TACOMA — A federal judge has rejected a motion by Olympic Medical Center to dismiss an amended lawsuit from Dr. Robert Witham.
A federal court trial has been scheduled for February 2011.
OMC spokeswoman Rhonda Curry said she could not comment on Saturday, but could respond later this week.
Witham, who practices in both Port Angeles and the Olympia area, declined comment.
Witham’s lawsuit alleged in five claims that OMC violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by attempting to monopolize oncology services, particularly by steering patients to its own staff, and that the hospital and Olympic Hospitalist Physicians violated the Consumer Protection Act for attempting to create a monopoly.
In October, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Bryan rejected three of Witham’s five claims, saying that a public hospital is protected from such claims under state and federal law, and is immune from having to pay damages for alleged violations of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act.
Witham’s other two claims — that the OMC hospital district engaged in “commercial disparagement” against him and interfered in “a contractual relationship and business expectations” — were not addressed by the judge.
In response, Witham amended the lawsuit requesting it be judged under “common law,” said John Wilson, one of his attorneys.
On Dec. 23, a judge upheld the amendment by rejecting OMC’s motion to dismiss.
Under common law, a judge would review the case based on previous rulings on similar issues, not state or federal law, Wilson said.
Next, attorneys from both sides will file testimony and facts to the court in preparing for trial, Wilson said.
The trial is scheduled for Feb. 4, 2011, in federal court in Tacoma.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladaily news.com.