The Vethan Law Firm, P.C. (“VLF”) is pleased to announce that its client, a Houston cardiologist, received a favorable jury verdict in United States Federal Court under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“DTPA”).
The essence of the case was that our client left a prestigious position at MD Anderson to purchase a cardiology practice from a retiring physician. The seller (the retiring physician) confirmed the Professional Association had no liabilities or obligations, other than those identified in the closing documents and financials provided to our client prior to closing. Soon after our client began his practice, however, he noticed several patients had credits on their balances which had not been previously refunded. Although our client initially dismissed these credits as anomalies, they started to mount, covering over four hundred patients. When confronted the Defendant denied the patient balances were liabilities, and insisted the balances only became liabilities when patients requested refunds. The selling physician also claimed that tens of thousands of dollars were promised but not paid to him by VLF’s client.
When the doctors could not heal themselves, and no reasonable resolution could be fashioned, VLF’s business trial team was brought in to protect our client’s interest in the practice, and address the selling physician’s misrepresentations made as part of the sale. VLF's business trial attorneys tried the case to a jury in the United States Federal District Court in the Southern District of Texas. The jury came back and answered in VLF’s favor on all fifteen (15) jury questions. Even further, the jury awarded treble damages – three times the actual damages - under the DTPA because of the seller’s deception.
Regardless of whether the deceptive conduct is uncovered in small businesses or in established medical practices, VLF’s business and trial attorneys are ready to administer bitter medicine to anyone who wrongs our clients in a business deal.