A former Heritage Valley Health System board member says there is no conflict of interest as a result of his current representation of two nurses in a whistleblower lawsuit against the hospital network.
That’s because the health system was never represented by the former board member, Charles Kelly, or his law firm, Saul Ewing LLP, in any legal matter, according to a motion filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
“Kelly did not become HVHS’s lawyer merely by serving on HVHS’s board of directors, particularly where HVHS had both inside and outside counsel at all times,” according to the motion. “With no attorney-client relationship between HVHS and Kelly, HVHS is not a former client.”
In February, after Kelly had resigned from the HVHS board, the Saul Ewing law firm filed a qui tam — whistleblower — lawsuit against the health system on behalf of emergency room nurses Jennifer Duckett and Samantha Gallo. It alleged that former CEO Norm Mitry and other managers failed to stop a third emergency room nurse from stealing and using narcotics at work, despite years of warnings.
The U.S. attorney declined to join the lawsuit, which was filed under seal, before being unsealed in June. Also in June, the two-hospital HVHS merged with Allegheny Health Network.
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