Martha’s Vineyard Hospital has filed a lawsuit claiming the CEO it fired last summer defaulted on a $250,000 promissory note.
On March 5, 2018, MVH filed a complaint in Dukes County Superior Court in Massachusetts stating former CEO Joseph Woodin has failed to date to make any payments on a $250,000 promissory note he signed with the hospital in January of 2017, reports the MV Times.
RELATED: Special Report: 2017's notorious healthcare CEOs include VA head who was fired twice
The note carried an interest rate of 1.95% and was to be paid back at $50,000 per year, according to the hospital. MVH retained the option to call the loan immediately “if the borrower ceases (voluntarily or involuntarily) to be an employee of the lender.”
On Oct. 17, 2017, Woodin filed for arbitration over the firing, which came after only 13 months on the job. The default filing comes as one of several reported MVH counterclaims to that action. Woodin’s initial claim and the hospital’s counterclaims remain under seal as the parties negotiate, per the MV Times.
The hospital’s filing seeks to use the sale of Woodin’s former property, listed at $1.4 million, to secure its claim on the promissory note “pending the outcome of arbitration.”
RELATED: Hospital CEO revolving door keeps spinning, but not as fast as last year
In a year replete with high-profile firings among hospital executives, MVH’s abrupt dismissal of Woodin raised eyebrows in the local community. It also came as a complete surprise to Woodin himself, who has since moved on to Homer, Alaska, where he was recently named CEO of South Peninsula Hospital, reports the Vineyard Gazette.
Although Woodin has not commented directly on the arbitration, he did recently tell the Vineyard Gazette he’s optimistic about his new post in Alaska. “You never know where life takes us, so I’m glad to accept the opportunity. I’m excited,” he said.