TULSA, Oklahoma -
After the trial of Garth Brooks and Integris Hospital ended last month, Integris sent out a letter to its donors that didn't set well with Brooks' attorneys.
The country star's lawyers sent the hospital a cease and desist letter. They say the problem isn't so much what the letter says but what it leaves out.
Brooks' attorneys say the letter is disappointing, especially for the jurors who not only sided with Garth Brooks but also voted to punish Integris for its behavior.
01/24/2012 Related Story: Garth Brooks Wins Suit Against Hospital, Awarded $500K In Punitive Damages
John Hickey with Tulsa law firm Riggs, Abney takes issue with a couple of things in the Integris donor letter that was sent out the day after the trial ended.
In the letter, Integris claims they tried repeatedly to give Brooks his money back.
Read The Entire Letter
"The problem I've got with that statement is it's not complete. And because it's not complete, it's misleading and inaccurate," Hickey said.
He says he can't go into details because anything discussed during settlement talks is kept confidential for a reason.
He says the jury decided hospital CEO James Moore left out key information when trying to get Brooks to donate $500,000 to name a new women's center named for his late mother. Hickey says the letter is the same situation.
"Here, we've got the hospital saying certain things to donors but they left out very important information," Hickey said.
The letter also says nothing was ever agreed to with Brooks about how to spend his donation. However, jurors not only found there was a deal, but ruled Integris breached that deal, used fraud to enter into that deal and acted recklessly and maliciously during the deal.
The letter makes no mention of that or how the jury voted to give the maximum punitive damages allowed in the case.
"What they did was punish Integris to the fullest extent they were capable of punishing them, yet Integris didn't seem to get the point," Hickey said.
Integris says the letter is not meant to be misleading and doesn't say anything different than what they said during the trial. The hospital claimed all along that it never felt it reached an agreement that was understood by both parties and was in writing.
They say it respects the jury's ruling and the letter was a way for it to communicate to its donors that it's still focusing on its primary goal of providing quality healthcare.
He says the jury decided hospital CEO James Moore left out key information when trying to get Brooks to donate $500,000 to name a new women's center named for his late mother.
Brooks' attorneys say the letter is disappointing, especially for the jurors who not only sided with Garth Brooks but also voted to punish Integris for its behavior.
John Hickey with Tulsa law firm Riggs, Abney takes issue with a couple of things in the Integris donor letter that was sent out the day after the trial ended.
Garth Brooks leaves a Rogers County courtroom.
