CLEVELAND — Two weeks after filing its first response to one of the lawsuits it is facing from former CEO Akram Boutros, MetroHealth has filed another response to the second lawsuit.
Boutros was fired in November, one month before his planned retirement, after claims that he authorized more than $1.9 million in bonus payments to himself over a four-year period beginning in 2018, without disclosing those payments to MetroHealth's Board of Trustees. Boutros responded by filing two lawsuits, with one alleging that the MetroHealth Board of Trustees violated the law in the hiring process of his replacement and one for breach of contract, defamation, wrongful termination, and civil liability for criminal acts related to retaliation and intimidation.
In Boutros' second lawsuit, filed in December, he claimed that "through their breaches of contract, defamation, broken promises, pressure tactics, wrongful termination of his employment and criminal acts," MetroHealth's board cost him more than $8 million in earned compensation, severance and benefits. The suit adds that the defendants "obliterated Dr. Boutros' legacy at MetroHealth and destroyed his future, costing him opportunities for prospective employment worth at least $20 million additional dollars. The anguish and suffering from the defendants' groundless assault on his reputation has caused Dr. Boutros additional tens of millions more in damage."
In its response to the second lawsuit on Friday, MetroHealth says that Boutros' lawsuit should be thrown out, claiming that he engaged in fraud, improper conduct and acted in bad faith. You can read MetroHealth's latest response to the lawsuit alleging breach of contract and defamation below:
Earlier this week, Boutros told 3News' Christi Paul that he had several board appointment and job opportunities offered to him prior to his firing by MetroHealth. All of those opportunities are now gone, he says.
"They all rescinded their invitations because of this," Boutros told Paul. "It's beyond that. There were additional things I was going to do and going to lead that were meaningful not only for Cleveland but for healthcare in this country. That's also evaporated."
With multiple lawsuits filed, how far is Boutros willing to take his case?
"If this doesn't get resolved, this case is going to be tried," his attorney Jason Bristol responded. "A jury of members of Cuyahoga County are gonna decide if what happened to Dr. Boutros was fair and whether the board is responsible for the utter destruction to his reputation, to his family, to his career. Dr. Boutros went from being one of the most respected healthcare executives in America, then in one board action, to the list of greatest free-falls."
Boutros was asked if there was any chance that a compromise could be reached between himself and his former employer to avoid taking the case to trial.
"Let me just say it this way: If the board or their counsel want to have a discussion, absolutely I'm willing to figure something out," he stated.
Also on Friday, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell dismissed a third complaint filed by Boutros: An administrative appeal seeking to overturn Metro's decision to fire him. The hospital had previously asked for the matter to be thrown out, saying the court "does not have jurisdiction to decide [Boutros'] claims" and that Boutros and his attorneys presented "no case or controversy" when they appealed his termination.