San Antonio readers might be interested to know that wrongful termination doesn’t only happen to individuals. According to recent news reports, the wrongful termination of a Maryland company from a Louisiana-based $200-million Medicaid contract has caused a stir. The Baton Rouge judge presiding over the case has now said the company may continue its wrongful termination case against the governor of the state, Bobby Jindal, and his administration.
According to the report from Nov. 7, the attorney general’s office allegedly asked to delay witness interviews and evidence-gathering reports until January. The case, filed by Client Network Services INC, also known as CNSI, will not be delayed, though, because the State District Judge denied the request. While the assistant attorney general claimed the delay was necessary because of overuse of the staff due to additional cases going on at the same time, the judge did not agree. The judge allegedly claimed that there was no evidence showing that the lawsuit shouldn’t proceed.
The governor’s administration allegedly broke a 10-year Medicaid claims contract with CNSI in March after details came out that there was a subpoena from a federal office asking about the contract award. Throughout the bid process, it was possible that the former health secretary could have had inappropriate contact with the company, which is why the governor’s administration was looking into this previously.
This case hasn’t yet gone to court, but breaking a contract with a company without a reason can be a reason for a wrongful termination lawsuit, as you can see. If you’ve been wrongfully terminated from a contract, whether as an individual or business entity, you have a right to defend your work and your contract. No business should be able to back out of a contract without a good reason, especially when you’re holding up your end of the deal.
Source: My SA, “Judge refuses to delay CNSI lawsuit against state” Melinda Deslatte, Nov. 07, 2013