Breakin’ Up (they say it’s hard to do)
Judge Lloyd B. Zimmerman has issued a ruling in the bizarre Mike Hatch (Attorney General of Minnesota) v. Medica Health case. In 2001, Mr. Hatch, in is role as AG, assisted the overhaul of the non-profit medical plan group, which had marooned itself in mismanagement and corruption. He himself picked a new board of directors. He was praised roundly for his judiciousness and effectiveness. Owing in large measure to Hatch’s mediation during the crisis, Medica has become an award-winning program.
A quadrennial later, however, Mr. Hatch refused to relinquish control of the company. He went to court, strangely trying to dismantle a board that he had named himself, via accusations that board members “hijacked” the company and “stole” the 2002 board elections. Keep in mind that the company is now flourishing and that Hatch himself admitted as such in court. Judge Zimmerman, pointing to Medica’s recent success and Mr. Hatch’s own reasoning regarding the 2001 overhaul, rebuked the Minnesota Attorney General, “The State’s position is neither credible nor sensible.” He continued, “Based on the evidence, these claims were most unfortunate. They obscured the fact that the Attorney General’s intervention in 2001 was government at its best-protecting the public from corruption, waste, and abuse.” The judgement suggested the heiniousness of Hatch’s suit, concluding, “At the end of the day, good people were unfairly accused. After a fair and impartial trial, their good name is restored to them.”
Most striking was the fundamental weirdness that accompanied Hatch’s attempt to justify the perpetuation of state control on the group. He reversed his reasoning repeatedly during the suit and contradicted his past arguments at nearly every turn. Describing the case, Zimmerman commented, “The Court is left with the uncomfortable feeling that it is operating in the uncharted realm of legal metaphysics, rather than law and evidence.”
Such odd scenes will become more common as AGs increasingly behave toward businesses, employees, and consumers like love-sick teenagers…wanting to touch, hold, never let go.