A Dallas judge on Monday tossed out a lawsuit Parkland Health brought against 10 of its former nurses over training costs, but suggested he might stall ruling on other nurses who are named as defendants while a similar case is considered by the Fifth Court of Appeals.
Parkland has filed a lawsuit against more than two dozen nurses, alleging they breached an agreement to work for the hospital district for an agreed period of time after completing a training program. Each of the nurses named in the suit owe as much as $20,000, Parkland argues.
The 10 who saw the suit tossed on Monday filed a motion for summary judgment together on Jan. 25, asking the judge to dismiss all Parkland’s claims. Those nurses are represented by lawyers Ashley Tremain of Tremain Artaza and Karina Sanchez-Peralta of AZA. Sanchez-Peralta is a former nurse who is representing one of the defendants pro bono.
The nurses argue the contracts are illegal for numerous reasons, including that the contracts essentially serve as a penalty. The practice of forcing employees to repay costs of training or face a lawsuit should be abolished, Tremain told The Texas Lawbook.
“It’s bad for the public. It’s bad for patient safety because the result is that nurses are being forced to work out of fear of being sued,” Tremain said. “And many of these nurses are being forced to work under conditions that they feel are unsafe, either for them or for their patients.”
Judge Martin Hoffman said in a hearing the contract was “facially defective” and instructed the lawyers to include his finding in the motion he intends to sign. However, he said he wanted to see how the Dallas-based Fifth Court of Appeals rules on a similar case before the justices.
In that case, Parkland filed a lawsuit against one nurse and Dallas Judge Veretta Frazier ruled on a motion for summary judgment in favor of the hospital district last year. That nurse has appealed to the Fifth Court of Appeals where it is pending. Tremain also represents that nurse.
Hoffman said he would like to hold off signing a final judgment on the case as a whole until after the Fifth Court rules. But a ruling from the Fifth Court isn’t likely to come for many months.
“All I’m doing today is granting the motion,” Hoffman told the lawyers. “I’m telling you what I’m intending to do just to be transparent because I really do want to get a ruling out of the court of appeals. And since we already have the Frazier case going up, I don’t see any reason to have multiple rulings.”
Douglas Turek of The Turek Law Firm represents Parkland.