The acquittal of ex-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy on federal fraud charges dominates healthcare news this morning. Most legal observers had predicted a guilty verdict on the strength of the evidence against Scrushy. A Birmingham, Alabama jury was not convinced, however. The Wall Street Journal notes that "the acquittal casts a long shadow on the Sarbanes-Oxley law in its first test."
The ex-CEO will now try to enforce a clause in his employment agreement which his defense team believes requires HealthSouth to foot the bill for his legal defense in the event of an acquittal, according to reports. The Washington Post quotes a defense attorney as saying, "there is no question he'll go after that." After that, some experts predict Scrushy may make a run at getting his old job back. Wall Street analysts downplayed the possibility, saying it is unlikely that the executive would ever be able to regain the trust of either the HealthSouth board or investors. Scrushy also faces nearly 60 investor lawsuits stemming from the company's spectacular 2003 flameout.
- see this story from The Washington Post
- see this story from The New York Times