuelson, Liudahl, and Morris breached their duty of good faith and fair dealing to Pierce Street; Riverview ASC Realty and Riverview Surgical Center interfered with each individual physician defendants’ contracts with Pierce Street; and All defendants conspired to commit the above wrongs against Pierce Street. Defendants deny Pierce Street’s claims. Drs. Liudahl, Samuelson, Morris, Smith, and another physician who is not a defendant— Dr. Monk—alleged that Pierce Street breached its Operating Agreement in the way it terminated their membership interests in Pierce Street. They claim damages as a result. Pierce Street denies the Physician Defendants’ claims. |
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