A Boone County judge temporarily blocked Boone Health from interfering with the operation of PulsePoint Cardiovascular, a private cardiology clinic run by former Missouri Heart Center physicians, in a temporary restraining order issued Wednesday.
The judge granted the temporary restraining order after a request from PulsePoint Cardiovascular, PulsePoint Missouri MSO, Dr. Martin Tibuakuu and Dr. James Fairlamb, according to the order.
The order prevents Boone Health and CHAS Physician Services from taking actions that would interfere with or limit PulsePoint’s ability to operate its private medical practice.
The order took effect immediately and is expected to remain in place until a hearing at 9 a.m. Oct. 22 for a preliminary injunction.
Court records indicate a hearing was set for Friday for discussion of a proposed temporary restraining order that was “more narrowly tailored.” Missouri’s online court records system has not updated with the results of the hearing.
“We are aware of the temporary restraining order as well as the amended order that was entered by the court,” Boone Health spokesperson Christian Basi said in a statement to KOMU 8 News. “Boone Health intends to vigorously defend against the unlawful restrictions on its ability to operate and care for patients. We are committed to caring for every patient, and Boone Health is not changing its operations in any way.”
Boone Health sued Tibuakuu and Fairlamb, who previously provided cardiology services for Boone Health, in August, alleging they violated noncompete agreements by operating Pulsepoint Clinic.
The legal dispute stems from an agreement the parties entered into in January 2021, according to court documents. The agreement included restrictions on physicians competing with the other parties, and Tibuakuu and Fairlamb signed separate documents agreeing to those restrictions, according to court documents.
The agreement ended May 6, the same day Missouri Heart Center ceased operations, according to court documents. Boone Health contracted Missouri Heart Center to provide almost all cardiology services to its patients, with the exception of heart transplants, according to previous KOMU 8 reporting.
Under noncompete terms, physicians who worked under the agreement were prohibited from opening a private medical practice with other physicians who had also worked under it, according to court documents.
Tibuakuu and Fairlamb now operate PulsePoint, which provides general cardiology services.
PulsePoint and the two physicians argued that Boone Health and CHAS Physician Services violated the agreement by trying to prevent or interfere with PulsePoint’s operation, according to court documents.
In granting the temporary restraining order on Wednesday, the judge found that PulsePoint and the physicians could face immediate harm that could not easily be reversed if the court did not intervene while the case moves forward.
At the preliminary injunction hearing on Oct. 22, Judge Brouck Jacobs will consider whether to extend the restrictions while the lawsuit continues. The court is also scheduled to consider Boone Health’s request to dismiss the case and a request to move the dispute out of court and into arbitration, according to court records.
Leave a Reply