The contracts themselves neither explicitly nor unambiguously specify the penalty for early termination, judging from contracts submitted to court as evidence in two other cases. 30 in the case, noted that “Plaintiff’s chance of actually recovering that amount appears remote.” Bredar, in a memorandum opinion filed Nov. “There are costs (to VCA Antech for providing the services).”Īgreeing with that point, U.S. “It’s not all profit,” Gold said in an interview. Keith Gold maintains that having to repay the rebates is a reasonable consequence of breaking the contract, but for the company to demand future revenues on services that won’t be rendered is unreasonable and not part of the contract. Chadwell pulled out of the agreement after less than one year.Ĭhadwell owner Dr. Chadwell had agreed in December 2009 to buy at least $78,000 in laboratory services from the company annually for four years, for a total of $312,000.
#ANTECH IMAGING FULL#
For example, in a suit against Chadwell Animal Hospital, LLC, of Abington, Md., the company claims damages of $40,844 in the form of “loyalty rebates” on laboratory fees that Chadwell received, plus $273,000 Chadwell would have paid had the clinic stayed with the lab for the full term of the contract. Listed are defendant businesses, their locations, contract periods and total dollar amount in services each agreed to purchase over the period of their respective contracts.Īnimal Care Clinic of Randall Pointe et al.Īntech is seeking in the suits to recover not just the financial incentives but all the revenues the clinics would have paid had they maintained their contracts to the end. The following breach-of-contract cases were filed by VCA Antech in federal court between May 2011 and February 2012. One practitioner, speaking on condition of anonymity after being advised by legal counsel not to comment publicly, said a lawyer reviewed the contract before the signing and had found no potential problems. Some attempted to do so but were sued anyway. In interviews and court documents, defendants indicated they believed they could end the agreements early by refunding Antech the financial incentives they’d received.
Colin McHugh, a clinic owner in North Carolina, wrote: “If your business breached the terms of the contract, why would you think they wouldn’t come after the money owed?” In a discussion about the suits on the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), an online community for the profession, some veterinarians suggested that their colleagues were naive to think they could break a contract without consequences.ĭr. For example, some allege that the laboratory company’s service was unacceptably poor others were motivated to leave after receiving a more attractive offer from Antech’s chief competitor, Idexx. Veterinarians in private practice say such agreements are common.Īll of the clinics being sued ended their relationships with Antech before their respective contract term expired for a variety of reasons. The cash typically is provided in the form of loans that are forgiven if a clinic meets its contractual obligations.
#ANTECH IMAGING FREE#
In return, a participating clinic is awarded with incentives including cash, discounts, free lab work, radiology equipment or a combination. The contracts in dispute commit clinics to using Antech Diagnostics for laboratory services and to purchase a minimum dollar amount in services annually from the laboratory. Last month, Vetstreet merged with ThinkPets, another client-communication service.
#ANTECH IMAGING SOFTWARE#
Among other holdings, VCA also owns Sound-Eklin, a supplier of diagnostic imaging equipment and practice-management software and MediMedia Animal Health, owner of Vetstreet, an online marketing and client-communication service. The company has filed at least eight suits in federal court since May 2011 involving contracts that each would have reaped revenues for the company ranging from $234,000 to $798,000 over the course of four to seven years.Īntech is the laboratory services arm of VCA Antech, a dominant player in veterinary medicine as the owner of some 585 animal hospitals in North America and more than 53 laboratories.
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