UPMC's tax dispute lawsuit continues with accusations against Pittsburgh mayor

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center filed an amended lawsuit against the city of Pittsburgh and the mayor, claiming outgoing Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's lawsuit challenging UPMC's nonprofit status is a strategy to divert attention from a city scandal, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by Law360. UPMC, accused by the City of Pittsburgh in March of not deserving its tax-exempt status, fired back in April with its own lawsuit, alleging the city violated its constitutional rights. Last week the healthcare giant and Pennsylvania's largest employer added to its earlier claims that the city violated both state and local law, as well as its constitutional equal protection and due process rights. "There is no lawful purpose for any of the defendants' conspiratorial actions," UPMC said in the filing. "As for the mayor, he seeks to divert attention from scandalous public reports of his precarious legal predicament and to curry favor with parties intent on harming UPMC and capable of cushioning his political fall." Article and complaint