Judge sets trial date in YRMC, District Board Lawsuit

Both sides are set for an eight-day trial starting October 2023

YUMA, Ariz. (KECY, KYMA) - A trial date has been set for October in the lawsuit between Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) and the Hospital District Board One.

Both sides appeared in court today as they continued to argue about details in their lease agreement.

The lawsuit has now gone on for over two years.

While some pre-trial issues with discovery documents remain, Judge Lawrence Kenworthy set a trial date for October 23, which would last through November 1.

The Hospital District is an elected board of community members that manages the lease of the land YRMC is built on.


They claim the hospital has not reported the financial information to the board as frequently as it is required to according to their lease.

District Board Chairman Dr. Jeremy Curry is glad to see the case is moving forward.


“We were delayed by the LifePoint deal, which didn’t go through, so now we’re finally on track to get this matter resolved,” Curry said.

YRMC has previously claimed it is not required to provide the financial information the District is asking for.

No representatives for YRMC other than their counsel were at the hearing and the administration did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

To pay for their legal counsel, Kutak Rock from Scottsdale, the Hospital District says it's taxing property owners in Yuma County.

So far legal fees have amounted to over $1 million.

Local Danny Bryant says he’s fine paying the tax to allow the district to defend itself, for now.

“That doesn’t mean I’m happy paying it forever, so I’m happy to see a trial date set and the community moving forward," Bryant said.

A final trial management conference was also set for September.