Boise Hospital Looses Court Appeal

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Supreme Court upheld a district court's decision Tuesday ordering a Boise hospital to pay more than $52 million for violating a partnership it had with an MRI company.

The decision is the latest development in the St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center's lawsuit involving one the largest awards to come out of Idaho district courts. Hospital officials appealed the district court's decision in 2011, which ordered them to pay the hefty $52 million verdict.

The state's highest court, however, has ruled that the hospital did in fact breech its contract with a Boise MRI company. The lawsuit began in 2004 when both parties sued each other over pulling out of the contract but it wasn't until 2009 that a jury awarded MRI Associates $52 million.