Ricardo Cigarroa, MD, the Laredo (Texas) Medical Center and its physicians group urged a federal judge Feb. 9 to dismiss a hospital's suit accusing the group of poaching doctors and monopolizing the area's cardiology market, according to a Law360 report.
The Doctors Hospital of Laredo and the Laredo Physicians Group filed a suit in October alleging Dr. Cigarroa entered a conspiracy with Cigarroa Institute, a cardiology outpatient clinic, and Laredo Medical Center to engage in "anticompetitive and tortious behavior" to stop recruitment efforts.
The defendants then filed motions to dismiss the suit in a Texas federal court, arguing they had been wrongly blamed for the hospital's inability to hire staff and make a profit. The motions said the suit lacked a viable antitrust claim.
The October suit also alleges Dr. Cigarroa issued threats to Doctors Hospital, Laredo Physicians Group and prospective interventional cardiologists being recruited. According to the suit, the prospective cardiologists then decided not to join the physician group.