AAC Holdings Announces Filing of Motions to Dismiss California Case
January 25 2016 - 6:30AM
Business Wire
Files Declaration by LA County Chief Medical
Examiner-Coroner Contradicting Prosecution and Grand Jury
Testimony
AAC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAC) announced that, as expected, it
filed motions to dismiss the indictment in the California case on
January 22, 2016. In its motions, the Company highlighted many
reasons that it believes a dismissal of all charges is warranted,
including:
- Failing to call the coroner and instead
calling a paid consultant to the plaintiff in the civil case and
misrepresenting to the grand jury the coroner’s findings and the
contents of his records to make it appear that the patient’s death
was a homicide
- Repeated violations of the prosecutor’s
duty to present exculpatory evidence
- Repeatedly presenting inadmissible
evidence to the grand jury including hearsay and opinion
testimony
- Presenting no evidence of probable
cause that any of the Defendants had the requisite malice required
for a second degree murder case
- Incorrectly advising the grand jury
that it could interpret licensing statutes to find the client was a
dependent adult
- Failing to instruct on essential
elements of some offenses and affirmatively mis-instructing on the
law for other offenses
The Company also disclosed that the Chief Medical
Examiner-Coroner for Los Angeles County, Dr. Mark A. Fajardo,
signed a declaration that was also filed with the Court that
contradicts claims made by the California Attorney General’s office
and testimony provided by paid experts in grand jury testimony. Dr.
Fajardo previously served as Chief Forensic Pathologist of the
Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner and performed the autopsy on the
individual who died of natural causes in 2010. In a ruling on
January 22, the Court ordered the complete coroner’s file to be
produced to the Court.
From this declaration, the Company noted the following points
from Dr. Fajardo:
- “I have since reviewed the deputy
coroner’s report prepared in connection with [decedent]’s death
(Exhibit C). That review confirms that I was, as I testified during
my deposition [in Kelly Benefield v. ABTTC, Inc., et al. (Riverside
Superior Court No. RIC 1112376)], aware at the time of the autopsy
of [decedent]’s medical history, including his dependence on
supplemental oxygen and the fact that he had flown from Arizona
without the benefit of oxygen.”
- “At the time I reached my opinion as to
the cause of [decedent]’s death, I was aware of his COPD diagnosis,
his need for supplemental oxygen, and I believed that his oxygen
tank had been emptied in order for him to fly to California.”
- “It was and continues to be my expert
opinion, as expressed in my Autopsy Protocol, that the Serax and
Trazadone did not contribute to or cause [decedent]’s death. The
lack of supplemental oxygen, which I was aware of at the time of
the autopsy, similarly did not cause or contribute to [decedent]’s
death.”
- “I have never been contacted by the
California Attorney General’s Office about [decedent]’s death, and
I was not asked to testify before a grand jury about [decedent]’s
death.”
Michael Cartwright, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AAC
Holdings, noted, “We are thankful that Dr. Fajardo has come forward
with his public declaration stating that the decedent died of
hypertensive cardiovascular disease and that he stands by his
initial opinion. Clearly, we believe his testimony should have been
heard by the grand jury. We look forward to the judicial process as
we have complete faith in the American judicial system.”
About American Addiction Centers
American Addiction Centers is a leading provider of inpatient
substance abuse treatment services. We treat clients who are
struggling with drug addiction, alcohol addiction, and co-occurring
mental/behavioral health issues. We operate 18 substance abuse
treatment facilities. Located throughout the United States, these
facilities are focused on delivering effective clinical care and
treatment solutions. For more information, please find us at
AmericanAddictionCenters.org or follow us on Twitter
@AAC_Tweet. Copies of the Company’s legal filings can be found
at AACtheTruth.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking
statements are made only as of the date of this release. In some
cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as
“anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “may,”
“potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and
similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking
statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain
these words. Forward-looking statements may include information
concerning AAC Holdings, Inc.’s (collectively with its
subsidiaries; “Holdings” or the “Company”) possible or assumed
future results of operations, including descriptions of Holdings’
revenues, profitability, outlook and overall business strategy.
These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause our actual results and performance to
be materially different from the information contained in the
forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other
factors include, without limitation: (i) our inability to operate
our facilities; (ii) our reliance on our sales and marketing
program to continuously attract and enroll clients; (iii) a
reduction in reimbursement rates by certain third-party payors for
inpatient and outpatient services and point of care and definitive
lab testing; (iv) our failure to successfully achieve growth
through acquisitions and de novo expansions; (v) uncertainties
regarding the timing of the closing of acquisitions; (vi) the
possibility that a governmental entity may prohibit, delay or
refuse to grant approval for the consummation of acquisitions;
(vii) our failure to achieve anticipated financial results from
contemplated acquisitions; (viii) a disruption in our ability to
perform definitive drug testing services; (ix) maintaining
compliance with applicable regulatory authorities, licensure and
permits to operate our facilities and lab; (x) a disruption in our
business related to the recent indictment of certain of our
subsidiaries and current and former employees; (xi) our inability
to agree on conversion and other terms for the balance of
convertible debt; (xii) our inability to meet our covenants in the
loan documents; (xiii) our inability to obtain senior lender
consent to exceed the current $50 million limit in unsecured
subordinated debt; (xiv) our inability to integrate newly acquired
facilities; (xv) a disruption to our business and reputational and
potential economic risks associated with the civil securities
claims brought by shareholders; and (xvi) general economic
conditions, as well as other risks discussed in the “Risk Factors”
section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, and other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of
these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking
statements in this release will prove to be accurate. Investors
should not place undue reliance upon forward looking
statements.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160125005546/en/
Investor Contact:SCR PartnersTripp Sullivan,
615-760-1104IR@contactAAC.comorMedia Contact:AAC Holdings,
Inc.Cynthia Johnson, 615-587-7728Mediarequest@contactAAC.com
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