Doc Says Lawyer Drove Him Out of Town

ALBUQUERQUE (CN) - A doctor says he was forced to sell his practice at a loss after being buried in an avalanche of nuisance lawsuits by an attorney who had vowed to "run him out of town." Dr. Fred Mosley claims the attorney, Victor Titus, did not approve of the speed with Mosley cleared his patients to return to work.

In his federal complaint, Mosley, who worked in Farmington, claims that Titus "implied that ... (Mosley's) patients were recovering and returning to work too quickly, thereby decreasing the amount of workers compensation benefits to which the patients were entitled as well as the amount of attorneys' fees that could be paid to Titus."

The doctor claims Titus said that "he would 'run him out of town' or used words to that effect."

Mosley says Titus filed eight lawsuits against him, each one alleging that the doctor had violated doctor-patient confidentiality by communicating with a patient's employer - which Mosley says he is often required to do.

The lawsuits were consolidated into a single action and dismissed as meritless in 2008, but the damage had already been done, Mosley says. He claims the baseless complaints increased his insurance premiums to the point that he "almost lost the ability to maintain malpractice insurance."

During settlement negotiations, Titus demanded that Mosley close his practice and move away, and threatened to continue filing lawsuits unless he did, Mosley claims.

Eventually, Mosley says, he gave up the fight and sold his practice for "far less than the practice was actually worth ... to avoid the stress, pressure, future threats and legal action by Titus."

Mosley seeks a jury trial and damages for malicious abuse of process, negligent interference with contractual and other claims. He is represented by Eric Loman with Bregman & Loman.

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