Emory Issues Response to Lawsuit

and Emory Healthcare were named as defendants in a Dekalb County lawsuit filed on Tuesday by the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless.

The following statement was issued by Emory Healthcare on Friday, Oct. 14:

Emory University and Emory Healthcare were named as defendants in a Dekalb County lawsuit filed by the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, Inc. The Task Force is already a plaintiff in two pending cases, one in federal court in Atlanta and the other in Fulton County Superior court.  Similar to this new case against Emory, the Task Force has alleged, in part, that various defendants intentionally interfered with business and contractual relations at its homeless shelter at Peachtree and Pine streets in midtown Atlanta, and defamed the Task Force. 

Among the defendants named in the other pending cases are Central Atlanta Progress, The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, and the City of Atlanta.  In the federal lawsuit, the court recently ruled against the Task Force on all of its claims and granted summary judgment in favor of the City for approximately $147,000, for past due water and sewer services bills.

The claims made against Emory by the Task Force and its management have no merit and we will defend them vigorously.

has long served a vital role in providing high-quality health care services to the people of Atlanta, including those without the ability to pay for their care.  In addition to serving those in need, Emory provides a substantial amount of uncompensated health care to the people of Atlanta and surrounding area through Emory physicians who practice at Grady Memorial Hospital through the Emory University School of Medicine. 

The uncompensated services provided at Emory University Hospital Midtown and at Grady Memorial Hospital are only a part of the overall charitable contributions Emory makes each year to support the availability of health care and related services to people in need in the Atlanta community.