Palmer, 60 chiropractors sue former alumni association

Published: 2009-11-01 23:06:00
Author: Ann McGlynn | Quad-City Times | October 22, 2009

The long legal battle between Palmer College of Chiropractic and its former alumni association, which appeared to be over with an Iowa Supreme Court ruling last year, was resurrected Wednesday with a lawsuit filed in Scott County District Court.

Palmer and 60 chiropractors - including the president of the Davenport campus - are suing The Chiropractic International Association. They are asking for an audit of the group's assets and expenses, a host of damages and the dissolution of the association. They also are seeking a restraining order to prevent the association from spending any money.

Legal counsel for Palmer, Richard Bittner, could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for Palmer could not be reached either.

"It's disappointing the association has to spend its money fighting Palmer, particularly after winning all of the cases Palmer has filed," said Pat Roby, who represents the alumni.

Last year, the Iowa Supreme Court refused to review a lower-court decision in the first lawsuit filed by Palmer against the organization. That decision released an estimated $1.4 million to the alumni.

The decision came days after Palmer dropped its second lawsuit against the group alleging libel. The school dropped the action after several alumni issued a formal apology to the school.

The battle between the alumni and the college began in the 1990s, when the alumni cast a vote of no confidence in Palmer's leadership. Relations between the alumni association and the board began to sour in late 2004 during discussions about whether the alumni should have a voting seat on the college's board of trustees. The institution severed its ties with the association in early 2005 and began its own alumni group.

The severed alumni continued with their own organization.

Palmer filed the first lawsuit in March 2005. The second lawsuit, filed in January 2007, was for libel and breach of contract.

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