Tenet Healthcare to pay $215 million to settle shareholder lawsuits News
Tenet Healthcare to pay $215 million to settle shareholder lawsuits

[JURIST] Tenet Healthcare [corporate website], the country's second-largest private hospital chain, on Thursday agreed to a $215 million settlement [press release] to end class action shareholder lawsuits alleging that some of the company's officers and directors misled investors about Medicare expenses. The for-profit company confirmed that insurance will cover $75 million of the settlement, while former chairman and CEO Jeffrey Barbakow and former COO Thomas Mackey, who both resigned in 2003, will contribute $1 million and $500,000 respectively. The lawsuits, originally filed in 2002, contained accusations of breach of fiduciary duty, mismanagement and unjust enrichment. US District Courts in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, California must approve the settlements since they would end pending litigation in those courts. The company still faces DOJ and SEC investigations into alleged billing misconduct [JURIST report]. Bloomberg has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Jamaica achieves full independence

On February 9, 1962, Jamaica left the Federation of the West Indies, becoming a fully-independent nation for the first time in its history. The country did, however, remain a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Read the Constitution of Jamaica from the Georgetown University archives.

First US federal anti-narcotics legislation passed

On February 9, 1909, Congress passed the first federal legislation prohibiting narcotics. The "Act to Prohibit Importation and Use Of Opium" barred the importation of opium at other than specified ports and for other than medicinal use.

US House elects John Quincy Adams President

The US House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams as President of the United States on February 9, 1825 after no candidate won a majority of electors in the 1824 presidential election. Adams prevailed by a 13-7-4 vote even though future President Andrew Jackson won more electors than him the previous November. The Twelfth Amendment to the US Constitution requires the House to determine the president if nobody secures a majority of electors. Learn more about the Election of 1824.