Clinic owner's lawsuit dismissed

This article comes from TMC NEWS at http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-clinic-owners-lawsuit-dismissed-/2010/01/23/4586756.htm

They got their info from a Kentucky paper THE COMMONWEALTH JOURNAL at http://www.somerset-kentucky.com/

My comments are in RED


Clinic owner's lawsuit dismissed


SOMERSET, Jan 23, 2010 (Commonwealth Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A $15 million lawsuit brought by the owner of a proposed methadone treatment clinic in Somerset against area governments and a local organization dedicated to fighting drug abuse has been dismissed.
That judgment comes after attorneys with the City of Somerset and Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education, Inc. (UNITE) filed requests last week that Scott's lawsuit against them and Pulaski County be dismissed.

"The alleged actions of the City of Somerset were lawful, constitutional and well within the city's own right to voice opposition, and to conduct a public forum, as to the plaintiff's proposed opening of a methadone clinic in Somerset ... ," stated documents filed by the City of Somerset.

The fracas began in October 2009 when Terry Scott, the man behind a number of opiate treatment clinics in Kentucky, began the process of locating a methadone treatment clinic -- Somerset Addiction Solutions, LLC -- to the area.

Scott's plans, which weren't made known to the public until the Commonwealth Journal uncovered information that Scott had filed as registered agent for the clinic in June 2009, were met with an outcry of negativity from the public and government officials alike. Both the Somerset City Council and Pulaski County Fiscal Court passed resolutions voicing their opposition to the clinic's location to Somerset, stating they had not known about Scott's plans until the information was released through the Commonwealth Journal.

It wasn't long after that Scott decided to pull the plug on his plans for the clinic.

Scott filed suit in November in U.S. District Court in London, Ky., claiming that actions taken by the City of Somerset and Pulaski County government have damaged his businesses' chances to open and make money here locally.

I was all supportive of the guy and his lawsuit until I read this part right here! He said nothing about wanting to help opiate addicts get off drugs, his only concern..........SUPRISE SUPRISE! MAKING MONEY!

The plaintiff in the case, listed as Somerset Addiction Solutions, LLC, stated that as a result of "discriminatory reaction and behavior" on the part of the city and county governments, the company had "expended time and financial resources and has lost opportunity costs," the demanded compensation for which is no less than $15 million, an amount "reasonably determined from the evidence." The suit also charged that the government violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Supremacy Clause, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, the latter of which, as stated by the suit "prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities" from being "denied the benefits of ... any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." The suit stated that "because the Rehabilitation Act broadly defines 'program or activity' to include 'all the operations of' a qualifying local government, the passage of formal resolutions is a covered activity within the meaning of the Act," and that the resolutions were therefore a violation of this policy.

If the 15 million is an accurate assessment of the money they have caused him to lose so far, that RIGHT there says it all about how much these clinics are making off of us and why SO MANY treat clients like they do! They are only there for the money not to HELP any of us!

In its request that the lawsuit be dismissed, the City of Somerset said the claims mentioned above are not valid, stating that "there is no allegation that Plaintiff was prevented from pursuing and fulfilling the licensing process and legal requirements of opening a clinic and, in fact, the Plaintiff was issued a license by both the City and the Commonwealth of Kentucky." The document continued by noting that every other Rehabilitation Act or ADA discrimination case brought against local governments by methadone clinics has involved some type of intervention by local government.

"Conspicuously and fatally absent from plaintiff's complaint are any allegations that the City of Somerset prohibited plaintiff from opening a methadone clinic, such as by refusing to issue necessary permits of by enacting zoning changes," stated the dismissal request.

Scott's claim also stated that methadone treatment programs are regulated and licensed by this state, and that federal protections of individuals with disabilities are associated with those participating in supervised drug rehabilitation programs.

While the city claimed that Scott's claims are invalid, it took a more explicit approach to the claim that the officials'' resolutions had violated the Supremacy Clause, which mandates that state judges uphold the Constitution, federal statutes, and U.S. treaties, even if state laws or constitutions conflict.

"This claim is frivolous," the document stated, later noting that " ... it has been recognized that methadone clinics are subject to local business permits, licensing, and zoning requirements; such clinics only have a cause of action when the laws are applied in a discriminatory manner." Scott's complaint alleged that "during the course of the licensing process, the Defendants decided to oppose the opening of the treatment facility." The complaint blamed UNITE, "acting through its Executive Director, Karen Engle, and other agents," for joining with the governments to prevent the clinic from opening.

The suit noted that UNITE acted in conjunction with the local governments to sponsor and conduct a public forum in late October, its purpose said to be "to influence public opinion against the licensing of the treatment facility. ... Despite the fact that methadone is a governmentally approved method of treatment for substance abuse, UNITE is opposed to the methadone treatment method." The city's response stated the local governments were entirely within their constitutional rights to hold the forum, and to express their own opposition to the clinic.

"The plaintiff does not rely upon the First Amendment for purposes of its complaint however, the city relies upon the First Amendment for purposes of its defense," stated the city's request for dismissal. "That being, the law is well established that an elected governmental body has the constitutional right (and indeed, maybe the obligation) to take positions and gauge sentiment as to public and controversial issues, such as the proposed opening of a drug treatment (i.e. methadone) clinic with its city limits.

"This holds especially true under the circumstances alleged, where the defendants hereto were not made aware of the plaintiff's desire to open such a clinic from the plaintiff itself or from any governmental agency ... rather, the city gained its knowledge of the proposed opening of the clinic from the press," the request continued.

UNITE likewise filed its own request for dismissal. Pulaski County had not filed its own request for dismissal of the lawsuit by the time the case was dismissed.

The original lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be brought back to the courts.

A call placed to Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler's cell phone was not returned by press time Friday, and attempted to reach Pulaski County Attorney Bill Thompson after hours were not successful.

This article has everything to show what is wrong with this system! The public are making decisions about MMT programs/clinics because of biased opinions and inaccurate info and the MMT clinics are there with the purpose of MAKING A PROFIT!