Tenet critic dissolves shareholder group

South Florida physician and attorney M. Lee Pearce, a bitter critic whose history of conflict with Tenet goes back several years, has decided to dissolve a group devoted to exposing alleged wrongdoing by the leaders of the hospital company.

Pearce, through closing down the Tenet Shareholder Committee, ended his tenure as the group's leader with a detailed online posting criticizing the company's executives and board members for taking home six-figure salaries despite the company's problems. He noted that Tenet has paid out $1.7 billion in litigation settlements over the past several years, and that the firm lost $25 billion in shareholder value over six years, with share book value falling from $12.44 per share in late 2002 to $0.29 in December 2008.

Tenet officials, for their part, say that Pearce's goal all along has been to get it to buy Florida land from him at high prices. Tenet has also sued Pearce and his committee for making what it says were improper proxy solicitations.

To learn more about Pearce and his group:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
Tenet losses lead to stock plunge, criticism
Tenet turning around: Admissions grow, losses fall
Tenet fights bankruptcy rumors
Tenet to pay $725M in settlement