By Echo Menges
Dr. Randall Tobler, through his attorney Lowell Pearson, filed an application for his attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in the Sunshine Law lawsuit brought against Scotland County Hospital in Case No. 23SE-CC00015.
In the application, the plaintiff is asking for $283,277.60 in attorneys’ fees, plus $486.20 in costs, along with the $5,000 fine already levied by the court.
The seven-page document argues, “This court has already decided, in the November 8 judgment, that all actions taken in the August 15 and 16 meetings are null and void. Every dollar requested in this application was incurred because of those illegal meetings.”
The filing includes several cases argued in Missouri courts, including the Court of Appeals, as grounds for the reimbursement.
Ultimately, First Circuit Presiding Judge Rick Roberts will decide how much, if any, of Tobler’s attorneys’ fees and costs will be reimbursed.
Last month, Judge Roberts sided with the plaintiff, finding the Scotland County Memorial Hospital District, through its board of directors, to be in gross violation of the Missouri Sunshine Law after a series of secret meetings aimed at ousting Tobler from the chief executive officer role. Judge Roberts ruled the hospital district knowingly and purposefully violated the Sunshine Law, nullifying any decisions made by the board on August 15 and 16, 2022, levying the maximum fine of $5,000 and setting a deadline for Tobler to submit his legal fee reimbursement application.
Hospital administrators Michael Brandon, the former chief financial officer, and Terri Schmitt, who was contracted to oversee human resources at the hospital, were also affected by the terminations. Schmitt has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the hospital, which is set to be heard by a Scotland County jury in 2025 (Case No. .23SE-CC00022).
The NEMOnews Media Group has submitted a Sunshine Law request to current hospital CEO Dr. Meagan Weber for information about legal fees incurred by the hospital since August 2022 and information about the hospital board of directors’ insurance coverage. This information will be published when it becomes available.
