Court hears fight between landlord, CEO at West Suburban Medical Center Monday
The fight to reopen West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Illinois, continued Monday with the battle going to the courtroom.
A status hearing was held on two lawsuits Monday. At its core, the hearing involved two former business partners hurling major accusations against one another.
The hearing on Monday suggested that there may be an end in sight for their battle.
At the hearing Monday, attorneys the chief executive officer of the hospital, Manoj Prasad, and the hospital's landlord, Rathnakar Reddy Patlola, confirmed they are working on a settlement to address both lawsuits, and plan to meet on Tuesday. They said they hope to present a deal to the judge on Thursday.
No details about the settlement were released, but the attorney for Patlola told a judge that "time is of the essence" due to issues as the hospital. He said ComEd recently informed West Suburban Medical Center that electricity will be shut off on July 8 due to unpaid electric bills.
CBS News Chicago also confirmed that the Village of Oak Park ordered the entire closed about a week and a half ago because none of the 28 elevators there were working. The shutdown remained in effect Monday, and impacted some of the clinics that remained open.
West Suburban Medical Center stopped most of its operations in March. The safety-net hospital, when open, would take in patients no matter their ability to pay.
Closing the facility has forced people on Chicago's West Side to travel farther for crucial care.
Hospital higher-ups initially blamed the shutdown on a billing issue that they said left the medical center short on cash.
Prasad and Patlola worked together to buy West Suburban Medical Center and the property on which it sits a few years ago. In April, after West Suburban Medical Center abruptly closed, the hospital operator sued the landlord — accusing the property owner of failing to fix serious issues with the hospital's heating and cooling systems and elevators.
The medical center CEO further alleges that his former business partner disparaged him and sent the hospital "baseless" eviction notices.
In May, Patlola filed suit against West Suburban Medical Center, accusing Prasad of financial mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.
Patlola asked for West Suburban Medical Center to be placed under court-appointed control. A judge recently shot down that request.
Neither Prasad nor Patlola were in court on Tuesday. A judge told legal teams for both that they need to bring the temperature down.
